Exploring the doctoral journey and good supervisorial practice

Abstract

Drawing from my own doctoral journey, this paper examines some key challenges facing doctoral students and what they mean for good supervisorial practice. These include high levels of pressure and uncertainty, resulting in often strong unmet emotional needs made visible through feelings of imposter syndrome. These challenges can be manifested in writing, in part because writing is complex, involving a writing-into-being of the professional self and authorial voice. These kinds of challenges appear to be commonplace in the doctoral journey, indicating that good supervisorial practice must account for students’ different contexts and relationships to their current and emerging professional identities.