![Sample our Education journals, sign in here to start your access, latest two full volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5932/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Education.jpg"})
Abstract
Dilemmas in the day‐to‐day work of academics supervising postgraduate research students are identified. These are attributed to subsets of perceived conflicting responsibilities: to students, to the discipline, to the department or institution and to the personal and professional needs of supervisors. In addition, dilemmas result from a lack of knowledge and understanding, which can come through extensive experience, and a lack of skills, which might enable the dilemmas to be resolved through negotiation and discussion. It is argued that there can be no resolutions of the dilemmas that are correct in absolute terms, that resolutions lie with informed personal choice, and that codes of practice and quality assurance mechanisms are only of limited help.
