•We examined attitudes in supervisory feedback on thesis drafts and oral defences.•Appreciations dominated in such feedback, though judgments were also prominent.•Instances of affect were infrequent ...and occurred only in oral feedback.•Both written and oral feedback comments were predominantly negative.•Disciplinary variations were found for several types of appreciation and judgement.
Research on supervisory feedback on master’s theses, especially attitudinal stances conveyed in such feedback, is thin on the ground. Students’ construal of their supervisors’ attitudes, however, can have a profound impact on their engagement with supervisory feedback. Drawing on the appraisal framework, which characterizes attitudinal meanings in terms of affect (i.e., emotional responses), judgement (i.e., normative evaluation of human behaviors) and appreciation (i.e., aesthetically-/socially-based evaluation of objects and products), this study examined Nepalese supervisors’ attitudinal stances communicated in written comments on master’s thesis drafts (n = 76) submitted by English-as-a-foreign-language students and oral feedback on proposal and thesis defences (n = 89). Quantitative analyses revealed that while instances of appreciation dominated in the supervisors’ use of evaluative language, judgements were also frequent, with affective responses trailing far behind. In both the oral feedback and written comments, significant disciplinary variations were observed for certain types of judgment and appreciation. These findings are discussed in terms of disciplinary culture and the potential impact of the attitudinal stances on students’ learning. Implications are derived for the productive framing of supervisory feedback to facilitate students’ feedback uptake.
Urbanized environment design and study is a promising inter-disciplinary subject area at the intersection of architectural environment design, urban planning, and architecture. This paper presents a ...review of the range of challenges and conceptual contents in this area treated in several dozens of recent master's degree theses that received awards at international review competitions in 2019-2022. The research objects of the theses were various urbanized spaces (spaces as places and spaces as communications), as well as some aspects of these spaces (components of spaces, factors of influence on spaces, methods of space development). Semantic analysis revealed not only specific problems and remarkable conceptual solutions, but also universal concepts and approaches to improving various urban environments as internally diverse systems at all levels (urban planning, architecture, environment). The general conceptual field in relation to urbanized environments as viewed by modern master's degree authors may be characterized by the paradigm of "Three Is" (3i-Paradigm): Individualization, Integration, Intellectualization, which includes universal notions and concepts such as "environment targeting", "design code", "scenario approach", "environment permeability", "densification", etc. The article may be of interest to students and graduate project advisers at higher schools of architecture and design.
Academic emotions in the context of master's thesis work is a highly understudied issue. This study examined the association between self-regulated learning skills and academic emotions elicited by ...master's thesis work. Altogether, 84 behavioural sciences students conducting their master's theses completed a survey comprised of a modified version of Pintrich's Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MLSQ) and academic emotions derived from Pekrun's (2006) Achievement Emotions Questionnaire complemented by enthusiasm. Linear and logistic regressions were employed in the data analyses. Higher skills in combining prior and new knowledge, application of theories, self-assessment and the combination of all learning skills were associated with higher positive academic emotions. Higher skills in self-assessment were associated with lower negative academic emotions. Higher combined learning skills were associated with higher pride and enthusiasm and lower shame elicited by master's thesis work. Supporting students to develop their self-regulated learning skills might reflect positively on their academic emotions and vice versa.
Abbreviation: Self-regulated learning skills - (SRL) skills
This paper studies which grading systems students choose for their degree projects when they are given the choice. Furthermore, the motivational factors behind making this choice are investigated. ...Student record data and a survey of students conducting their degree projects are used to study whether students prefer the Pass/Fail or A-F grading scale for their degree projects. Data from study record transcripts show that 55% of students selected the Pass/Fail scale, whereas 45% opted for the A-F grading scale. The grade point average score among students choosing the Pass/Fail scale is somewhat higher compared to students who choose the A-F grading scale. Reduced stress associated with writing the degree project motivates those who choose the Pass/Fail grading scale. Enhanced motivation to do a good job on the thesis work and perceived good chances of receiving an A grade motivate students who choose the A-F grading scale.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
BFBNIB, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Master's thesis supervision is a complex task given the two-fold goal of the thesis (learning and assessment). An important aspect of supervision is the supervisor-student relationship. This ...quantitative study (N = 401) investigates how perceptions of the supervisor-student relationship are related to three dependent variables: final grade, perceived supervisor contribution to learning, and student satisfaction. The supervisor-student relationship was conceptualised by means of two interpersonal dimensions: control and affiliation. The results indicated that a greater degree of affiliation was related to higher outcome measures. Control was positively related to perceived supervisor contribution to learning and satisfaction, but, for satisfaction, a ceiling effect occurred. The relation between control and the final grade was U-shaped, indicating that the average level of perceived control is related to the lowest grades. The results imply that it is important for supervisors to be perceived as highly affiliated and that control should be carefully balanced.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
BFBNIB, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
18.
The use and usefulness of theory Brunsson, Karin
Scandinavian journal of management,
06/2021, Letnik:
37, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
This commentary paper starts from the presumption that theory is a cherished academic concept, to which social scientists frequently refer, despite – or because of – the hazy meaning of this concept. ...What happens when the meaning of theory is clarified, and theories are described as distinct entities, even as tools to be used by all students within an academic discipline, such as that of business administration? It is suggested that full-fledged theories obstruct the usefulness of theory, which should be experience and intuition based and allow for discoveries, theorizing and new concepts. The history and traditional outlook of the business administration discipline help explain its devotion to theory.
Each year, more students worldwide enter graduate school to complete their master's degree. A cornerstone of their education is the master's thesis. Respectively, master's thesis supervisors hold a ...key role in higher education teaching, yet no evidence-based overview currently exists of elements that make thesis supervision effective. Based on a systematic literature review, this study presents a summative framework of what is currently known about elements and their relationships that constitute effective master's thesis supervision, focusing on the interactions between individual students and supervisors. We develop an input-process-outcome framework based on 36 existing studies, identifying student and supervisor outcomes, characteristics of an effective student-supervisor relationship along with actions that students and supervisors can take to create and maintain it, along with student and supervisor characteristics that serve as critical inputs for an effective supervision process. We find that current research emphasizes the role of supervisor attitudes and actions in relation to the student-supervisor relationship, while future research is needed on student actions, supervisor learning over time, and contextual characteristics. Following our framework, we generate avenues for future research and summarize effective supervision practices in the dynamic and complex context of master's thesis supervision.
•We present a summative framework of effective master's thesis supervision based on prior research.•Outcomes of effective supervision include reactions, learning, and results.•Supervisor and student actions drive effective relationships and outcomes.•Our framework specifies student and supervisor KSAO as inputs.•We formulate avenues for future research and evidence-based supervisor best practices.
Writing abstracts requires a more disciplined style of writing, with higher demands on both form and substance. Graduate students are expected to produce scholarly outputs attuned to the rhetorical ...and linguistic conventions of abstract writing, acceptable to a wider academic community. Thus, this study examined the usage, distribution, and order of moves, along with the identification of selected lexico-grammatical features of 43 masters’ thesis abstracts from nine graduate programs of a state university. Using descriptive research design, following Hyland’s five-move analysis framework, findings revealed that the presentation of the introduction (I), purpose (P), method (M), product (Pr), and conclusion (C) moves in the abstracts varies across programs. However, the I-move was found to be optional, but all four moves (P, M, Pr, C) were found to be conventional, with a semi-linear structure as P-M-Pr-C. Results further revealed that the lexico-grammatical features of thesis abstracts such as modal choice, use of verb tense and voice, and utilization of nominalization were influenced by the nature of the move type and discipline, along with the authors' emphasis and goal in writing. Conversely, the abstract length of these abstracts was more than twice the number of words suggested by different citation systems, implying a lack of brevity. Based on these findings, the University Graduate School is encouraged to suggest specific guidelines in thesis abstract writing. Lastly, genre-based approach via explicit instruction to promote consistency in lexico-grammatical features of abstracts is highly recommended.
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