The relationship between the dissertation supervisor and student is one of the most challenging of all teaching relationships, not least because of the power imbalance that exists. It is also a conflicting one: the supervisor supports students but will examine their dissertations. So, how can we, as module and programme leads, nurture these relationships, and what can we do when things go wrong?
Clear communication
Effective communication could mean the difference between a positive and negative supervision experience. It is also key to helping students understand what is expected of them. Students tend to underestimate how hard and how independently they need to work, and that can create frustration and stress. Set clear expectations and rules of communication from the very start.
For example, emphasise that students need to take the initiative to get in touch with their supervisor and organise their own study schedule. You could also ask students to produce a project timeline, breaking down tasks by months. Emphasise to supervisors that they need to reply to students’ requests within a certain amount of time.
Students don’t always read or follow guidance. If this is the case, you could run seminars or drop-in sessions to answer questions and cover topics that are relevant to any project. This could then free up the supervisor to discuss the specifics of the project.
Virtual learning environments and support sessions can be overwhelming for some students. Sometimes students might need things explained to them by their supervisor in a different way. Remember that each student is unique. Students with neurodevelopmental conditions such as dyslexia might need extra help, such as a note taker or a reader and extra time to complete assignments.
Get to know your students
Understanding your students and their motivations early on will help you and their supervisors support them appropriately during their studies. In our experience, many psychology students choose the subject to better understand personal challenges, and a higher proportion of psychology students have disabilities compared with students in other disciplines. These factors should influence your approach to supervision.
Irrespective of their chosen subject of study, make sure you read students’ files to see if they have a registered disability. But bear in mind that everyone is different, and some might not even want to share the difficulties they are facing – try not to make assumptions.
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Preventing and dealing with conflict
Several strategies can minimise the occurrences and gravity of conflict between supervisor and supervisee. One is ensuring the personal tutor and dissertation supervisor are separate members of staff. This way, the student can foster a professional relationship with their supervisor and discuss any issues that might arise in supervision with the personal tutor.
Next, if a supervisor-supervisee relationship deteriorates, the module leader should make a record of both points of view, remembering that the student is the most vulnerable in this situation, partly because studying is inherently vulnerable. Be honest and open with the dissertation supervisor and remind them of the student’s point of view.
Supervisors also need support, as they may be experiencing challenges they prefer not to disclose. Bear in mind that they are also vulnerable compared with senior members of staff. This is why we think it is important that managers also take on dissertation supervision – so that they can relate to the project supervisors’ experiences.
Despite best efforts, sometimes it is impossible to make a supervisor-supervisee relationship work. When a problem persists, and when the student is unhappy for a long time, consider changing their supervisor. Remember that it is not necessarily something the student or the supervisor has done wrong; it could be a clash of personalities. Students could potentially benefit from a fresh start, and the supervisor could benefit from the reduction of the stress that the situation might have created.
Remind staff and students that it is important to collaborate with compassion and kindness and work on the relationship. To help, you could set up a contract that lays out the rules of engagement formally for the supervisor and student to sign. Creating FAQ documents for students and staff is also useful.
You can also help by regularly celebrating students’ and supervisors’ achievements and by sharing this “love letter” with them. Make sure the rules of your department and university are compassionate, and if they’re not, foster change!
In our experience, compassion, clear guidance and flexibility are some of the key ingredients for running a successful dissertation module. We continue to learn from our students and supervisors, who are a constant source of inspiration.
Aspasia Eleni Paltoglou is a module lead and senior lecturer in psychology; and Stephanie Dunn is a senior lecturer in psychology and programme lead of the MSc psychology conversion course, both at Manchester Metropolitan University.
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