The Future of Knowledge Generation

Both nationally and internationally ideas about the values and purposes of doctoral education are changing. There is a range of drivers for this, including the development of knowledge economies globally and the attendant need to prepare more knowledge workers to sustain and extend scientific and other advanc-es. These changes provide a context within which a more diverse group of stakeholders take an interest in doctoral education, and to consider the structure, content and pedagogies that can prepare candidates for the different roles they may undertake in society. Recent discussion on ‘doctorateness’ that attempt to define what a doctorate is for have considered some of the pertinent issues, but this paper argues that more needs to be done to understand stakeholders’ views, and how they might influence research, researcher development, supervisors and supervisor development programmes. There are increasing challenges for those supervising doctoral research, and this paper intends to focus discussion on if those preparing supervisors need to convey a wide ranging understanding of the issues involved.