International students’ perception of research supervision in the Social Sciences: the case of three comprehensive universities in China
Marinette Bahtilla, Awu Isaac Oben
Abstract
Due to the internationalisation of higher education, much research has been focused on internationalising the curriculum, while little is known about internationalising research supervision. Research supervision is very pertinent as far as students’ acquisition of sustainable research skills is concerned. This study examined the perceptions of international postgraduate students on research supervision. The study focused on finding out if international postgraduate students are satisfied with their research supervisors and finding out the type of Feedback international students received from their supervisors. Exploratory case study research design was used, adopting qualitative research methodology. The study participants were 60 postgraduate Social Science international students from three comprehensive universities in China. A purposive sampling technique was used to select the participants; only international students in Social Sciences participated in this study. A semi-structured interview guide was used as the instrument for data collection. The data collected was analysed thematically. This study found that only a few students were satisfied with their supervisors. A majority of the respondents were not satisfied with their supervisors’ contributions in their thesis or dissertation writing and the type of feedback they received from their supervisors. This shows that universities striving to achieve their aspirations of becoming world-class universities in terms of internationalisation need to guide and support supervisors who supervise international students. Some recommendations are made that need to be effectively implemented to enhance international students’ acquisition of research skills.