ABSTRACT
For students in the Caribbean, engaging in doctoral research is considered the high point of their academic career. Many new doctoral candidates envision the supervisory experience as shared and full of possibility for growth. Little, however, is known about the actual experiences of these candidates and whether or not their expectations are fulfilled during the course of their candidature. A phenomenological case study approach was adopted in an attempt to capture students’ supervisory experiences. An open-ended questionnaire was used to invite participants to reflect on their experiences as doctoral candidates in the developing world. Interpretative phenomenological analysis of data revealed two superordinate metaphorical themes: the tomb and the womb. Preliminary findings showed that, for many of the participants, characteristics of both the tomb and the womb are part of the supervisory experience. These findings point to the need to revisit the supervisory process to provide an enhanced experience for students.
