The learning trajectories of doctoral supervisors

The learning trajectories and professional development of doctoral supervisors remain under-explored in current literature. Existing research is largely concentrated in higher education contexts with well-established academic development cultures, strong recognition of teaching, and robust quality assurance mechanisms in doctoral education. Much of these work highlights the importance of informal and situated learning, particularly regarding dialogic and self-reflective learning, which are essential for ensuring programme quality and enhancing the doctoral student experience. Building on findings reported in 2022, the present study extends this line of inquiry by focusing specifically on supervisors’ learning trajectories. The objective is to explore how these trajectories have been represented in both conceptual and empirical studies, with a particular focus on identifying how the institutional culture of professional development affects supervisors’ professional learning, the learning journeys of doctoral supervisors themselves, and the challenges associated with becoming a doctoral supervisor. A systematic literature review was performed, examining English-language documents published between 2014 and 2024 across three databases. The analysis employed both deductive and inductive reasoning to uncover meaningful patterns in the data. The insights gained from this study offer a deeper understanding of the learning trajectories of doctoral supervisors and the challenges of the supervisory role, ultimately contributing to the enhancement of doctoral education quality.