The leash, the trap, and the labyrinth - supervision, autonomy, and symbolic exclusion in doctoral education in Poland

Abstract Doctoral education is a critical site for the reproduction of academic power, yet the relational and institutional conditions that shape doctoral candidates’ experiences remain underexplored in non-Anglophone and post-communist contexts. This article examines supervisory and departmental relationships in Polish doctoral education through the lens of power, autonomy, and inclusion, with particular attention to the reconfiguration of these dynamics following the 2018 higher education reform. Drawing on qualitative data from doctoral candidates in law, collected through five focus group interviews and six individual in-depth interviews across both pre- and post-reform cohorts, and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, the study identifies three inductively developed metaphors that capture the dominant patterns in participants’ accounts. The leash illuminates the spectrum of supervisory control and autonomy, revealing how both excessive oversight and its absence undermine doctoral candidates’ development. The trap captures the conditional and often ambiguous nature of inclusion within academic communities, where belonging is offered as a benefit but functions as an exchange relation entailing compliance and extra-role labour. The labyrinth maps the bureaucratic and hierarchical constraints that render institutional navigation unequal, depending on access to social capital and insider knowledge. Together, these metaphors demonstrate that the 2018 reform has reorganised rather than resolved the underlying dynamics of dependence, liminality, and symbolic exclusion in Polish doctoral education. The findings contribute to broader debates on supervision, academic socialisation, and equity, and carry implications for the design of doctoral programmes undergoing rapid formalisation.