When silence is (not) golden: an evaluation of policy frameworks for PhD supervision in an ODL context

By Paul PrinslooResearch Professor, Department of Business Management,

University of South Africa (Unisa)&

Jeanette Maritz (Prof)Department of Health Studies

University of South Africa (Unisa)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We do not own the copyright of any of the images in this presentation. We hereby acknowledge the original copyright and licensing regime of every image and reference used. All the images used in this presentation have been sourced from Google labeled for non-commercial reuse

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial4.0 International License

Overview of the presentation

1. Positioning ourselves2. Disclaimer: what this is and what this is not…3. Points of departure – how we saw the process4. Understanding supervision from a Bourdieusian

perspective: supervision as ‘wicked’ problem5. The purpose and nature of policy 1016. Contesting discourses in policy7. The case study, analysis and findings8. (In)conclusions

PositioningIm

age cre

dit:

http

://com

mo

ns.w

ikimed

ia.org

/wiki/File:Yo

u_are_h

ere_-_street_sign

.jpg

ou

rselve

s (1)

Follower of Jheronimus Bosch, c.1600 - c.1620 Image credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival_in_the_Netherlands#/media/File:Follower_of_Jheronimus_Bosch_005.jpg

We see our roles as the carnival clown “who in the blasphemous hilarity of the carnival could comment on sacred and profane structures, beliefs and institutions. The fool also translated the untranslatable, commented on the incommensurable and often provided a new vocabulary or language for engaging with the serious and often traumatic of everyday-life. Nothing was sacred. Everything was”

(Prinsloo, 2009, p. 430)

“And the presiding spirit of blasphemy finds its quintessential expression in the ritual of the mock crowning and subsequent de-crowning of the carnival king – who is the very antithesis of a real king, since he [sic] is in fact often a slave or a jester. In short, everything is topsy-turvy, and the disarray thus engenders an uproarious kind of laughter” (Scott, 1986, p. 6).

Details Pieter Bruegel, 1559 – Image credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival

Positioning ourselves (2)

• A practical, critical hermeneutical (Schwandt, 2002, 2005) approach acknowledges that “…interpretation is not something that I (the epistemological ego) do, but something that I am involved in” (Gallagar, 1992, in Schwandt 2005, p. 81; italics in the original)

• “A critical insight here is the knower does not stand as a solitary, subjective spectator over and against a self-contained, self-enclosed object, rather there is a dynamic interaction or transaction between that which is to be known and the knower who participates in it”(Schwandt, 2005, p. 82; italics added)

• Our questioning was therefore not unidirectional or monological; but rather reflective or dialogical

Disclaimer – what this is and what this is not…

• This is a case study – nothing more, nothing less

• As such the evidence we present is not generalisable to other higher education institutions

• Case studies are, however, generalisable to theoretical positions and empirical research done in other contexts (egYin, 2009)

• The analysis confirms that policy frameworks and procedure documents mostly underestimate the complexities of postgraduate supervision

Points of departure…

• Supervision as a ‘wicked problem’ or ‘wicked space’

• We see policies as ideological, “infiltrated with power and forces that are formerly considered extraneous” (Demetrio 2001)

• We don’t judge on the ‘truth’ of policies, but rather try to understand the possibilities or non-possibilities existing in the policies and frameworks on supervision

• We see policy processes and documents as a “struggle between contenders of competing objectives, where language – or more specifically, discourse – is used tactically” (in Taylor, 1997, p. 26; emphasis added)

Image credit: http://www.truckinginfo.com/article/story/2013/02/the-art-science-of-routing.aspx

Image credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_soccer

Understanding supervision as field ala Bourdieu…

• Boundaried site• Players are selected• Players have set/

predetermined positions• Rules are predetermined

and taken for granted (doxa)• Players have different skills/

responsibilities• What players can do is inter

alia determined by their position on the field/rules

• The physical condition of the field impacts play

Supervisor: Dispositions, capital & agency

Student : Dispositions, capital & agencyD

isci

plin

eM

etan

arra

tive

s in

d

isci

plin

es/h

iera

rch

ies

of

po

wer

…

Institu

tion

Co

llege/scho

ol/d

epartm

ents –

hie

rarchie

s of

po

wer

SHAPING CONDITIONS: (predictable as well as uncertain)

SHAPING CONDITIONS: (predictable as well as uncertain)

Image credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_soccer

“A wicked problem is a social or cultural problem that is difficult or impossible to solve for as many as four reasons: incomplete or contradictory knowledge, the number of people and opinions involved, the large economic burden, and the interconnected nature of these problems with other problems”

Kolko, 2012 http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/wicked_problems_problems_wort

h_solving

Also see the Cynefin framework by Dave Snowden

Supervision as wicked problem…

Image credit: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Massimo_Busacca,_Referee,_Switzerland_(10).jpg

“The purpose of policy … is to shape and order practice, and evidence is one of the ways it finds of doing so”

Freeman, Griggs, & Boaz,

2011, pp. 127-136, emphasis added

The purpose of policy

Policy-as-struggle (Taylor, 1997)

Discourse A

Discourse D Discourse C

Discourse B

Educational apparatus

Image credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hastings_reenactment

Policy formulation, development and implementation as serious business where different discourses compete…

Image credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_soccer

Some contesting discourses in higher education

Policies & frameworks

re supervision

Increasing efficiency and cost-effectiveness (Altbach, 1999; Altbach, Reisberg & Rumbley, 2009)

Managerialism and higher education’s quantification

fetish (Morozov, 2013)

Understandings and functionings of “evidence” –

why what works does not work - Biesta (2007, 2010 )

Epistemologies/ontologies – knowledge, tribes and knowers (eg. Maton, 2015)

Dominant discourse of “societies of control” (Deleuze, 1992, p. 4)

“data-driven improvement and accountability” (Hargreaves and Braun, 2013)

“doing more with less. Funding follows performance rather than

precedes it” (Hartley, 1995, p. 414)

Rampant neoliberalism (Giroux, 2003)

Supervision as wicked

space/problem

The purpose, scope and development of policy

A policy analysis – what is said and not said and what does it mean/signify? (The scope and role of silence)

How does the policy environment @ Unisa address supervision?

Documents that could/should speak to/about supervision:• Tuition Policy• Assessment Policy• Research and Innovation Policy• Policy for Master’s and Doctoral Degrees• [Procedure for Master’s and Doctoral Degrees]

Cae study: An overview of the Unisa policy framework

Content analysis: What is there? Policy for Master’s and Doctoral Degrees

Content Code

Structures and arrangements for M&D’s (Senate, committees)

Procedural

Ethical conduct and clearance Procedural

Application and Admission Procedural

Registration Proposal module - [UNISA will attempt to appoint supervisors for this module]

Thesis/Dissertation - [..strive to maintain capacity… to supportProvide a context for high quality research]

Assessment Procedural

Complains and appeals Procedural

Content analysis: What is there? Procedure for Master’s and Doctoral Degrees

Content Code

Information prior to registration Procedural

Application and Admission Procedural

Registration Procedural

General provisions: [28 points] See slide

Academic standards Procedural according to HEQSF

Intellectual property Legal

Research proposal Procedural

Ethical clearance, technical requirements of the thesis, assessment, submission, examination

TechnicalProcedural

Graduating and reporting on matters Procedural

Procedure

Technical

Relational

Criteria

Planning

Feedback

Supervisor/co-supervisor

Policy and guidelines: Analysis/themes –supervisor/co-supervisor

Procedure

Technical

Relational

Accountability

Student

Policy and guidelines: Analysis/themes – student

Summary of analysis/findings

• None of the Tuition, Assessment and Research and Innovation Policies deal with postgraduate supervision pedagogy, issues, processes and relationships

• The Policy for Masters’ and Doctorate degrees and deal primarily and overwhelmingly with procedures and technical issues (and then there is the Procedure document…)

• Planning, criteria and feedback are only dealt with in relation to supervisors and co-supervisors

• Issues pertaining to accountability are more important with regard to students than to supervisors

To what extent does the Unisa policy and procedure frameworks take cognisance of the richness and ‘wickedness’ of the supervisory process?

vs

If I was from another planet, would I have been able to understand supervision as ‘wicked problem’ by

reading the Policy and procedures?

Image credit: http://www.fangirlconfessions.com/2012/10/new-star-wars-trilogy-is-coming-but-are-we-ready/

Image credit: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Massimo_Busacca,_Referee,_Switzerland_(10).jpg

(In)conclusions (1): What was covered & (un)covered? What does it mean/signify? What have we learnt?

Covered (Un)covered (Silence)

Procedures & technical + The complexities of supervision and the ‘wickedness’ of the process

Relationships, feedback, &accountability ±

The responsibility of the institution to provide an enabling environment for both supervisors and students

Reduced supervision to lists of bulleted points

Supervision as, at least, a tripartiterelationship – students, supervisors and the institution

An understanding of the asymmetrical relationships between student-supervisor, student-discipline, supervisor-discipline, supervisor-department/institution

(In)conclusions (2)In this presentation we saw our roles as the carnival clown “who in the blasphemous hilarity of the carnival could comment on sacred and profane structures, beliefs and institutions. The fool also translated the untranslatable, commented on the incommensurable and often provided a new vocabulary or language for engaging with the serious and often traumatic of everyday-life. Nothing was sacred. Everything was”

(Prinsloo, 2009, p. 430)

Follower of Jheronimus Bosch, c.1600 - c.1620 Image credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival_in_the_Netherlands#/media/File:Follower_of_Jheronimus_Bosch_00

5.jpg

Paul Prinsloo

Research Professor in Open Distance Learning

Department of Business Management

College of Economic and Management

Sciences

Office number 3-15, Club 1, Hazelwood

P O Box 392

Unisa, 0003, Republic of South Africa

+27 (0) 12 433 4719 (office)

+27 (0) 82 3954 113 (mobile)

Skype: paul.prinsloo59

Personal blog:

http://opendistanceteachingandlearning.wordpr

ess.com

Twitter profile: @14prinsp

THANK YOUJeanette Maritz (Prof)

Department of Health Studies

College of Human Sciences

Office number 7-176

Theo van Wijk Building

P O Box 392

Unisa, 0003, Republic of South Africa

+27 (0) 12 429 6534(office)

Personal blog:

http://maritzblog.wordpress.com

Twitter profile:

@JeanetteMaritz