(Re)Considering Postgraduate Education and Supervision in the Knowledge Society

Abstract

The title of this publication, Postgraduate supervision: Future foci for the knowledge society, locates higher education – and more specifically, postgraduate education and supervision – explicitly within discourses on the knowledge society. The aim of this volume is to employ this concept of the knowledge society and its corollary, the knowledge economy, as a heuristic for (re)considering the forms and purposes of postgraduate education and supervision in relation to contemporary realities and future possibilities. Thus the edition will be of interest to a wide range of postgraduate education stakeholders: national and institutional policy makers will value the broad range of up-to-date comparative case studies, while those at the coal-face – supervisors, support staff and students – will appreciate the many and varied renditions of postgraduate experiences at various ‘local’ sites. Key international and local authors combine in this edition to create a unique mix of global and local voices – some already well known, plus newer commentators. The chapters have been selected to provide a rich and nuanced balance of country and personal perspectives and experiences that explore and theorise contemporary concerns within the sector.