Research Students in Education and Psychology: diversity and empowerment

Although some attention has been given in the literature to the notion of variable supervisor style, students are often discussed as if they are interchangeable and homogeneous. Results from this study of education and psychology departments in British universities suggest that there are several different ways to present oneself as a student, some more in continuity than others with the requisites for academic success. Five such ‘student styles’ are described and illustrated, and themes of diversity and empowerment are explored. Student styles can be seen as individual coping strategies, and the emphasis on individualism becomes part of the reproduction of the academic profession.