How to create thinking environments in doctoral and research supervision
Peter Hopkins, Elaine Lopez, Sally Waite, Rosalind Beaumont, Emily Jayne Knights, Renzo Szkwarok, Jen Bagelman · 2026
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Description
Peter Hopkins and co-authors offer a 2026 reflective essay on how doctoral supervision can give students room to think for themselves. Most guidance on supervision stresses hierarchy, pastoral care, or project management, yet says little about the thinking itself. The authors, a mixed group of academics and doctoral students in British arts and social sciences, draw on the Thinking Environment method from coaching, built on close listening and mutual regard.
Their shared account credits the method with stronger student confidence and clearer ownership of fresh ideas. Supervisors also report richer sessions and more joy in the work. The essay lands amid job cuts and funding strain that squeeze time to think across universities. The group argues that guarding thinking time is not a luxury but the core of doctoral training.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Peter Hopkins, Elaine Lopez, Sally Waite, Rosalind Beaumont, Emily Jayne Knights, Renzo Szkwarok, Jen Bagelman |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 52025 |
| LICENSE | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |