Examine Power Dynamic: Equity and Mentorship in Transnational Doctoral Supervision

• In Event: Virtual Poster Session
  In Virtual iPresentation Only: SIG-Graduate and Postdoctoral Education Across the Disciplines Virtual Poster Session

Abstract

In Transnational Higher Education (TNHE), structural inequality stemming from supervisors' "expert power" presents a more complex dynamic that has not yet been examined. Grounded in critical pedagogy, Foucault's theory of power, and positioning theory, this narrative inquiry investigates power negotiations within five expatriate supervisor-Chinese doctoral student pairs. Findings reveal that relationships become more collaborative when supervisors strategically grant "bounded autonomy" and create space for student voice. Conversely, well-intentioned but unilateral supervision met with student silence can lead to academic setbacks. The study's main contribution is to re-think supervision not as a power transfer, but as a co-created process of empowerment, thereby advancing a more equitable and socially just model for doctoral supervision.

Authors

• Cheng Cui, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

• Qian Wang, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

• Jeong Jin Yu, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

• Martin Gough, University of Liverpool

• Rong Yan, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University