Supporting Research Supervision Practice: a review of UK provision
Professor Stan Taylor’s report analyses current professional development provision for, and reward and recognition of, supervisory practice in the UK.
This report, authored by Professor Stan Taylor, uses available data from 149 research degree awarding institutions in the UK. It builds on the 2018 Eligibility to Supervise: a study of UK Institutions report and provides a snapshot of the current professional development provision for, and reward and recognition of, supervisory practice. The report concludes by recommending that institutions review the duration and content of their development programmes, to better reflect the complex nature of modern research supervision.
The findings of this report underpin RSVP’s drive to develop what Taylor describes as Initial Professional Development (IPD) for less experienced supervisors and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for those with more experience. This provision aims to address the growing challenges that research supervisors face in providing consistent, high-quality supervision in the context of a rich and diverse PGR pipeline.
This new report reveals that professional development provision has increased and focuses predominantly on regulations and procedures. By contrast the 2024 UK Research Supervision Survey highlights that more experienced supervisors value the opportunities to learn from each other, share practice and reflect.
Taken together, these reports are key, evidence-based touchpoints for policy makers and supervisor developers. They also highlight the importance of recognition for supervision — be that through workload planning, promotions criteria, awards, or external schemes — and its centrality to positive culture change at an institutional level.
