ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the doctoral projects and the role of academic advisor through the experiences of those involved on a professional doctorate programme work. It highlights some of the uncertainties and ambiguities of the practitioner-doctorate role as well as some of the features that make it satisfying and some that are distinctive features of the practitioner-doctorate model and of work-based learning that is espoused. It has particularly thrown into relief the relational commitment that the advisors demonstrate to support the advanced practitioners that they work with. In this chapter Bordin suggested that the therapeutic alliance between therapist and client consists of tasks, goals and a bond. The author suggest that the research alliance works in a similar way, with the advisee holding the goal of completing their project, and the advisor supporting and guiding them through the tasks involved, within a relational contract which is continually being negotiated by both people.
