The Illustrious Guest: Observations on Participation and Teaching Practice in Examining Boards

Abstract

Objective: a thought-provoking essay that seeks to promote reflection and debate about faculty participation in boards examining dissertations and theses in graduate administration programs. Provocations: it is argued that the guests perform a kind of academic spectacle during the examinations rather than analyze the dissertations and theses themselves and that this is detrimental to researchers’ training. Conclusions: such training of researchers should be the center of attention, and particularities, idiosyncrasies, and vanities should not overshadow the performance of examinations. As the participation of professors in examining boards is a significant expression of teaching practice and can make an important contribution to researchers’ training, it cannot be taken for granted, nor does it need to be perpetuated as a spectacle by distinguished guests.