Effective supervision of doctoral students in public andpopulation health in Africa: CARTA supervisors’ experiences,challenges and perceived opportunities
Loading...
Date
2022
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Global Public Health
Abstract
The quality and success of postgraduate education largely rely on effective supervision. Since its inception in 2008, the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA) has been at the fore front of providing training to both students and supervisors in the field of public and population health. However, there are few studies on supervisors’ perceptions on effective doctoral supervision. We used a mostly descriptive study design to report CARTA-affiliated doctoral supervisors’ reflections and perceptions on doctoral supervision, challenges and opportunities. A total of 77 out of 160 CARTA supervisors’ workshop participants responded to the evaluation. The respondents were affiliated with 10 institutions across Africa. The respondents remarked that effective supervision is a two-way process, involving both supervisor and supervisee’s commitment. Some reported that the requirements for effective supervision included the calibre of the PhD students, structure of the PhD programme, access to research infrastructure and resources, supervision training, multi disciplinary exposure and support. Male supervisors have significantly higher number of self-reported PhD graduates and published articles on Scopus but no difference from the females in h-index. We note both student and systemic challenges that training institutions may pursue to improve doctoral supervision in Africa
Description
Jounal Article
Keywords
CARTA, doctoral training, effective supervision, supervisor training, Africa
Citation
Igumbor, J. O., Bosire, E. N., Karimi, F. K., Katahoire, A., Allison, J., Muula, A. S., Peixoto, A., Otwombe, Kennedy., Gitau, Evelyn., Bondjers, G., Fonn, S., & Ajuwon, A. (2022). Effective supervision of doctoral students in public andpopulation health in Africa: CARTA supervisors’ experiences,challenges and perceived opportunities. Global Public Health