Being a reflective supervisor: An Introduction to the UKCGE Good Supervisory Practice Framework

By Dr Joanna Royle, Researcher Development Manager.

Developing good practice as a doctoral supervisor is less like doing a jigsaw, and more like learning a musical instrument. Why this terrible analogy? Honestly, largely because I recently received both as Christmas gifts. But also, because there is definitely a superficial attractiveness in the idea of a ‘right’ way to supervise: that if one can just work out how to put together pieces to match the picture on the jigsaw box you will achieve it all: the doctoral candidate will grow intellectually and professionally, their thesis will come together, they’ll fly through their viva, and then move on in a timely way to the next stage of their brilliant career. 

I think we all know that this is never how it really works: each PGR-Supervisor relationship is more like learning to play different pieces of music, each with its own rhythms, tuning, intervals, melodies, cadences, and ornamentation. Nevertheless, there are shared underpinning fundamentals of musicology, and likewise of doctoral supervision.  

Scholarship on doctoral supervision is growing rapidly: a quick check of the University of Glasgow library yields 87K articles and books, 85% written in the last 20 years, without counting the burgeoning scholarly good practice in blogs such as Supervising PhDs. To keep up to date and critically engage with this pedagogy is difficult enough for scholars in the field and a superhuman ask for current and aspiring supervisors with an already full intellectual load. So, what to do? How is a keen supervisor committed to the scholarship, professional and career development, and welfare of their postgraduate researchers supposed to master the ‘musicology’? Is there a way to navigate a praxis, that is itself a whole emergent academic discipline, without feeling isolated and overwhelmed by the scale of the task?

These are the kinds of questions the UK Council for Graduate Education (UKCGE) were asking themselves, as they devised, piloted, and launched the now sector-leading model the Good Supervisory Practice Framework (GSPF). Created in 2019 by Prof Stan Taylor, it is the first comprehensive, internationally recognised, meta-scoping of the full range of highly complex and demanding roles that form Supervision. It explores Supervision over 10 aspects of practice, giving annotated bibliographies, practical examples and reflective prompts for each: and it is a superb resource and framework for getting to grips with this difficult job.

1. You want a leg up with recruiting and selecting doctoral candidates? That’s criteria 1, covering how to publicise yourself as a supervisor, recruit candidates from under-represented backgrounds, interview, and make decisions on whether proposals are realistic and whether applicants have potential to become independent researchers.
2. Looking to nuance your supervisory relationship with candidates? Criteria 2 is about negotiating mutual expectations and forming effective relationships with your researchers. It foregrounds awareness of different communication styles and needs, how these vary in an increasingly diverse doctoral population as well as over each doctoral journey, and how institutional policies and support outside the supervisory relationship can mitigate challenges.
3. Co-supervising, formally, or informally as a postdoc? Criteria 3 will get you onto a good footing with your colleagues. Clarifying mutual expectations of what the project will look like, who does what and to what time scale, and what mechanisms will be used for checking in, avoids placing the candidate as ’piggy in the middle’, unclear on what to expect.
4. Need candidates to better grasp the specialised nature of a doctoral research project? Criteria 4 explores how to help them handle thorny threshold concepts and research literacies – from theory and methods to integrity to occlude writing genres – that can be stumbling blocks to progress in the doctorate.
5. Or are your candidates reluctant to write or needing feedback?  Criteria 5 is for you. We know that writing and thinking are symbiotic, so getting them to write early and often is an integral part of the process. Giving regular feedback, and explaining how to use it, supports their progress towards mastery of disciplinary writing forms.
6. Seeking to keep researchers on track to timely completion? Criteria 6 is about monitoring and motivating progress, through constructive annual review and progression events and your ongoing encouragement, praise, and supply of stepping stones that support determination and avoid disengagement.
7. Want more confidence with supporting personal, professional and career development? The particular focus of Criteria 7 is pastoral and wellbeing support for your PGRs, but it also helps you think about stewarding researchers through your disciplinary community and supporting their long-term prospects both with and beyond academia.
8. Approaching the final hurdles of completion and viva? Criteria 8 has your back with ensuring the last stages of writing up are to doctoral standard, the practicalities of setting up thesis examination, and how to support candidates before and after viva.
9. Talking to candidates about publication and research dissemination? Criteria 9 will push you to set expectations and opportunities from the start, and plan dissemination through to post-viva. Failure to publish is often about being daunted by the process, so model and share the journey, including through your own examples, and enable co-publication where practical.
10. Turning inward to reflect on and enhance your own supervisory practice? The final criteria brings the framework together as a whole. Criteria 10 is about active and regular self-evaluation – what is going well in your supervision? What could be better?  How can you tell? It encourages you to use practical tools such as reflective journals, development workshops, and peer observations, and to share your expertise generously.

There is clearly wealth here for aspiring, new, and experienced supervisors alike, giving way markers into the good practice landscape without prescribing the journey; offering standards to work towards, and reassurance of existing expertise. Perhaps just as importantly, the UKCGE Good Supervisory Practice Framework is the foundation for professional recognition of your supervisory practice.

The UKCGE Recognised Supervisor Award (for those who have seen at least one PhD to completion) and the Recognised Associate Supervisor Award (for example for new co-supervisors or technicians or PDRAs who helps doctoral candidates) are the sector-leading awards for supervisory work. Achieving recognition gives a transferable certification of professional development and practice, which can be helpful for job applications and promotion.

If you are immediately turning off by the time needed to write a reflective application, let me try to lure you in with an opportunity! From February-September 2024 there is a Scotland-wide UKCGE writing group running fortnightly(ish) on Thursdays 09.30-11.00 (details in the link). It is a chance to chat to supervisors from other Unis about the ins and outs of supervision and to carve out time to do the ‘writing the application’ bit that is always so tricky to find. Each session is themed, so you are welcome to book for individual sessions but if you come to all of them you will have basically written your application.

Still not for you? Do you have a colleague, post-doctoral researcher, technician, or friend who might find it useful? Why not be a collegiate pal and send them an email with this blog post in it.