Tiptoeing Around the Institution? Doctoral Supervision in the Knowledge Economy

Abstract

Students’ doctoral experience can be seen as a journey of mystery, of working in the dark, of allowing the purpose of the research to lead the process. Contrary to this view, students’ experiences of supervision described in this chapter are ones of being expected to follow a pre-determined path, a path that negates student engagement and agency. Using a case-study methodology and critical discourse analysis, this chapter explores two students’ experiences, describing some unsuccessful efforts to engage their supervisors. It interprets these experiences in the context of their growing realisation of the constraints for students and supervisors working within the corporate university, and within the knowledge economy. This analysis conceptualises new possibilities for the supervisory relationship in this unique journey within the context of the knowledge economy.