Presentation at the Postgraduate Supervision Conference held at Spier, Stellenbosch, South Africa, 24-27 March 2015

1. When silence is (not) golden:
an evaluation of policy frameworks for
PhD supervision in an ODL context
By Paul Prinsloo
Research Professor, Department of Business Management,
University of South Africa (Unisa)
&
Jeanette Maritz (Prof)
Department of Health Studies
University of South Africa (Unisa)

2. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We do not own the copyright of any of the images in this presentation. We
hereby acknowledge the original copyright and licensing regime of every
image and reference used. All the images used in this presentation have been
sourced from Google labeled for non-commercial reuse
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
4.0 International License

3. Overview of the presentation
1. Positioning ourselves
2. Disclaimer: what this is and what this is not…
3. Points of departure – how we saw the process
4. Understanding supervision from a Bourdieusian
perspective: supervision as ‘wicked’ problem
5. The purpose and nature of policy 101
6. Contesting discourses in policy
7. The case study, analysis and findings
8. (In)conclusions

4. Positioning
Imagecredit:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:You_are_here_-
_street_sign.jpg
ourselves(1)

5. Follower of Jheronimus Bosch, c.1600 - c.1620 Image credit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival_in_the_Netherlands#/media/File:Follower_of_Jheronimus_Bosch_005.jpg
We see our roles as the carnival clown “who in the blasphemous hilarity of
the carnival could comment on sacred and profane structures, beliefs and
institutions. The fool also translated the untranslatable, commented on the
incommensurable and often provided a new vocabulary or language for
engaging with the serious and often traumatic of everyday-life. Nothing
was sacred. Everything was”
(Prinsloo, 2009, p. 430)

6. “And the presiding spirit of blasphemy finds its quintessential
expression in the ritual of the mock crowning and subsequent de-
crowning of the carnival king – who is the very antithesis of a real
king, since he [sic] is in fact often a slave or a jester. In short,
everything is topsy-turvy, and the disarray thus engenders an
uproarious kind of laughter” (Scott, 1986, p. 6).
Details Pieter Bruegel, 1559 – Image credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival

7. Positioning ourselves (2)
• A practical, critical hermeneutical (Schwandt, 2002, 2005)
approach acknowledges that “…interpretation is not something
that I (the epistemological ego) do, but something that I am
involved in” (Gallagar, 1992, in Schwandt 2005, p. 81; italics in the
original)
• “A critical insight here is the knower does not stand as a solitary,
subjective spectator over and against a self-contained, self-
enclosed object, rather there is a dynamic interaction or
transaction between that which is to be known and the knower
who participates in it”(Schwandt, 2005, p. 82; italics added)
• Our questioning was therefore not unidirectional or monological;
but rather reflective or dialogical

8. Disclaimer – what this is and what this is not…
• This is a case study – nothing more, nothing less
• As such the evidence we present is not generalisable to other
higher education institutions
• Case studies are, however, generalisable to theoretical
positions and empirical research done in other contexts (eg
Yin, 2009)
• The analysis confirms that policy frameworks and procedure
documents mostly underestimate the complexities of
postgraduate supervision

9. Points of departure…
• Supervision as a ‘wicked problem’ or ‘wicked
space’
• We see policies as ideological, “infiltrated with
power and forces that are formerly considered
extraneous” (Demetrio 2001)
• We don’t judge on the ‘truth’ of policies, but
rather try to understand the possibilities or
non-possibilities existing in the policies and
frameworks on supervision
• We see policy processes and documents as a
“struggle between contenders of competing
objectives, where language – or more
specifically, discourse – is used tactically” (in
Taylor, 1997, p. 26; emphasis added)
Image credit:
http://www.truckinginfo.com/art
icle/story/2013/02/the-art-
science-of-routing.aspx

10. Image credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_soccer
Understanding supervision as field ala Bourdieu…
• Boundaried site
• Players are selected
• Players have set/
predetermined positions
• Rules are predetermined
and taken for granted (doxa)
• Players have different skills/
responsibilities
• What players can do is inter
alia determined by their
position on the field/rules
• The physical condition of the
field impacts play

11. Supervisor: Dispositions, capital & agency
Student : Dispositions, capital & agency
Discipline
Metanarrativesin
disciplines/hierarchiesof
power…
Institution
College/school/departm
ents–hierarchiesof
power
SHAPING CONDITIONS: (predictable as well as uncertain)
SHAPING CONDITIONS: (predictable as well as uncertain)
Image credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_soccer

12. “A wicked problem is a social or cultural problem that
is difficult or impossible to solve for as many as four
reasons: incomplete or contradictory knowledge, the
number of people and opinions involved, the large
economic burden, and the interconnected nature of
these problems with other problems”
Kolko, 2012
http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/wicked_problems_problems_wort
h_solving
Also see the Cynefin framework by Dave Snowden
Supervision as wicked problem…

13. Image credit:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Massimo_Busacca,_
Referee,_Switzerland_(10).jpg
“The purpose of
policy … is to shape
and order practice,
and evidence is one
of the ways it finds
of doing so”
Freeman, Griggs, & Boaz,
2011, pp. 127-136, emphasis
added
The purpose of policy

14. Policy-as-struggle (Taylor, 1997)
Discourse A
Discourse D Discourse C
Discourse B
Educational apparatus

15. Image credit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hast
ings_reenactment
Policy formulation, development and
implementation as serious business where
different discourses compete…
Image credit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_soccer

16. Some contesting discourses in higher education
Policies &
frameworks
re
supervision
Increasing efficiency
and cost-effectiveness
(Altbach, 1999;
Altbach, Reisberg &
Rumbley, 2009)
Managerialism and higher
education’s quantification
fetish (Morozov, 2013)
Understandings and
functionings of “evidence” –
why what works does not
work - Biesta (2007, 2010 )
Epistemologies/ontologies
– knowledge, tribes and
knowers (eg. Maton, 2015)
Dominant discourse of “societies
of control” (Deleuze, 1992, p. 4)
“data-driven improvement and
accountability” (Hargreaves and
Braun, 2013)
“doing more with less. Funding
follows performance rather than
precedes it” (Hartley, 1995, p. 414)
Rampant neoliberalism (Giroux,
2003)

17. Supervision as
wicked
space/proble
m
The purpose,
scope and
development
of policy
A policy analysis – what is said and not said and what
does it mean/signify? (The scope and role of silence)
How does the policy environment @ Unisa address
supervision?

18. Documents that could/should speak to/about
supervision:
• Tuition Policy
• Assessment Policy
• Research and Innovation Policy
• Policy for Master’s and Doctoral Degrees
• [Procedure for Master’s and Doctoral Degrees]
Cae study: An overview of the Unisa policy
framework

19. Content analysis: What is there? Policy for Master’s and
Doctoral Degrees
Content Code
Structures and arrangements for
M&D’s (Senate, committees)
Procedural
Ethical conduct and clearance Procedural
Application and Admission Procedural
Registration Proposal module - [UNISA will attempt to
appoint supervisors for this module]
Thesis/Dissertation - [..strive to
maintain capacity… to support
Provide a context for high quality research]
Assessment Procedural
Complains and appeals Procedural

20. Content analysis: What is there? Procedure for
Master’s and Doctoral Degrees
Content Code
Information prior to registration Procedural
Application and Admission Procedural
Registration Procedural
General provisions: [28 points] See slide
Academic standards Procedural according to HEQSF
Intellectual property Legal
Research proposal Procedural
Ethical clearance, technical requirements
of the thesis, assessment, submission,
examination
Technical
Procedural
Graduating and reporting on matters Procedural

21. Procedure
Technical
Relational
Criteria
Planning
Feedback
Supervisor/co-supervisor
Policy and guidelines: Analysis/themes –
supervisor/co-supervisor

22. Procedure
Technical
Relational
Accountability
Student
Policy and guidelines: Analysis/themes – student

23. Summary of analysis/findings
• None of the Tuition, Assessment and Research and Innovation
Policies deal with postgraduate supervision pedagogy, issues,
processes and relationships
• The Policy for Masters’ and Doctorate degrees and deal
primarily and overwhelmingly with procedures and technical
issues (and then there is the Procedure document…)
• Planning, criteria and feedback are only dealt with in relation
to supervisors and co-supervisors
• Issues pertaining to accountability are more important with
regard to students than to supervisors

24. To what extent does the Unisa policy and procedure
frameworks take cognisance of the richness and
‘wickedness’ of the supervisory process?
vs

25. If I was from another planet, would I have been able
to understand supervision as ‘wicked problem’ by
reading the Policy and procedures?
Image credit:
http://www.fangirlconfessions.com/2012/10
/new-star-wars-trilogy-is-coming-but-are-we-
ready/
Image credit:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Massim
o_Busacca,_Referee,_Switzerland_(10).jpg

26. (In)conclusions (1): What was covered & (un)covered?
What does it mean/signify? What have we learnt?
Covered (Un)covered (Silence)
Procedures & technical + The complexities of supervision and the
‘wickedness’ of the process
Relationships, feedback, &
accountability ±
The responsibility of the institution to
provide an enabling environment for both
supervisors and students
Reduced supervision to lists of bulleted
points
Supervision as, at least, a tripartite
relationship – students, supervisors and
the institution
An understanding of the asymmetrical
relationships between student-supervisor,
student-discipline, supervisor-discipline,
supervisor-department/institution

27. (In)conclusions (2)
In this presentation we saw our roles as the carnival clown “who
in the blasphemous hilarity of the carnival could comment on
sacred and profane structures, beliefs and institutions. The fool
also translated the untranslatable, commented on the
incommensurable and often provided a new vocabulary or
language for engaging with the serious and often traumatic of
everyday-life. Nothing was sacred. Everything was”
(Prinsloo, 2009, p. 430)
Follower of Jheronimus Bosch, c.1600 - c.1620 Image credit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival_in_the_Netherlands#/media/File:Follower_of_Jheronimus_Bosch_00
5.jpg

28. Paul Prinsloo
Research Professor in Open Distance Learning
Department of Business Management
College of Economic and Management
Sciences
Office number 3-15, Club 1, Hazelwood
P O Box 392
Unisa, 0003, Republic of South Africa
+27 (0) 12 433 4719 (office)
+27 (0) 82 3954 113 (mobile)
Skype: paul.prinsloo59
Personal blog:
http://opendistanceteachingandlearning.wordpr
ess.com
Twitter profile: @14prinsp
THANK YOU
Jeanette Maritz (Prof)
Department of Health Studies
College of Human Sciences
Office number 7-176
Theo van Wijk Building
P O Box 392
Unisa, 0003, Republic of South Africa
+27 (0) 12 429 6534(office)
Personal blog:
http://maritzblog.wordpress.com
Twitter profile:
@JeanetteMaritz