Exploring Supervisor and Supervisee Perceptions about Postgraduate Supervision in Higher Education

Abstract This study explored the perceptions of supervisors and supervisees regarding postgraduate supervision at Pakistani universities. A convergent parallel mixed methods design was adopted, in which both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from a sample of 250 participants, including 50 supervisors and 200 postgraduate supervisees. Data collection involved a 42 item structured questionnaire for quantitative data and semi-structured interviews with a purposive subsample of 35 respondents. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, while qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis of [1]. The descriptive results showed that supervisors gave significantly higher ratings for supervision quality, feedback, and guidance than the supervisees did, and higher ratings for supervision quality and timely guidance and feedback were found to be the best predictors of perceived timely completion of supervision. Qualitative results showed six recurring themes: feedback as a facilitator or bottleneck, balance between autonomy and direction, a relationship as a ‘hidden curriculum,' institutional hierarchy, difference in supervising norms between disciplines, and cultural and gendered aspects of supervision. This integration indicated that in the Pakistani context, the timely completion of the tasks is not dependent on a sole factor but on the congruence of supervisory feedback, and relationship trust, and institutional efficiency.