Students’ Perspectives on the Writing Supervisory Feedback in Indonesian and Malaysian Academia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32939/tarbawi.v20i2.4229Keywords:
Indonesian student, Malaysian student, student perceptions, supervision, supervisory feedbackAbstract The study investigated the crucial role of supervisory feedback in academic supervision from students' perspectives in two distinct English-speaking university contexts: EFL and ESL. The research included the participation of 59 students and relied on a comprehensive methodology, utilizing a combination of questionnaires and semi-structured interviews for data collection. In analyzing the data, the study employed simple statistics to measure frequency and mean, while interview data were subjected to thematic analysis. The study's findings revealed that students in both Indonesian and Malaysian university contexts reported similar experiences concerning supervisory feedback. Specifically, their supervisors were found to provide comprehensive feedback and consistently engage in regular face-to-face meetings. However, the study identified a notable disparity in the preferred types of supervisory feedback between Indonesian and Malaysian students. Indonesian students preferred oral feedback, while Malaysian students leaned towards written feedback. These findings have important implications for academic supervision in Indonesian and Malaysian contexts. By shedding light on the differences in student feedback preferences, the study aims to increase awareness and provoke discussions about how supervisory feedback is administered. This, in turn, could potentially lead to positive changes in how academic supervision is conducted in these contexts. Ultimately, by exploring students’ perceptions of supervisory feedback, the study functions as a valuable resource that can inform the refinement of current feedback approaches to better align with the needs of students, thus enhancing the quality of academic supervision and the overall educational experience.
Downloads
References
Abd Rahim, S., Abu Bakar, A. L., & Osman, W. H. (2023). L2 Learners’ Preferences and Opinions of Teachers’ Written Corrective Feedback in L2 Writing Multicultural Class. Malaysian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (MJSSH), 8(4). https://doi.org/10.47405/mjssh.v8i4.2252
Abdulkhaleq, M. M. A. (2021). Postgraduate ESL Student’s Perceptions of Supervisor’s Written and Oral Feedback. Journal of Language and Communication (JLC), 8(1), 45–60.
Ali Al-Hattami, A. (2019). The Perception of Students and Faculty Staff on the Role of Constructive Feedback. In International Journal of Instruction (Vol. 12, Issue 1). https://doi.org/https://dx.doi.org/10.29333/iji.2019.12157a
Anttila, H., Pyhältö, K., & Tikkanen, L. (2024). Doctoral supervisors’ and supervisees’ perceptions on supervisory support and frequency of supervision – Do they match? Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 61(2), 288–302. https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2023.2238673
Asmawi, A., & Jaladin, R. A. M. (2018). Higher education system in Malaysia: Exploring strategic trends and challenges in policy implementation for new Malaysia. Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Management, 6(4), 56–77. https://doi.org/10.22452/mojem.vol6no4.4
Azman, H., Nor, N. F. M., Nor, N. F. M., & Aghwela, H. O. M. (2014). Investigating Supervisory Feedback Practices and their Impact on International Research Student’s Thesis Development: A Case Study. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 141, 152–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.05.028
Bastola, M. N. (2022). Engagement and Challenges in Supervisory Feedback: Supervisors’ and Students’ Perceptions. RELC Journal, 53(1), 56–70. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688220912547
Basturkmen, H., East, M., & Bitchener, J. (2014). Supervisors’ on-script feedback comments on drafts of dissertations: Socialising students into the academic discourse community. Teaching in Higher Education, 19(4), 432–445. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2012.752728
Baydarova, I., E Collins, H., & Ait Saadi, I. (2021). Alignment of Doctoral Student and Supervisor Expectations in Malaysia. International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 16, 001–029. https://doi.org/10.28945/4682
Creswell, J. W., & Plano Clark, V. L. (2018). Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research. In Organizational Research Methods (Vol. 12, Issue 4).
Ferris, D., & Roberts, B. (2001). Error feedback in L2 writing classes How explicit does it need to be? Journal of Second Language Writing, 10(3), 161–184. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1060-3743(01)00039-X
Ganapathy, M. N. G., Lin, D. T. A., & Phan, J. (2020). Students’ perceptions of teachers’ written corrective feedback in the Malaysian ESL classroom. Malaysian Journal of Learning and Instruction, 17(2), 103–136. https://doi.org/10.32890/mjli2020.17.2.4
Gezahegn, T. H., & Gedamu, A. D. (2023). Supervisors’ and supervisees’ perception and perceived practice of a process-oriented thesis written feedback: The case of Ethiopian universities. Heliyon, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e12865
Hawari, O. M. A., Al-Shboul, Y., & Huwari, I. F. (2021). Supervisors’ Perspectives on Graduate Students’ Problems in Academic Writing. European Journal of Educational Research, volume-11-2022(volume-11-issue-1-january-2022), 545–556. https://doi.org/10.12973/eu-jer.11.1.545
Hyland, F., & Hyland, K. (2001). Sugaring the pill Praise and criticism in written feedback. Journal of Second Language Writing, 10(3), 185–212. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1060-3743(01)00038-8
Indrayadi, T., Mulyono, H., Ningsih, S. K., & Mukminin, A. (2024). Pronunciation learning attitudes: The case of EFL undergraduate students in Indonesia. Studies in English Language and Education, 11(2), 695–709. https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v11i2.30781
Kumar, V., & Stracke, E. (2007). An Analysis of written feedback on a PhD thesis. Teaching in Higher Education, 12(4), 461–470. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562510701415433
Luo, Y. (2023). Understanding Chinese English-major students’ engagement with supervisory feedback on their undergraduate thesis: Insights from a multiple case study. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2023.2238693
Marshall, G. (2005). The purpose, design and administration of a questionnaire for data collection. In Radiography (Vol. 11, Issue 2). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radi.2004.09.002
Neupane Bastola, M., & Hu, G. (2021). Supervisory feedback across disciplines: does it meet students’ expectations? Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 46(3), 407–423. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2020.1780562
Purnomo, W. W., Basthomi, Y., & Prayogo, J. A. (2021). EFL university teachers’ perspectives in written corrective feedback and their actual applications. International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education (IJERE), 10(3), 1089. https://doi.org/10.11591/ijere.v10i3.21641
Rashtchi, M., & Bakar, Z. bin A. (2019). Written Corrective Feedback: What Do Malaysian Learners Prefer and Why? International Journal of Engineering and Advanced Technology, 8(5c), 1221–1225. https://doi.org/10.35940/ijeat.E1173.0585C19
Rasool, U., Aslam, M. Z., Qian, J., & Barzani, S. H. H. (2022). The Effects of Online Supervisory Feedback on Student-Supervisor Communications during the COVID-19. European Journal of Educational Research, 11(3), 1569–1579. https://doi.org/10.12973/eu-jer.11.3.1569
Razali, K. A., Rahman, Z. A., Ahmad, I. S., & Othman, J. (2021). Malaysian ESL Teachers’ Practice of Written Feedback on Students’Writing. Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 29(3), 47–67. https://doi.org/10.47836/pjssh.29.s3.03
Saputra, D. B., Arianto, M. A., & Saputra, E. (2023). “Will they listen to me?” Investigating the utilization of audio feedback in higher education. Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 741–755. https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v10i2.28173
Saragih, E., Zein, T. T., & Sumbayak, D. M. (2023). Contextualizing Corrective Feedback in Scientific Writing through Online Learning Platforms. Studies in English Language and Education, 10(3), 1216–1235. https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v10i3.25867
Simard, D., Guénette, D., & Bergeron, A. (2015). L2 learners’ interpretation and understanding of written corrective feedback: insights from their metalinguistic reflections. Language Awareness, 24(3), 233–254. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658416.2015.1076432
Singh, M. K. M. (2023). Supervisors’ written feedback on EFL graduate students’ theses: Survey-sourced empirical evidence of best practices. Training, Language and Culture, 7(1), 58–69. https://doi.org/10.22363/2521-442X-2023-7-1-58-69
Stracke, E., & Kumar, V. (2016). Exploring doctoral students’ perceptions of language use in supervisory written feedback practices - Because “feedback is hard to have.” Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 39(2), 122–138. https://doi.org/10.1075/aral.39.2.02str
Sugandini, D., Garaika, & Istanto, Y. (2022). E-Learning System Success Adoption in Indonesia Higher Education. Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.36941/ajis-2022-0013
Swales, J. M. (2004). Research Genres. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139524827
Thompson, J. (2022). A Guide to Abductive Thematic Analysis. Qualitative Report, 27(5). https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2022.5340
Tian, Y., & Guo, Q. (2023). Supervisory Feedback on Chinese Doctoral Students’ Drafts of a Research Article. Education Sciences, 13(7), 731. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13070731
Triassanti, R., Panggabean, C. I. T., & Mansur, M. (2023). Peer-feedbacks based application in teaching speaking and students’ perception towards peer-feedbacks. Journal of Applied Studies in Language, 7(1), 99–106. https://doi.org/10.31940/jasl.v7i1.99-106
Yaseen, M., Hamzah, M. H., & Harun, M. (2024). Corrective feedback on essay writing: English as second language teachers’ and students’ perspectives. International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education (IJERE), 13(4), 2758. https://doi.org/10.11591/ijere.v13i4.26890
Yu, S. (2019). Learning from giving peer feedback on postgraduate theses: Voices from Master’s students in the Macau EFL context. Assessing Writing, 40, 42–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asw.2019.03.004
Zheng, Y., Yu, S., Wang, B., & Zhang, Y. (2020). Exploring student engagement with supervisor feedback on master’s thesis: Insights from a case study. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 57(2), 186–197. https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2019.1617181
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Iis Sujarwati, Juliana Othman, Alamsyah Harahap, Lo Yueh Yea
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
