TY - JOUR
T1 - Sensemaking in supervisor-doctoral student relationships
T2 - revealing schemas on the fulfillment of basic psychological needs
AU - Janssen, Suzanne
AU - van Vuuren, Mark
AU - de Jong, Menno D.T.
N1 - Taylor & Francis deal
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Mentoring relationships between research supervisors and doctoral students play a key role in doctoral students’ success. Self-determination theory assumes that the quality of these relationships can be defined in terms of fulfillment of students’ basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Studies on how supervisors and students build need-supportive relationships are, however, lacking. Taking a schema-based perspective, this article investigates supervisors’ and doctoral students’ (mis)alignments in schemas on how to fulfill students’ basic needs in their relationship. Qualitative data were obtained from a sample of 18 interviews (nine dyads) to reveal the schema-driven sensemaking of students and their supervisors. Findings show that the idea of schema similarity might be too simple: For each of the three basic needs, tensions arise between students’ and supervisors’ schemas. These need-based schemas in action offer a fresh perspective for understanding why some supervisor-doctoral student relationships are experienced as successful while others are not.
AB - Mentoring relationships between research supervisors and doctoral students play a key role in doctoral students’ success. Self-determination theory assumes that the quality of these relationships can be defined in terms of fulfillment of students’ basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Studies on how supervisors and students build need-supportive relationships are, however, lacking. Taking a schema-based perspective, this article investigates supervisors’ and doctoral students’ (mis)alignments in schemas on how to fulfill students’ basic needs in their relationship. Qualitative data were obtained from a sample of 18 interviews (nine dyads) to reveal the schema-driven sensemaking of students and their supervisors. Findings show that the idea of schema similarity might be too simple: For each of the three basic needs, tensions arise between students’ and supervisors’ schemas. These need-based schemas in action offer a fresh perspective for understanding why some supervisor-doctoral student relationships are experienced as successful while others are not.
KW - UT-Hybrid-D
KW - Doctoral education
KW - Mentoring schema theory
KW - Self-determination theory
KW - Sensemaking
KW - Basic needs
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85089658963&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/03075079.2020.1804850
DO - 10.1080/03075079.2020.1804850
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85089658963
SN - 0307-5079
VL - 46
SP - 2738
EP - 2750
JO - Studies in higher education
JF - Studies in higher education
IS - 12
ER -