Constructing the Conceptual Framework among 21st Century Postgraduate Students: Thesis Supervisors’ Perceptions

Abstract

Constructing a conceptual framework has always been a problem for many postgraduate students. Even though the students are exposed to many different tools as well as guided with 21st-century skills along the process of conducting research, many of them are seeking helps to complete their postgraduate studies in stages.  A solid conceptual framework is an output of conducting a literature review. The construction of a conceptual framework involves multiple research skills. To meet the requirement of thesis completion, supervisors are always emphasizing the implementation of these skills as well as finding the best practice while addressing challenges of guiding them to understand and construct a conceptual framework. Meanwhile, the supervisors must get a better picture of how their postgraduate students undergo the process of constructing a conceptual framework from their literature review. Hence, the thesis supervisors need to understand a better way for helping them to achieve the level of competency. This study aims to investigate supervisors’ perceptions of guiding their postgraduate students to construct a conceptual framework in fulfillment of the advanced skills. A qualitative approach was employed to collect data. Three thesis supervisors were interviewed. They provided feedback on their experiences of supervision. Specifically, their experiences in supervising and guiding students to work on the conceptual framework were explored. The findings show that their postgraduate students have some problems in conducting literature reviews critically. On the other hand, the supervisors agreed that they play important roles as supervisors to guide and engage the students so that they can think flexibly; hence, producing a good piece of a conceptual framework.  This study provides insights on the focused aspects for the development of skills in constructing conceptual frameworks among postgraduate students.   Pembinaan kerangka konsep merupakan salah satu masalah yang dihadapi di kalangan pelajar pasca siswazah. Walaupun mereka telah didedahkan kepada pelbagai jenis cara serta panduan kemahiran abad ke 21 yang berkaitan di sepanjang proses pengendalian kajian, ramai di antara masih memerlukan bantuan untuk menyempurnakan pengajian. Kerangka konsep merupakan hasilan penulisan dari tinjauan literatur. Jelasnya, pembinaan kerangka konsep melibatkan pelbagai kemahiran kajian. Untuk membolehkan pelajar melengkapi tesis,penyelia selalu menekankan penggunaan kemahiran ini dan menemukan pelaksanaan yang bagus semasa menandatangani cabaran dalam membantu mereka dalam membina kerangka konsep. Di samping itu, adalah penting bagi penyelia untuk memahami bagaimana pelajar mereka melalui process pembinaan kerangka konsep dari tinjauan kajian. Maka, penyelia perlu memahami cara untuk mencapai tahap kompetensi tersebut. Kajian ini bertujuan memahami persepsi penyelia dalam membantu pelajar-pelajar membina kerangka konsep dengan kemahiran yang berkaitan dan canggih. Kaedah qualitative telah digunakan untuk kutipan data. Tiga orang penyelia telah ditemuduga. Mereka talah memberikan maklumbalas tentang pengalaman dalam penyeliaan, terutamanya pengalaman menyelia kerangka konsep. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan bahawa pelajar-pelajar menghadapi masalah pengendalikan penulisan tinjauan literatur secara kritikal. Di samping itu, penyelia bersetuju mereka memainkan peranan yang penting untuk melibatkan pelajar-pelajar dalam pemikiran fleksibel dan seterusnya menghasilkan kerangka konsep yang tepat. Kajian ini memberikan gambaran untuk aspek perkembangan kemahiran dalam pembinaan kerangka konsep di kalangan pasca siswazah