Supervision as if People Matter

The main point of a doctorate is the development of doctorateness in the researcher, preparing the doctoral researchers so that they are able to promote, within academic and professional contexts, social, technological or cultural advancement in a knowledge-based society. During the intellectually, physically, and emotionally challenging and unsettling doctoral process the doctoral researcher is working at the boundaries of knowledge of the chosen subject, whilst also trying to navigate and decipher the organisational context of academia. Experiences of liminality, the process of neither being who you once were nor the person you will become, are recurrent during the doctoral process. Even though liminality can be unsettling, it can also be a precursor to a trans¬formative breakthrough moments essential for progress and fundamental changes in self-image and worldview, both vital in the process of ‘becoming’ a researcher (Dowle, 2022). Research shows that a good doctoral researcher-supervisor relationship is crucial for the doctoral researcher’s wellbeing and development into an independent researcher. In our chapter we discuss doctoral supervision from a relational perspective. In contrast to drive or developmental arrest theories, the relational perspective sees the person as continually motivated by the need for relationship and an active participant in shaping the interna consequences of externa experience (Mitchell, 1988). We give examples of innovative, evidence-based practices to inspire the reader on how to empower your doctoral researchers and be empowered yourself in the process as if people matter (Denicolo, Duke & Reeves, 2020).