Prof. Sammy Kipkemboi Chumba writes on the importance of supportive supervision in doctoral education, emphasizing understanding diverse student backgrounds and integrating best practices from global training programs to foster effective and humane academic mentorship. He draws on his own upbringing and challenges to show the importance of these issues in hopes to pave a better way forward.
I was born to illiterate Kenyan parents in the early 1970’s, a few years after Kenya gained independence from the Britain. I was the last born in our family and I was lucky to be taken care of by all my siblings. I enjoyed the humanity in their tender care. My early education in primary and secondary schools was challenging financially since most of the resources had been spent on my elder siblings. I started my education journey in primary school which was a few kilometers away and excelled so I was able to proceed to secondary education at a boarding school far away from home. There were times I would miss basic needs and lack school fees. My siblings would encourage me not to give up but to soldier on. My teachers were very understanding and they were able to agree with my parents on how to stagger the fee payment in order to keep me in school. The timelines set were always honored by my parents and this motivated me to work hard and focus on higher levels of education.
My potential for academic achievement began when I passed my secondary examinations and was admitted to University to pursue a Bachelor of Education Science degree specializing in Mathematics and Chemistry. I got a government job to teach in a secondary school immediately after graduation. I had a passion to proceed with a Master’s in Mathematics but lacked the opportunities to have a study leave or a scholarship. The employment policies then did not allow one to take study leave for Master’s in the subject areas but allowed study leave on professional courses. This slowed me as I sought out alternatives. In the meantime, I was promoted to be principal of a secondary school where I served and my passion changed to school leadership. This motivated me to pursue a Masters degree in Education in Educational Administration. At this time, I had not thought of going beyond Masters. I was just aligning my qualifications to suit future considerations in government appointments and promotions. I served as a principal and rose to senior principal in secondary school and developed an urge of serving in a different environment. I applied for a part-time Tutorial fellow at Moi University, Kenya. Here, I interacted with senior staff and professors who encouraged me to enroll for my PhD. I was considered for full-time tutorial fellow and this enabled me to transfer my services permanently to Moi University and enrolled for my PhD in Educational Administration. I graduated with a PhD and taught and examined both undergraduate and Postgraduate students. This earned me a promotion to an associate Professor in Educational Management and Policy of Moi University.
Students Background and Institutional Context
In this section, I will present an overview of the background of the students admitted into doctoral studies and the review of the Institutional practices encountered as a PhD student and as a supervisor at Moi University, Kenya
Students Background
The majority of the students in Moi University are Kenyans with a few from East African Countries. Most students are fluent in spoken and written English language except a few from French-speaking countries. Thus, with this diversity, some supervisors may have difficulty with inclusivity in the medium of instruction. I have found it useful to know the type of students you have in order to address the challenges they possess. Doctoral students are enrolled in either full-time or part-time academic programs. The full-time students are expected to complete within a shorter period of time as compared to the part-time students. Most Doctoral students are engaged in full-time jobs. Having this in mind as a supervisor the programs and lectures must be structured to accommodate their various schedules.
I have noted that the postgraduate research experience is critical in both the teaching and supervision process. As a supervisor, it is important to understand and appreciate the diverse experiences of Doctoral students. Most students prefer to use the research designs they used while doing their master’s degrees. For example, students who adopt quantitative research designs will be comfortable carrying on with these designs. Likewise, to those who chose qualitative and mixed methods designs.
Having served as a secondary school teacher and principal, I learned to accommodate people with diverse backgrounds. My humble beginning too enables me to engage with the students in a humane way especially when I supervise students with economic and social challenges.
Institutional Context
The Doctor of Philosophy degree programme in Kenya focuses on producing scientist practitioners who are mainly engaged in generating knowledge through research and teaching. Other doctoral degree programs are practice-oriented and focuses on producing practitioner scholars who are engaged mainly in consuming knowledge, practice and active research. With the growing number of enrollments into these programs there is a serious deficiency in supervision for PhD candidates. To qualify as supervisor for a PhD student, a member of staff must have a PhD or equivalent qualification, and shall normally be at the level of Senior Lecturer and above.
As one of the supervisors, I familiarized myself with the regulations governing postgraduate programs and supervision. I noted that supervisors were appointed and were never trained on how to provide supervision. The training I went through at Nelson Mandela University on Academic Supervision and Support and at the University of Oldenburg in Germany on Advancing Education Research and Management came in handy to me. I was able to borrow much from PhD mentorship and coaching. Effective mentorship creates a collaborative and enriching experience for both the student and the supervisor, contributing to the overall success of the thesis project and the student’s academic and professional development. Likewise, coaching enables students to develop self-discovery skills and set achievable goals.
Learning from Best Practices in Doctoral supervision
When I was assigned my first PhD student, I had to find the right balance to ensure that work
time is shared among the different engagements I had at the university. The students were also busy with their own job-related responsibilities. As earlier indicated, I had the experience of working and studying at the same time. Thus, I had to accommodate them and create extra time out of working hours. There were students who would not find time during weekdays, these category of students were only available over the weekend.
Over time I have learnt that one should not set expectations based on one’s own accomplishments. My background in leadership informed me that people are different. Therefore, set the expectations at a more modest level putting into consideration the diversity of the students in terms of their social, economic, and research methodological orientation. Visiting unrealistic expectations on your PhD student is a recipe for unhappiness, disappointment, and confusion.
I have come to learn that for one to be an effective supervisor, one has to be patient, supportive, and demanding at the same time. This can also be done effectively through group support initiated by the supervisor and encouraging peer support that is student-driven. It is worth noting that another best practice in supervision entails regular progress reviews, such as regular supervisor-student meetings, keeping progress reports, and timely feedback to students.
The CREST Online Training Course for Doctoral Supervisors at African Universities had an important impact on my work. The topics covered such as the context and challenges related to doctoral education at African universities, the nature of the doctoral qualification, the relationship between the doctoral candidate and the supervisor, models of supervision and the guidance that the supervisor must give to a doctoral candidate throughout the doctoral process polished my supervision skills and placed me at high regard of mentoring other staff in my university.
In conclusion, supervision is learned and it becomes more effective with experience. It is more interesting when it is humanized since it creates an open and supportive environment where the student feels comfortable approaching the supervisor with questions or concerns. One should be approachable and responsive to emails or requests for meetings. Humanized supervision further acknowledges and celebrates achievements, no matter how small. Positive reinforcement can motivate the student and help maintain enthusiasm for the thesis project. One’s background plays a pivotal role in the process. Students and institutional contexts must be considered for best practices to be realized.
Prof. Sammy Kipkemboi Chumba
Holder of PhD in Educational management and Policy Studies
