Discursive Construction of Master’s Students’ Scholarly Position During Supervisory Interactions: An Appraisal Perspective

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Department of Foreign Languages and Linguistics, Faculty of Letters and Humanities, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

Abstract

This study aimed to explore various types of positioning used by master's students in supervisor-supervisee dyads. Conducting a mixed-methods conversion design with a multiple case study as its qualitative phase, we collected data by asking three TEFL master’s students to share with us all their supervisors’ feedback, messages, and supervisory interactions. To track patterns of positioning, in-depth interviews and metalinguistic commentaries were utilized. Analysis of the data using the Appraisal model indicated that two of the supervisors positioned themselves as authoritative and inarguable within the dyad, which caused their supervisees to reposition themselves from novice researchers to passive students. The supervisees, in turn, positioned these professors as unapproachable and irresponsible. On the other hand, while the third professor offered enough space to his supervisee to position herself as an independent scholar, she retained her passive position throughout the process, thereby suggesting that positioning was influenced by both academic discursive practices and non-academic factors.  Overall, despite being a sin qua non of scholarly identity formation, fruitful supervisory relationships could not be fostered among the present participants. Hence, it is suggested that institutional policy makers and educational departments specify clear-cut road maps defining roles and responsibilities of all parties involved in supervisory interactions.

Keywords

References

Ary, D., Jacobs, L. C., Sorensen, C. K., & Walker, D. (2019). Introduction to research in education (10th ed.). Boston: Cengage Learning.
Brooks, R., & Everett, G. (2013). Postgraduation reflections on the value of a degree. British Educational Research Journal, 35(3), 333-349. https://doi.org/10.1080/01411920802044370
Bui, Y. (2019). How to write a master’s thesis. London: SAGE.
Castello, M., Inesta, A., & Corcelles, M. (2013). Learning to write a research article: Ph.D. students’ transitions toward disciplinary writing regulation. Research in the Teaching of English, 47(4), 442-459. http://www.ncte.org/journals/rte/issues/v47-4
Chiang, K. (2003). Learning experiences of doctoral students in U.K. universities. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 23(1), 4-32. https://doi.org/10.1108/01443330310790444
Coffman, K., Putman, P., Adkisson, A., Kriner, B., & Monaghan, C. (2016). Waiting for the expert to arrive: Using a community of practice to develop the scholarly identity of doctoral students. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 28(1), 30-37. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1106332
Cotten, S. R., & Wilson, B. (2006). Student-faculty interactions: Dynamics and determinants. Higher Education, 51(4), 487-519. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-004-1705-4
Cox, B. E., Mcintosh, K., Terenzini, P., Reason, R., & Lutovsky Quaye, B. (2010). Pedagogical signals of faculty approachability: Factors shaping faculty-student interaction outside the classroom. Research in Higher Education, 51(8), 767-788. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-010-9178-z
Cox, B. E., & Orehovec, E. (2007). Faculty-student interaction outside the classroom: A typology from a residential college. The Review of Higher Education, 30(4), 343-362. https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.2007.0033
Davies, B., & Hunt, R. (1994). Classroom competencies and marginal positionings. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 15(3), 389-408. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142569940150306
Drennan, J., & Clarke, M. (2009). Coursework Master’s programs: The student’s experience of research and research supervision. Studies in Higher Education, 34(5), 483-500. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070802597150
Fazel, I. (2018). Emerging scholars’ socialization into scholarly publication: Negotiating identities and investment in a neoliberal era. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of British Columbia, Canada.
Filipovic, J., & Jovanovic, A. (2016). Academic maturation and metacognitive strategies in academic research and production. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 4(6), 1442-1451. https://doi.org/10.13189/ujer.2016.040623
Frankel, K. K. (2017). What does it mean to be a reader? Identity and positioning in two high school literacy intervention classes. Reading & Writing Quarterly: Overcoming Learning Difficulties, 33, 501-518. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10573569.2016.1250143
Grantham, A., Robinson, E., & Chapman, D. (2015). That truly meant a lot to me: A qualitative examination of meaningful faculty-student interactions. College Teaching, 63(3), 125-132. https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2014.985285
Griffin, W., Cohen, S., Berndtson, R., Burson, K., Camper, K., Chen, Y., & Smith, M. (2014). Starting the conversation: An exploratory study of factors that influence student office hour use. College Teaching, 62(3), 94-99. https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2014.896777
Guerin, C. (2013). Rhizomatic research cultures, writing groups and academic researcher identities. International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 8(2), 137-150. https://doi.org/10.28945/1897
Halliday, M. A. K. (1994). An introduction to functional grammar. London: Edward Arnold.
Harré, R., Moghaddam, F. M., Cairnie, T. P., Rothbart, D., & Sabat, S. R. (2009). Recent advances in positioning theory. Theory & Psychology, 19(1), 5-31. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959354308101417
Harré, R. (2012). Positioning theory: Moral dimensions of social-cultural psychology. In J. Valsiner (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of culture and psychology (pp. 191-206). Oxford University Press.
Inouye, K., & McAlpine, L. (2017). Developing scholarly identity: Variation in agentive responses to supervisor feedback. Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, 14(2), 1-21. https://ro.uow.edu.au/jutlp/vol14/iss2/3
Jung, J. (2019). Learning experience and academic identity building by master’s students in Hong Kong. Studies in Higher Education, 44(12), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2019.1652811
Karpouza, E., & Emvalotis, A. (2018). Exploring the teacher-student relationship in graduate education: A constructivist grounded theory. Teaching in Higher Education, 24(2), 121-140. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2018.1468319
Kim, Y. K., & Sax, L. (2009). Student–faculty interaction in research universities: Differences by student gender, race, social class, and first-generation status. Research in Higher Education, 50(5), 437-459. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-009-9127-x
Komarraju, M., Musulkin, S., & Bhattacharya, G. (2010). Role of student-faculty interactions in developing college students’ academic self-concept, motivation, and achievement. Journal of College Student Development, 51(3), 332-342. http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/csd.0.0137
Koole, M. (2013). Identity positioning of doctoral students in networked learning environments. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Saskatchewan, Canada.
Koole, M., & Stack, S. (2016). Doctoral students’ identity positioning in networked learning environments. Distance Education, 37(1), 41-59. https://doi.org/10.1080/01587919.2016.1153961
Lillis, M. P. (2011). Faculty emotional intelligence and student-faculty interactions: Implications for student retention. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory and Practice, 13(2), 155-178. https://doi.org/10.2190/CS.13.2.b
Lovitts, B. (2005). Being a good course-taker is not enough: A theoretical perspective on the transition to independent research. Studies in Higher Education, 30(2), 137-154. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070500043093
Lundberg, C., & Schreiner, A. (2004). Quality and frequency of faculty-student interaction as predictors of learning: An analysis by student race/ethnicity. Journal of College Student Development, 45(5), 549-565. https://doi.org/10.1353/ csd.2004.0061
Martin, J., & White, P. (2005). The language of evaluation: Appraisal in English. New York: Macmillan.
McMillan, J. H., & Schumacher, S. (2006). Research in education: Evidence-based inquiry. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Nasrollahi Shahri, M. N. (2017). Constructing a voice in English as a foreign language: Identity and engagement. TESOL Quarterly, 52(1), 85-109. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.373
O’Donnell, M. (2008). The UAM corpus tool: Software for corpus annotation and exploration. In C. Bretones, M. Carmen et al. (Eds.), Applied linguistics now: Understanding language and mind (pp. 1433-1447). Spain: Universidad de Almeria.
Oppland-Cordell, S., & Martin, D. B. (2015). Identity, power, and shifting participation in a mathematics workshop: Latino students’ negotiation of self and success. Mathematics Education Research Journal, 27(1), 21-49. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13394-014-0127-6
Pare, A., Starke-Meyerring, D., & McAlpine, L. (2011). Knowledge and identity work in the supervision of doctoral student writing. In D. Starke-Meyerring, A. Pare, & N. Artemeva (Eds.), Writing in knowledge societies (pp. 215-236). Bay City, MI: Parlor Press.
Park, J., & Schallert, D. (2020). Reciprocity between doctoral students’ emerging professional identity and their envisionment of a possible future self in real and imagined communities of practice. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 2(2), 10-25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lcsi.2020.100434
Pearson, M., & Brew, A. (2002). Research training and supervision development. Studies in Higher Education, 27(2), 135-150. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070220119986c
Richardson, S., & Radloff, A. (2014). Allies in learning: Critical insights into the importance of staff-student interactions in university education. Teaching in Higher Education, 19(6), 603-615. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517. 2014.901960
Ruohotie-Lyhty, M. (2013). Struggling for a professional identity: Two newly qualified language teachers’ identity narratives during the first years at work. Teaching and Teacher Education, 30(1), 120-129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2012.11.002
Sala-Bubaré, A., & Castelló, M. (2016). Exploring the relationship between doctoral students’ experiences and research community positioning. Studies in Continuing Education, 39(1), 16-34. https://doi.org/10.1080/0158037X.2016.1216832
Schwartz, H. L., & Holloway, E. (2012). Partners in learning: A grounded theory study of relational practice between master’s students and professors. Mentoring and Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 20(1), 115-135. https://doi.org/10.1080/13611267.2012.655454
Stewart, M. (2015). The language of praise and criticism in a student evaluation survey. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 45, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2015.01.004
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of qualitative research techniques. London: SAGE.
Tian, W., & Dumlao, R. P. (2020). Impacts of positioning, power, and resistance on EFL learners’ identity construction through classroom interaction: A perspective from Critical Classroom Discourse Analysis. The Qualitative Report, 25(6), 1436-1460. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2020.4161
Tupala, M. (2019). Applying quantitative appraisal analysis to the study of institutional discourse: The case of EU migration documents. Functional Linguistics, 6(2), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40554-018-0067-7
Umbach, P., & Warwrzynski, M. (2005). Faculty do matter: The role of college faculty in student learning and engagement. Research in Higher Education, 46(2), 153-184. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-004-1598-1
Vekkaila, J., Pyhalto, K., & Lonka, K. (2013). Experiences of disengagement—A study of doctoral students in the behavioral sciences. International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 8(3), 61-81. https://doi.org/10.28945/1870
Vianden, J. (2009). Exploring college men’s perceptions about interacting with faculty beyond the classroom. College Student Affairs Journal, 27(2), 224-241. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ882665
Wegener, C., Meier, N., & Ingerslev, K. (2014). Borrowing brainpower- sharing insecurities: Lessons learned from a doctoral peer writing group. Studies in Higher Education, 41(6), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2014.966671
Journal of Research in Applied Linguistics
Volume 13, Issue 1
April 2022
Pages 15-30

Files

Cited by

Share

How to cite

Statistics