Exploring and understanding perceived relationships between doctoral students and their supervisors in China

This article qualitatively explores the fit or misfit between doctoral students’ and their supervisors’ perceptions of supervisory relationships in STEM fields within the cultural context of Chinese Confucianism. Using the person-supervisor fit perspective, two dimensions—supplementary and complementary fit—are identified, each with two distinctions (fit and misfit). Supplementary fit is characterized by congruences in perceptions of doctoral learning, student dispositions, and supervisors’ roles. Supplementary misfit arises from incongruence regarding supervisors’ familial roles, highlighting a tension between traditional cultural influences and modern academic expectations. Complementary fit encompasses needs-supplies fit (meeting students’ needs for both task-focused and person-focused support) and demands-abilities fit (matching student abilities with supervisor demands). Complementary misfit stems from discrepancies between supervisors’ strict practices and students’ desire for autonomy. The study advances the person-supervisor fit perspective in STEM doctoral supervision and contributes to understanding the impact of disciplinary and cultural influences on academic supervisory relationships in China.

Yanru Xu, Ji'an Liu