Undergraduate Final Year Project Supervision: A Preliminary Study of Supervisee-Supervisor’s Expectations

Abstract

Supervisory expectations are known to have considerable bearing on undergraduate students’ academic projects. The fundamental explanation for this is the incongruent expectations held by both the undergraduates as well as their supervisors. Previous research has primarily relied on qualitative data and is unable to unravel the intricate experiences of the supervision process. Within this backdrop, the present study explored expectations held by undergraduate Final Year Project supervisees and supervisors. Two surveys were carried out to elicit the undergraduates’ and supervisors’ views on their expectations of the supervision process. The participants’ responses were analysed according to a) the expectations of the undergraduates and the supervisors and b) the congruence between the undergraduates’ and supervisors’ expectations. Overall, the results indicate mismatch in the expectations held by both the undergraduates as well as the supervisors. Furthermore, both parties were uncertain about their roles and responsibilities in the supervision process. The conclusions point to the need for a comprehensive set of guidelines which details specific roles and responsibilities for both the undergraduates and supervisors as well as a rigorous briefing to address the affective needs of the undergraduates as well as the supervisors in order to improve the quality of the FYPs and the supervision process.