Understanding Doctoral Supervisors' Understanding of Supervisory Goals in China: A Social-Cultural Interpretation
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| Title: | Understanding Doctoral Supervisors' Understanding of Supervisory Goals in China: A Social-Cultural Interpretation |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Yanru Xu, Ji'an Liu |
| Source: | Higher Education: The International Journal of Higher Education Research. 2026 91(1):387-404. |
| Availability: | Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link.springer.com/ |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 18 |
| Publication Date: | 2026 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Higher Education Postsecondary Education |
| Descriptors: | Doctoral Programs, Doctoral Students, Supervision, Supervisor Supervisee Relationship, Goal Orientation, Foreign Countries, Confucianism, Humanism, Supervisory Methods, Individualism, Collectivism, Moral Development, Talent Development |
| Geographic Terms: | China |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s10734-025-01422-2 |
| ISSN: | 0018-1560 1573-174X |
| Abstract: | Limited academic attention has been paid to doctoral supervisors' understanding of multiple supervisory goals and social-cultural factors influencing their understanding. This has inhibited the theorisation of the multiplicity of modern doctoral supervision. Drawing on theoretical perspectives synthesising the ripple-like structure of societal orders as concentric circles and the anthropocosmic idea of Confucian humanism in China, this qualitative study interviewed Chinese doctoral supervisors in two research-intensive universities to understand doctoral supervisors' understanding of their supervisory goals. The findings first identified the ultimate supervisory goal: to cultivate REN through research training, which includes virtue moulding and talent developing. To realise the ultimate goal, two dimensions of supervisory goals dominate: the individual and collective. These illustrate that supervisory goals in China's doctoral education extend beyond individual academic achievements and moral developments to include collective contributions to the family, community, and larger societal circles. However, the missing of supervisory goals in the anthropocosmic view makes the meaning of 'REN' incomplete from the holistic sense of Confucian humanism. This article first contributes to understanding supervisory goals in modern China and offers a basis for international comparison. Second, it contributes to developing theoretical tools for understanding doctoral supervision by offering a social-cultural interpretation. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1506257 |
| Database: | ERIC |
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| Abstract: | Limited academic attention has been paid to doctoral supervisors' understanding of multiple supervisory goals and social-cultural factors influencing their understanding. This has inhibited the theorisation of the multiplicity of modern doctoral supervision. Drawing on theoretical perspectives synthesising the ripple-like structure of societal orders as concentric circles and the anthropocosmic idea of Confucian humanism in China, this qualitative study interviewed Chinese doctoral supervisors in two research-intensive universities to understand doctoral supervisors' understanding of their supervisory goals. The findings first identified the ultimate supervisory goal: to cultivate REN through research training, which includes virtue moulding and talent developing. To realise the ultimate goal, two dimensions of supervisory goals dominate: the individual and collective. These illustrate that supervisory goals in China's doctoral education extend beyond individual academic achievements and moral developments to include collective contributions to the family, community, and larger societal circles. However, the missing of supervisory goals in the anthropocosmic view makes the meaning of 'REN' incomplete from the holistic sense of Confucian humanism. This article first contributes to understanding supervisory goals in modern China and offers a basis for international comparison. Second, it contributes to developing theoretical tools for understanding doctoral supervision by offering a social-cultural interpretation. |
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| ISSN: | 0018-1560 1573-174X |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s10734-025-01422-2 |
