Misfits between doctoral students and their supervisors: (How) are they regulated?

The purpose of the present study is to explore the “misfits” occurring between doctoral students and their supervisors. More precisely, we investigate the types of incongruences that occur, whether and how they are regulated and their consequences on students’ outcomes. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 21 former PhD students (8 completers and 13 non-completers). Results show that, when facing a misfit, PhD students either (1) learn to live with it and/or turn to alternate resources, (2) suffer from it without being able to address the problem with their super-visor, (3) address the issue with their supervisor and try to solve it in various ways, or (4) are unable to address the issue because it reached a point of no return. Further, types of misfit regulation are likely to have an influence on students’ motivation and engagement. These results are discussed in the light of person-environment fit, coping, emotional regu- lation, and conflict management frameworks.

[1]  B. Kehm.  Doctoral education in Europe and North America: a comparative analysis , 2006 .

[2]  M. Martinsuo,et al.  Personal commitment, support and progress in doctoral studies , 2011 .

[3]  Ji Zhou.  International students’ motivation to pursue and complete a Ph.D. in the U.S. , 2015 .

[4]  P. Brough,et al.  Supervisor and subordinate work-family values: Does similarity make a difference? , 2006 .

[5]  Pia Bøgelund,et al.  How Supervisors Perceive PhD Supervision - And How They Practice It , 2015 .

[6]  Alain Blanchet,et al.  L'enquête et ses méthodes : l'entretien , 2007 .

[7]  Eleanor McLellan,et al.  Beyond the Qualitative Interview: Data Preparation and Transcription , 2003 .

[8]  M. Afzalur Rahim,et al.  Toward a Theory of Managing Organizational Conflict , 2002 .

[9]  C. D. De Dreu,et al.  Task versus relationship conflict, team performance, and team member satisfaction: a meta-analysis. , 2003, The Journal of applied psychology.

[10]  R. Fassinger,et al.  The Role of Faculty Mentors in the Research Training of Counseling Psychology Doctoral Students , 2002 .

[11]  Jim Stewart,et al.  Doctoral supervision . . . a view from above, below and the middle! , 2008 .

[12]  Lisa Schurer Lambert,et al.  The phenomenology of fit: linking the person and environment to the subjective experience of person-environment fit. , 2006, The Journal of applied psychology.

[13]  Carina Dennis,et al.  Nature's guide for mentors , 2007, Nature.

[14]  J. Fereday,et al.  Demonstrating Rigor Using Thematic Analysis: A Hybrid Approach of Inductive and Deductive Coding and Theme Development , 2006 .

[15]  Dharmananda Jairam,et al.  Navigating the Doctoral Experience: The Role of Social Support in Successful Degree Completion , 2012 .

[16]  Michael Jones,et al.  Issues in Doctoral Studies-Forty Years of Journal Discussion: Where Have We Been and Where Are We Going? , 2013 .

[17]  Christine Halse,et al.  ‘Becoming a supervisor’: the impact of doctoral supervision on supervisors' learning , 2011 .

[18]  K. Pyhältö,et al.  Drivers and Interpretations of Doctoral Education Today: National Comparisons. , 2015 .

[19]  Jennifer Grant Haworth,et al.  Doctoral Student Attrition and Persistence: A Meta-Synthesis of Research. ASHE Annual Meeting Paper. , 1999 .

[20]  O. Klein,et al.  Doctoral supervision in the light of the three types of support promoted in self-determination theory , 2015 .

[21]  Dana Yagil,et al.  The Role of Emotions in Conflict Management: The Case of Work Teams , 2005 .

[22]  S. Folkman,et al.  Stress, appraisal, and coping , 1974 .

[23]  Jeffrey R. Edwards,et al.  Person–Environment Fit in Organizations: An Assessment of Theoretical Progress , 2008 .

[24]  V. Braun,et al.  Using thematic analysis in psychology , 2006 .

[25]  Daniel G. Oliver,et al.  Constraints and Opportunities with Interview Transcription: Towards Reflection in Qualitative Research , 2005, Social forces; a scientific medium of social study and interpretation.

[26]  S. Acker,et al.  Thesis supervision in the social sciences: Managed or negotiated? , 1994 .

[27]  Amy L. Kristof.  PERSON-ORGANIZATION FIT: AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW OF ITS CONCEPTUALIZATIONS, MEASUREMENT, AND IMPLICATIONS , 1996 .

[28]  J. Diefendorff,et al.  Different fits satisfy different needs: linking person-environment fit to employee commitment and performance using self-determination theory. , 2009, The Journal of applied psychology.

[29]  J. Gross.  Emotion regulation: taking stock and moving forward. , 2013, Emotion.

[30]  C. Carver,et al.  Adaptive Self-Regulation of Unattainable Goals: Goal Disengagement, Goal Reengagement, and Subjective Well-Being , 2003, Personality & social psychology bulletin.

[31]  Hsiu-Fang Hsieh,et al.  Three Approaches to Qualitative Content Analysis , 2005, Qualitative health research.

[32]  H. Turunen,et al.  Content analysis and thematic analysis: Implications for conducting a qualitative descriptive study. , 2013, Nursing & health sciences.

[33]  E. Skinner,et al.  Searching for the structure of coping: a review and critique of category systems for classifying ways of coping. , 2003, Psychological bulletin.

[34]  T. Bauer,et al.  Does adviser mentoring add value? A longitudinal study of mentoring and doctoral student outcomes , 2006 .

[35]  Anthony J. Onwuegbuzie,et al.  A Mixed Research Investigation of Factors Related to Time to the Doctorate in Education , 2011 .

[36]  A. Kristof-brown,et al.  CONSEQUENCES OF INDIVIDUALS' FIT AT WORK: A META-ANALYSIS OF PERSON-JOB, PERSON-ORGANIZATION, PERSON-GROUP, AND PERSON-SUPERVISOR FIT , 2005 .

[37]  Ann E. Austin,et al.  The Role of Doctoral Advisors: A Look at Advising from the Advisor’s Perspective , 2009 .

[38]  Ross Deuchar,et al.  Facilitator, director or critical friend?: contradiction and congruence in doctoral supervision styles , 2008 .

[39]  Richard E. Boyatzis,et al.  Transforming Qualitative Information: Thematic Analysis and Code Development , 1998 .

[40]  J. Gilgun,et al.  Qualitative research and family psychology. , 2005, Journal of family psychology : JFP : journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association.

[41]  Booi Hon Kam,et al.  Style and quality in research supervision: the supervisor dependency factor , 1997 .

[42]  K. Pyhältö,et al.  Exploring the Fit between Doctoral Students' and Supervisors' Perceptions of Resources and Challenges vis-à-vis the Doctoral Journey , 2012 .