Autonomy and Guidance in Doctoral Advisement Relationships: A Dialectical Study.

Abstract

This study adopted a dialectical framework to provide insight into the doctoral advisement relationship early in the dissertation phase in different disciplines. Interpretive analysis of in-depth interviews with 6 advisor–student pairs revealed the variety of ways that the autonomy–guidance dialectic was conceptualized and experienced. It also illustrated moments when the advisor and student were not synchronized in their perceptions. Implications are considered.