Postgraduate Students' Perceptions of Supervisor and Qualifications that is Sought in the Supervisor Selection

Abstract

In postgraduate education, the supervisor is a very important actor in terms of the quality of the education process. Therefore, how graduate students perceive supervisor is important in terms of the quality of the educational process. In this study, it was aimed to determine the postgraduate students’ perceptions of supervisor and qualifications sought in the selection of supervisor. It is thought that determining how the supervising faculty members are perceived by postgraduate students and what the criteria are for the selection of supervisors may contribute to the field in terms of understanding the student and supervisor relationship on an academic basis in postgraduate education. This research is a qualitative study. The phenomenological design was used in the study. 51 postgraduate students studying in various departments at Dicle University, Institute of Educational Sciences participated in the study in the 2017-2018 academic year. As the data collection tool, a semi-structured interview form was developed by the researchers and used in the study. According to research findings, the criteria that graduate students want to consider in the selection of supervisors are seen as “Having a good command of subject”, “Good communication skills”, “Guidance”, “Close to my field of interest”, “Openness to innovation”, “Having the knowledge of method”, “Entrepreneur”, and “Experienced”. The findings of this research can be used in supervisor training programs to be organized in the field of graduate education. Research can be conducted to examine the expectations of the supervisor from the graduate students.