Reflections on the Supervision of Postgraduate Research: The Students’ Voices in an Open Distance Learning (ODL) Context

Abstract

Since the dawn of democracy in 1994 there has been a proliferation of postgraduate programmes aimed at responding to the social, economic and political needs of the country. This has led to an increase in the number of students enrolling for postgraduate programmes in South Africa. Some students successfully complete their studies, while others eventually drop out without attaining their chosen qualifications owing to various factors they encounter on their research journey. This study sought to determine postgraduate students’ experiences in terms of the educational and research experience at Unisa; the support services and funding; quality of access to facilities; and initiation into the community of researchers. Theoretically, the study was underpinned by ergonomics theory. To answer the research questions, the study followed a concurrent mixed method design. The study’s participants were 78 postgraduate students at Unisa who had volunteered to be part of the study. A self-constructed questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics while qualitative data used inductive thematic analysis. The findings indicate that students have a variety of experiences, both negative and positive, in their postgraduate studies.

Graduate Students’ Perspectives on Challenges Encountered in Research Work in Higher Education: The Kenya Experience

“…The most serious challenge faced was problem identification and statement (72%) and the least challenge faced by the graduate students was centred on research ethics (60%). [6] who postulate that most students that enrol for their post graduate studies do not complete their studies owing to various challenges. Kumwenda,et al,[9] found out that post graduate students face challenges such as lack of mentorship and time limitations.…”

“…Bocar [7] in his study on difficulties encountered by student researchers and the effects on their research output found out that 66% of the students found it difficult to finish their work within the stipulated time as they were challenged by time and stress amongst other factors. Maphalala and Mpofu [6] in their study on the reflections on the supervision of post graduate research recommended that studies on students' experiences in their post graduate studies be conducted on a regular basis in order to improve the quality of services provided to graduate students by Higher Education institutions. McCowan [13] in his study on the quality of higher education in Kenya observes a concern on the degradation of quality of higher education in Kenya.…”

“…Conducting research is an integral stage for post graduate studies and like any other academic endeavour, it's not challenge free. Maphalala & Mpofu [6] contend that most students that enrol for their post graduate studies do not complete their studies owing to various challenges. Bocar [7] in his study on difficulties encountered by student researchers and the effects on their research output found out that 66% of the students found it difficult to finish their work within the stipulated time.…”