Diminishing spaces for learning: The supervision of research degree students in Australian universities

In a context where timely completions of research theses have become paramount and where the nature of research degrees is shifting dramatically, the space reserved for research supervision has come into the limelight. With a greater focus on supervision, as evidenced by the emphasis on supervisor training and policy development in Australian universities, there emerges the issue of the spaces remaining for, or devoted to, supervision. This chapter will consider notions of spatiality, curriculum and learning with respect to research supervision in the context of the changing research environment brought about by the emerging research performance economy in Australia. The diminishing space deemed permissible for research degree completions is likened to a staged performance in which supervisors are positioned as directors and where backstage preparation or supervisory practices are constrained by time and place. The first part of the chapter deals with the changing higher education context in Australia and the consequential rationed space for supervision on (or behind) the research stage.