Supervising International Candidates

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• Supervising International Candidates
• Margaret KileyCEDAM
• Margaret.kiley_at_anu.edu.au

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Take home messages

• Each candidate/supervisor relationship is unique,
  therefore, there is no one right way to
  supervise, however, there are characteristics of
  the ideal supervisormainly the affective
• Clarifying expectations and developing
  communication are probably the most important
  aspects of the candidate/ supervisory
  relationship, especially with international
  students
• Supervision is a form of teaching (complex,
  sophisticated, and often challenging) but none
  the less, teaching
• Supervisors are critical components of a
  universitys provision of research supervision,
  but not the only component and this is
  particularly important with international
  candidates

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Have you ever

• Been in another country where you thought you
  spoke the language but discover that you dont
  understand a word thats being said?
• Been in a new environment where everyone else
  seems to be getting it and you are not?
• Felt that if you work 16 hours a day you can get
  through everything?

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Three stages of candidature Getting started
(first six months)

• Homesickness and culture shock especially where
  spouse/children are still home
• The realisation that English, which they were
  competent in back home, doesnt help with the
  local accent and colloquialisms
• Possible gaps in background knowledge a feeling
  of being stupid/incompetent when perhaps
  considered very capable at home
• Housing and social problems
• Difficulty fitting into student life particularly
  if coming from a reasonably senior professional
  position at home

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Research suggests

• Most of these problems get sorted out over time
  and often by someone other than the supervisor
• Critical challenge for supervisorsto ensure that
  candidates realise that there is a whole
  university (and maybe cultural community) out
  there who can help them (but many candidates
  dont understand that
• The Mother/Father concept of respect

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Research suggests that

• Recognising that "many of the difficulties
  international students experience in their study
  derive not from 'poor English' (though lack of
  language competence is, in many cases, a real
  problem) but from a clash of educational
  cultures." (p. viii)
• Mutual reaction of staff and overseas students
  caused by Time pressure Confusion
  Frustration (resentment) for both (p.3)

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Ballard and Clanchy (cont)

• Staff and students come to University with
  "expectations, knowledge and behaviours based on
  previous learning and experience." (p. 9)
• "The most significant difference, however, is not
  the lack of resources nor the issue of a foreign
  language but the nature of the educational system
  itself" (p.10)

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Dawson Conti-Beckers suggest

• That one of the negative consequences of
  students difficulty in negotiating the shift to
  postgraduate study is the undermining of
  confidence in the validity of their prior
  learning and even their culture which might have
  very strong and lengthy educational traditions
• This is particularly unfortunate because it is
  always through reference to prior knowledge that
  learners process new knowledge

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Case Study

• You have a case study related to an international
  research candidate
• In your groups work through each each of the
  stages and discuss

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Brain Refresher (Quick stretch)

• 5 minutes

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Getting started Suggestions

• Expectation Scale
• One means of highlighting expectations of both
  candidate and supervisor
• Memorandum of Understanding
• Helpful for even just discussing the aspects of
  supervision without necessarily turning it into
  an MoU
• Learning needs analysis
• To assist students identify strengths that they
  bring to their candidature and where they need to
  develop new skills and knowledge

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Expectations

• Expectation scale
• In pairs, one act as the supervisor and the
  other act as the candidate.
• Read and decide where you fit on the scale for
  each of the points
• Discuss with your supervisor/candidate and then
  discuss with the group.
• PS there are no right or wrong answers

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Memorandum of Understanding

• Recognising that many candidates, especially some
  international candidates, might find it very
  difficult to share the discussion of these
  points
• Is it possible that something like this would
  work in your department?
• What would you need to add to make it useful for
  you and your situation?

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Learning Plan

• Some people prefer to put the focus on the
  candidates learning (rather than some of the
  more administrative matters)
• Using the outline your folder, how might you use
  something like this with your candidates?
• Its probably a good idea to start with what the
  candidate brings to their learning and then look
  at where they might need to develop
• Most will need help in the early stages working
  out actually what they might need to learn first
  up.

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A few more suggestions

• International candidates generally feel time
  pressures much more acutely than domestic
  candidates and so establishing realistic
  timelines is even more critical than with
  domestic candidates
• Try to recognise the cultural roots of what may
  at first appear perverse or simply inadequate
  learning habits
• Consider explicitly explaining the styles of
  learning/research which are more common in local
  conditions (without denigrating previous learning
  that has got them this far)
• Model examples of the styles of thinking and
  analysis to be cultivated e.g. thinking out loud
  and
• Provide models of effective work of others

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Research suggests that

• Students can have at least two problems speaking
  in groups
• the actual language and
• their belief in whether it is a 'good' (virtuous)
  thing to do or not.
• International students need three groups of
  friends to be successful in their new
  environment
• From the same language and culture when there are
  emotional/personal issues and a need to relax
• From other international language and cultural
  groups for socialising and sharing common
  problems with settling in coping with all the
  oddities of the new environment
• Localsto learn how it is done in the new
  environment, e.g. interacting with supervisors

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Communication Techniques

• In groups, discuss techniques that you have used,
  your supervisor used, or you know from others
  that have helped communication e.g.
• Agendas for, and Notes from, individual and panel
  meetings, especially for international students
  who might be so nervous that they are not taking
  it in
• Email/web-based discussion
• Group meetings (with different candidates getting
  practice at chairing, noting etc)
• Regular meeting times/Open-door policy/Meetings
  as needed
• Reading and/or writing groupsand learning how to
  take the lead over time

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Feedback on work

• Establishing the purpose of feedback, how it
  might be given, and by whom, is a critical aspect
  of the relationship, especially with
  international candidates
• What makes for useful feedback, particularly for
  international candidates
• Where does feedback on written language fit?
• What is timely feedback, particularly for
  international candidates who might feel they have
  very limited time?
• Who might be in the best position to provide
  particular forms of feedback?
• How can you help candidates appreciate the need
  for different types of feedback?

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Stage 2 of candidature

• The research suggests that candidates who manage
  the get through the first stage and develop
  competence generally encounter many of the same
  problems that domestic candidates experience with
  their research
• Getting to that stage is the issueand then going
  home

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Stage 3 Finishing and going home

• For many candidates the experience of finishing
  and going home can be even more difficult than
  their arrival
• Children and spouse have settled and become used
  to the new culture, food, education system
• Depending on the returning country fitting back
  into work can be an issue
• Depending on the discipline availability of
  research facilities and funding can be an issue
• Fitting in on return can take longer than on
  arrival!

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Web Resources

• Research Supervision _at_ ANU http//www.anu.edu.au/c
  edam/researchsuper
• Papers from all eight biennial Quality in
  Postgraduate Research conferences
  http//qpr.edu.au - especially the first few
  conferences had a strong emphasis on
  international students
• Consortium For Improving Research Supervision
  Training (fIRST) http//www.first.edu.au
• Australian Deans and Directors of Graduate
  Studies http//www.ddogs.edu.au/cgi-bin/index.pl
• SORTI web site at the University of Newcastle has
  information on examining theses particularly in
  the performing/ visual arts http//www.newcastle.e
  du.au/centre/sorti/publications.html

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Take home messages

• Each candidate/supervisor relationship is unique,
  therefore, there is no one right way to
  supervise, however, there are characteristics of
  the ideal supervisormainly the affective
• Clarifying expectations and developing
  communication are probably the most important
  aspects of the candidate/ supervisory
  relationship, especially with international
  students
• Supervision is a form of teaching (complex,
  sophisticated, and often challenging) but none
  the less, teaching
• Supervisors are critical components of a
  universitys provision of research supervision,
  but not the only component and this is
  particularly important with international
  candidates

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References

• Ballard, B. Clanchy, J. (1997). Teaching
  international students A brief guide for
  lecturers and supervisors. IDP Education,
  Canberra
• Dawson, J. Conti-Beckers, G. (2002) Supporting
  International students transition to university.
  Teaching and learning Forum http//www.ecu.edu.au/
  conferences/tlf/2002/pub/docs/Dawson.pdf.
• Kiley, M. (2000). Providing timely and
  appropriate support for international
  postgraduate students. In G. Wisker (Ed.), Good
  practice working with international students (pp.
  89-108). Birmingham SEDA
• Kiley, M. (2003). Conserver, Strategist or
  Transformer The experiences of postgraduate
  student sojourners. Teaching in Higher Education,
  8(3), 345-356

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