Factors Contributing To Successful Postgraduate Student Supervision: A Case Study In South Africa

The primary goal of the research outlined in this paper was to pilot a measure of factors that contribute to successful postgraduate student supervision in South Africa. The sample consisted out of 15 supervisors of seven Universities from various higher education institutions in South Africa supervising at masters, doctoral, and postdoctoral levels. The piloted data analysis instrument was based on multiple linear regression analysis, which measures factors that contribute to successful supervision as well as graduate students' understandings of supervision quality. Statistical analysis indicated that the p-value for a postgraduate student presentation to the research team are 0.92. The critical value approach was used to establish the significance relationship between supervisory approaches and student performance, and it revealed a strong correlation between supervisor meeting with student on a regular basis and student graduation at a record time. It is suggested that the study be used as a springboard for further investigation.