Doctoral supervision as a learning ecosystem
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
The increasing complexity of educational systems positions doctoral supervision as a strategic node in the integration of research, training, and the development of advanced competencies. The literature highlights how high-quality supervision influences doctoral candidates’ academic outcomes, well-being, and professional trajectories. Conceived as a learning ecosystem, supervision emerges as a dynamic and interdependent environment in which individuals, practices, and research communities contribute to the development of critical and reflective professionals. This contribution is grounded in the framework of transformative learning (Mezirow, 2003), interpreting supervision as a pedagogical device capable of fostering reflexivity and professional autonomy. Furthermore, the paper examines the construction of supervision quality as a multi-level process integrating assessment, feedback, and competence development. The literature review ultimately identifies the pedagogical, relational, and systemic dimensions that characterize doctoral education as a complex learning ecosystem.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Gli autori che pubblicano su questa rivista accettano le condizioni previste dalla licenza Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
References
Baptista, A. (2016). Doctoral education through the lenses of the Bologna Process. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Research, 2, 29–36.
Becker, S., Jacobsen, M., & Friesen, S. (2025). Four supervisory mentoring practices that support online doctoral students’ academic writing. Frontiers in Education, 10, Article 1521452. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2025.1521452
Boffo, V., & Togni, F. (2022). Esercizi di ricerca: Dottorato e politiche per la formazione. Firenze University Press.
Coggi, C. (2020). La valutazione degli apprendimenti in università: Sfide attuali e prospettive di ricerca. Form@re, 20(1), 1–10.
Cornér, S., Tikkanen, L., Anttila, H., & Pyhältö, K. (2024). Personal interest, supervisory and research community support and dropout intentions among Finnish PhD candidates. Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education, 15(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1108/SGPE-09-2022-0062
Elliot, D. L., Bengtsen, S. S., Guccione, K., & Kobayashi, S. (2020). The hidden curriculum in doctoral education. Palgrave Macmillan.
European Commission. (2016). Supporting doctoral careers: Policy and practice to promote transferable skills training, career development and mobility. Publications Office of the European Union.
Federighi, P., Frison, D., & Del Gobbo, G. (2021). Un dispositivo di self-directed guidance per orientare alle professioni educative. Educational Reflective Practices, 1(1), 22–36.
Frison, D. (2018). The design of work-related teaching & learning methods: Case studies and methodological recommendations. In V. Boffo & M. Fedeli (Eds.), Employability & competences (Vol. 8, pp. 37–48). Firenze University Press.
Frison, D. (2024). Well-being dei professionisti dell’adult continuing education: Riflessioni e piste di ricerca. Form@re - Open Journal per la formazione in rete, 24(2), 301–309. https://doi.org/10.36253/form-16165
Girard, N., Cardona, A., & Fiorelli, C. (2025). Learning how to develop a research question throughout the PhD process: Training challenges, objectives, and scaffolds drawn from doctoral programs for students and their supervisors. Higher Education, 89(4), 1001–1020. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-024-01258-2
Grion, V., & Serbati, A. (2019). Valutazione sostenibile e feedback nei contesti universitari: Prospettive emergenti, ricerche e pratiche. Pensa Multimedia.
Halse, C., & Malfroy, J. (2010). Retheorizing doctoral supervision as professional work. Studies in Higher Education, 35(1), 79–92.
Kobayashi, S. (2014). Learning dynamics in doctoral supervision [Doctoral dissertation, University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Science, Department of Science Education].
Lee, A. (2018). How can we develop supervisors for the modern doctorate? Studies in Higher Education, 43(5), 878–890.
Lee, A., & Bongaardt, R. (2021). The future of doctoral research. Routledge.
Mainhard, T., van der Rijst, R., van Tartwijk, J., & Wubbels, T. (2009). A model for the supervisor–doctoral student relationship. Higher Education, 58(3), 359–373.
Marcuccio, M., & Silva, L. (2019). Le pratiche valutative “degli” apprendimenti nei dottorati di ricerca: Una rassegna sistematica delle ricerche empiriche [Assessment practices “of” learnings in doctoral research: A systematic review of empirical researches]. In P. Lucisano & A. M. Notti (Eds.), Training actions and evaluation processes: Atti del Convegno Internazionale SIRD (pp. 645–653). Pensa Multimedia.
Mezirow, J. (2003). Transformative learning as discourse. Journal of Transformative Education, 1(1), 58–63.
Nerad, M., Rutledge, J., Strugnell, R., Chen, H., Grund, M., & Mrčela, A. K. (2022). On quality assurance in doctoral education. In M. Nerad, D. Bogle, U. Kohl, C. O’Carroll, C. Peters, B. Scholz, S. Porter, J. Rutledge, & R. Strugnell (Eds.), Towards a global core value system in doctoral education (pp. 57–81). UCL Press.
Palmer, C., Sprake, A., & Hughes, C. (2023). Managing the expectations of doctoral students and their supervisors: A UK perspective. Encyclopedia, 3(4), 1474–1488. https://doi.org/10.3390/encyclopedia3040105
Robasto, D. (2023). I processi di autovalutazione di sistema nei corsi di dottorato: Analisi del dispositivo valutativo vigente e nuove prospettive. Pedagogia Oggi, 21(1), 201–208.
Robasto, D., & Natali, S. (2025). Il ruolo formativo del supervisor nei corsi di dottorato: Tra qualità dei processi e percorsi di innovazione. CQIA Rivista, 14(44), 101–119.
Silva, L., & Marcuccio, M. (2019). Advisor’s feedback as assessment practices in doctoral programs: A scoping review of empirical research [I feedback dei supervisori come pratiche di valutazione nei dottorati: Una scoping review delle ricerche empiriche]. Form@re - Open Journal per la formazione in rete, 19(3), 26–47.
Taylor, S. (2025). Supervisor professionalization, recognition and reward. In F. Hallett (Ed.), Debates in doctoral education (pp. 75–92). Routledge.
Togni, F. (2022). Costruire offerta formativa in higher education: La sfida di accompagnare la ricerca. Firenze University Press.