The pedagogies of becoming: The case of supervisor-supervisee interactions in a Masters of Professional Practice Programme in New Zealand

Abstract

The guiding research question of this study was: How do a supervisor and supervisee construct a sense of belonging in their community of practice? In order to answer this question, the researcher used an ethnographic approach (Wolcott, 1994) to examine the interactions of the supervisor with his supervisees. I had multiple incidental encounters with the supervisor from March 2016 to October 2017, and interviewed him once formally. I took field notes as I observed him interact with his supervisees including the focal student in this study from March 2017 to June 2017 approximately four times a week from one to two hours per day. I then focused on one particular supervisee and interviewed him twice about his experience. Then I checked my interpretations with the supervisor and that supervisee. The interviews were semi-structured initially but became open ended as the participants chose to discuss the relevant topics about their experience. The interviews were recorded using a digital recorder and then they were transcribed. Transcriptions were checked with the participants for accuracy. The data were analysed using discourse analytic methods (Gee, 2013). The researcher’s observation notes were reviewed multiple times. Then, the interviews and the observation notes were triangulated (Geertz, 1973) that allowed for the credibility of the findings. The supervisee was a Pakeha Master’s student and his supervisor was also Pakeha, who was doing a PhD himself at the time of study. The program of study was a Master of Professional Practice (MPP hereafter) in a tertiary institute in New Zealand. Otago Polytechnic Human Ethics Committee granted ethics approval to this study.