Lived Experiences in Dissertation, Thesis, and Capstone Research Advising of Graduate Students in Selected Higher Education Institutions in Calabarzon and Mimaropa, Philippines

The purpose of the study is to examine the lived experiences of graduate students who are currently involved in their dissertation, thesis, and capstone research advising among select Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the CALABARZON and MIMAROPA Regions in the Philippines. Phenomenological research design was used to explore advising relationships influenced participation of students with institutional research frameworks, emotional health, and academic advancement. The instrument used is an in depth, semi-structured interviews. The interviews were conducted with 9 chosen graduate students selected through purposive sampling. Their experiences with academic direction, autonomy, communication, feedback, and institutional support during the research process were explored.
The themes that have emerged from the thematic analysis are academic assistance and advisor guidance, autonomy and supervised independence, communication and feedback methods, and institutional structures and research resources. The results revealed the significance of prompt and helpful feedback as well as culturally sensitive mentorship and open communication between advisors and students in promoting long term research advancement and completion. The said themes were especially noticeable in regional HEIs with high faculty workloads, little funding for research, and the complex administrative needs.
To conclude, the study found out that the institutional procedures for responsive and encouraging supervision are just as important to the effective graduate research advising in CALABARZON as well as MIMAROPA as individual faculty competency. This study offers context-sensitive perspectives to support the faculty development programs, institutional policymaking, and the improvement of graduate research supervision practices in Philippine higher education with emphasis on the narratives of the graduate students across dissertations, theses, and capstone projects.

graduate research advising; dissertation; thesis; capstone; lived experiences; phenomenology; Philippine higher education; Calabarzon; Mimaropa

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