Supervision in the knowledge economy

Investment in education increases earning potential for the individual. In the United Kingdom it has been calculated that a degree is worth more than A$1 million over a lifetime's work and income. However, the calculations are based on people currently 60 years old (or older) who were likely to have gone through university when only 7 percent of the population participated in tertiary education. Now that enrolment rates are nearer 30 percent in many countries, an undergraduate degree alone is unlikely to result in the same economic advantages. Recent media reports suggest that a Bachelor of Arts degree now will qualify a student to do the same type of job that would have been done in the 1970s by people with no school qualification. There is also a positive relationship between economic development and research capability within a workforce. It would follow that an increase in the research capacity of the country results in economic development---and the same should be true for the individual. For those in the workforce the professional doctorate can appear to be the ideal way to fulfil the double goal of education and research literacy. However, analysis of completion rates suggests that the very type of candidate attracted to a professional doctorate is that most at risk of non-completion of the degree. Part time and mature candidates are less likely to complete than young, full-time candidates moving into higher degrees from an honours undergraduate degree. The traditional PhD is fraught with concerns about the emotional journey of being engaged in doctoral work, and in becoming 'the other'. Research on the delicate balance between supervisor and candidate, and the impact of the supervisor's own doctoral experience particularly with reference to supervisory practice, has highlighted the complexities surrounding doctoral journeys and supervision. When we take into account the changing context within which higher education operates, the space for supervision is seen to be under threat. As funding is now being given in many countries on the basis of completion within a designated time frame, it behoves the academy to develop ways of assisting the new type of candidate to successful completion. Our challenge is to maximise enrolments, minimise attrition, and maximise progression without foregoing rigour. This chapter considers implications for management of candidates and training of research supervisors.