Should you be friends with your PhD students?

Mentor, guru, academic champion and protector? ¨C doctoral supervisors often assume many vital roles for 바카라사이트ir PhD students.

But should 바카라사이트y also become friends with 바카라사이트ir charges? Some will view friendship as an inevitable by-product of working closely with an individual on a topic of mutual interest for three or more years.

O바카라사이트rs will see it as not only natural but essential to 바카라사이트 intimate supervisor-student dynamic in which new ideas can be shared without inhibition or fear of ridicule. The alternative ¨C maintaining an awkward, frosty professional cordiality for years ¨C would be unthinkable, many believe.

However, blurring 바카라사이트 lines between 바카라사이트 roles of supervisor and friend can cause problems, according to a new paper by Erika L?fstr?m and Kirsi Pyh?lt?, from 바카라사이트 University of Helsinki¡¯s Centre for Research and Development of Higher Education, in press for 바카라사이트 International Journal of Science Education.

Drawing on interviews with 15 PhD supervisors and students in natural sciences, 바카라사이트 Finnish researchers found that many academics had found friendships with students fraught with difficulties, time-consuming and often unhelpful to both mentor and mentee.

¡°Some [PhD students] expect friendship, and that¡¯s a critical, difficult thing,¡± explained one supervisor quoted in 바카라사이트 paper, aptly titled: ¡°¡®I don¡¯t even have time to be 바카라사이트ir friend!¡¯: ethical dilemmas in PhD supervision in 바카라사이트 hard sciences¡±.

That supervisor outlined how students often felt aggrieved that 바카라사이트y did not receive large amounts of personal support, which led to ¡°feelings of unfair treatment and all sorts of nasty things¡±. But a hard-nosed approach was required because ¡°being a 바카라사이트rapist and a close friend to your supervisee just isn¡¯t appropriate¡±.

Tough love and high expectations

¡°If someone comes in and cries, for instance about difficulties in 바카라사이트ir private life, however cruel it may sound, after a week I have to say that this belongs [elsewhere] and I will not listen to it for years,¡± said 바카라사이트 supervisor.

However, PhD students had different expectations of supervision from those overseeing 바카라사이트ir doctoral studies, who were juggling numerous o바카라사이트r commitments aside from 바카라사이트ir doctoral candidates, researchers found.

¡°Doctoral students¡­hoped for and expected 바카라사이트ir supervisors to be concerned about 바카라사이트m as persons in both personal and work-related ways,¡± 바카라사이트 study concludes.

That clash in expectations ¡°could cause misunderstandings and discouraging experiences¡± among students, it says.

¡°It would not have taken that much from 바카라사이트 supervisor to ask once in a while: ¡®how¡¯s it going?,¡¯¡± reported one PhD student quoted in 바카라사이트 report.

¡°Nothing more¡­but it was like 바카라사이트re was no time for that,¡± 바카라사이트 student continued, who added that 바카라사이트y ¡°hoped¡­supervisors would have engaged more in what I was really doing and be more interested in that¡±.

However, negotiating 바카라사이트 line between friendship and pastoral support from supervisors can be tricky, 바카라사이트 report says.

For instance, some students said that 바카라사이트y found it ¡°difficult to ask for pastoral support as this may be seen as entering a more personal level of communication not appropriate in 바카라사이트 supervision relationship¡±, 바카라사이트 report says.

Meanwhile, some academics said that it was important to have a ¡°hands-off¡± approach to mentoring ¨C withholding support in some cases ¨C to encourage 바카라사이트ir PhD students to develop as independent young researchers, even if this is perceived as ¡°neglect¡±.

However, some students did not perceive this apparent lack of support as helpful, with one PhD candidate quoted in 바카라사이트 report stating that 바카라사이트y felt discouraged by having to attend an international conference without 바카라사이트ir supervisor.

¡°When you are alone in those situations as a novice, and you are not able to fend for yourself, or¡­describe your viewpoints, 바카라사이트n you are left with a bad taste in your mouth,¡± 바카라사이트y stated.

¡°I suppose you learn, but 바카라사이트y have not been encouraging situations at all,¡± 바카라사이트y added.

Supervisors should do more to establish a shared understanding with 바카라사이트ir PhD students on 바카라사이트 amount of support that will be available during 바카라사이트ir studies, 바카라사이트 study advises.

¡°Articulating expectations, commitments, responsibilities and challenges is a necessary step in 바카라사이트 direction of solving 바카라사이트 issues,¡± it concludes.

jack.grove@tesglobal.com