Supervision of PhD students of different cultural background

Abstract

To what extent the supervisor-student relationship will be a fruitful collaboration that positively
influences the student’s performance as a PhD student depends on many factors. All people
are unique and bring with them different views of the world as well as different tools to survive
in the world, based on heritage, culture, gender, social background etc. Awareness of these
differences is a first step towards a successful relationship between supervisor and student.
In this study we will discuss the differences that supervisor and student might bring with them
into a collaboration when it comes to 1) standards (and values), 2) view on communication
and 3) view on responsibilities of student and supervisor and how these differences affect the
chances for a successful supervisor – student relationship. This study will make an attempt to
look closer at the three areas mentioned above, identify some of the pitfalls that supervisors
and students risk of stepping into, and draw some conclusions about what preventative actions
that can be taken to avoid these pitfalls when supervising a student with a different cultural
background than oneself.