An Interpretive Analysis: Qualifying as a Supervisor and Recruiting Students in Chinese Research Universities

Early Career Researchers Network in Asian Higher Education Studies

Topic: An Interpretive Analysis: Qualifying as a Supervisor and Recruiting Students in Chinese Research Universities

Co-organizers: Social Contexts and Policies of Education (Academic Unit) (SCAPE), Consortium for Higher Education Research in Asia (CHERA)

Date:             February 25, 2022 (Friday)(HK Time)

Time:            16:00-17:00

Format:         Zoom

Registration: https://scape.edu.hku.hk/feb2522/

Chair & Discussant: Dr Linlin Xu, University of Auckland

Speaker: Bing Lu, University of Warwick

Abstract:

This paper sets out to challenge identified policy barriers regarding doctoral supervisor qualification and student recruitment in China. With a comprehension of the context of China, this paper highlights how local knowledge matters in evaluating doctoral education policies in different societies, by bringing in the issues of supervisor eligibility in other emerging national contexts for comparison. Adopting the policy interpretive analysis, this paper conducts two levels of analysis: the national level and the institutional level – it assumes that analysing policies is a ‘democratic undertaking’ which emphasizes the potential audience to whom the documents are designed for. Arguably, to facilitate a supportive, academic-oriented environment for doctoral researchers, the role of supervisors must be clarified, their expertise must be recognized, and their autonomy in recruiting students must be assured. This paper is tempted to raise the awareness of all actors in the picture of doctoral education exercising expertise of their own domain to challenge the policy barriers.

Bio

Speaker

Bing Lu is currently a doctoral researcher in Department for Education Studies (DES) at University of Warwick and the co-convenor of the department’s research seminar series. As the founder of the ‘Superb-vision network‘ (SVN) sponsored by Warwick Doctoral College, she organized a series of SkillsForge workshops guiding the discussion of supervision experiences within the research development framework (RDF) at Warwick. Her doctoral research investigates how returned doctorate holders conduct doctoral supervision in their home countries. Her main research area is in exploring the transnational flows of highly skilled intellectuals and mapping the global picture of doctoral supervision.

Chair & Discussant

Linlin Xu is an Honorary Academic at the University of Auckland and Associate Professor at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China. Her main area of expertise is the doctoral education, but she has researched and published in broader higher education areas, including (intercultural) doctoral supervision, academic writing and academic identities.

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