Mo(ve)ments in the academic supervision relationship: Ethics in practice

Abstract

Context: The context of the article is a supervisory relationship between an academic supervisor and a student-researcher and an ethic of risk within the research and supervision. Focus: The challenges for supervisor and student, and thus the supervisory relationship, and the strategies to move beyond the ethical dilemmas encountered in the research project, within an ethic of risk, form the focus of the article. Discussion: This article highlights the moments when a student counsellor/ researcher came to an impasse in transcribing and analysing data generated in an auto-ethnography, and the author, the academic supervisor's responses to these difficulties. The use of specific knowledge, skills and strategies in the supervisory relationship opened space for agency and movement within these moments of impasse. Text work and researcher identity work was facilitated through the use of particular listening skills and narrative therapy informed questions.

Keywords:

• academic supervision
• anorexia/bulimia
• researcher-identity
• text work
• auto-ethnography
• ethic of risk

Acknowledgements

I acknowledge the generous contributions of Paula Scott and Kathie Crocket to this research as well as the comments of the two reviewers.

Notes

¹ Paula used lower case to name Anorexia/Bulimia and later used a/b to visually represent a ‘smalling it down’, to make visible the diminishing effects these were having on her life.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Elmarie Kotzé

Biography

Elmarie Kotzé teaches narrative therapy in the counselling programme at the University of Waikato and supervises several masters and doctoral research projects.