ABSTRACT
This chapter reflects on how supervisory practices are influenced by socio-cultural realities, uncontextualised graduate programme structures, and an absence of culturally-specific supervisory training. As many students in the developing world are from backgrounds that do not fit the “traditional” graduate student, supervisory practices have come to involve finding ways to close social and cultural capital gaps, as well as supporting students to overcome challenges they face. Exploring how specific institutional processes impact on supervisory practices, I suggest that there is a need for embedding supervisory training and practices in the socio-cultural relations and processes in which our students are embedded. I argue throughout that while individualised approaches to supporting students may be somewhat effective, it might also be important to consider an institutional approach that builds collaborative-enabling relationships for students that includes not only disciplinary supervisors but employers, community leaders/elders, counsellors and supervisors.
