From policing conformity to nurturing difference: Neurodiversity in postgraduate research supervision

Postgraduate research supervision is a complex pedagogical and relational practice shaped by institutional norms, power relations, and assumptions about academic productivity. Supervisory expectations sometimes prefer certain cognitive styles and modes of engagement. These preferences can marginalise students whose ways of thinking and working differ. This reflective theoretical article critiques postgraduate supervision through a neurodiversity-informed perspective in a South African university. Neurodiversity questions hegemonic discourses of productivity and standardisation. The article is positioned in the discourse of how supervisory expectations are influenced by supervisors’ academic biographies and how disparities between expectations and student practices are mostly framed as deficits. It critically evaluates technical–rational and enculturation-focused models of supervision and advocates a shift towards negotiated, dialogic, and emancipatory supervision approaches that are more inclusive, relational and ethically responsive. The article reimagines supervision as a space for nurturing difference, promoting epistemic justice, and supporting diverse forms of scholarly development.