Postgraduate Supervision Quality and Student Motivation in Kenyan Arts and Humanities Programmes

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between supervision quality and student motivation in arts and humanities postgraduate education at Kenyan public universities. Using a convergent parallel mixed-methods design, data was collected from 21 postgraduate students through a structured survey instrument measuring supervision quality across five dimensions (accessibility, feedback quality, guidance quality, goal clarity, and frequency of contact) and motivation, using three SDT-aligned items, supplemented by semi-structured qualitative responses. Descriptive analysis reveals high ratings for supervisor accessibility (M = 4.10, SD = 0.85) alongside substantial reports of motivational stagnation. 52.4% report having experienced a significant drop in motivation, 57.1% report feeling stuck due to delayed supervisory feedback, and only 9.5% report familiarity with Commission for University Education (CUE) and university supervision guidelines. Correlation analysis identifies perceived power gap (r = .477) and delayed feedback (r = .441) as the strongest predictors of motivation loss. Qualitative data reveals a conceptual distinction between supervisor availability and supervisor responsiveness: the former captures relational accessibility, while the latter captures the timely provision of substantive, conceptually engaged feedback. The study argues that standard supervision quality metrics, which emphasise meeting frequency and accessibility, fail to capture responsiveness and thus misidentify the quality dimension most salient to postgraduate student motivation. Drawing on Self-Determination Theory and Mkandawire’s generational framework of African academic formation, the findings call for a recalibration of supervision quality metrics in Kenyan universities to distinguish availability from responsiveness, and for institutional reforms that make responsiveness structurally possible.