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You are reading: Improving supervision for neurodivergent graduate researchers: A randomised controlled trial of a neurodiversity-affirming training package

Trial overview

Registered
Users Priority Students: Students with disabilities
Academic Cap Stage of Intervention: During Higher Education
Chart Line Outcomes: Engagement

What was trialed

This project will co-design, develop, deliver, and evaluate a neurodiversity-affirming training package for supervisors of graduate research students.

The package is in two parts— a 2-hour asynchronous online learning module and a 2-hour live workshop. Participants in the group receiving the initiative will be invited to complete the module via La Trobe University’s Learning Management System up to one month prior to attending the workshop. The workshop will be completed either in-person or online to allow supervisors located across La Trobe University’s rural and regional campuses to be included. During the workshops, participants will review key learning outcomes from the online module and apply neurodiversity-affirming practices to prepared supervision scenarios, with guidance from two facilitators.

The primary outcome—knowledge—will be assessed using a quiz administered at baseline, after the intervention phase, and at a one-month follow-up. The quiz will assess intended learning outcomes and cover a representative sample of the content presented during the intervention, to assess factual recall and applied understanding.

Secondary outcomes are:

  1. Self-rated confidence in applying neurodiversity-affirming supervision practices.
  2. Attitudes towards neurodiversity inclusion.
  3. Intervention feasibility (intervention group).

The project team is neurodiverse and is led by a neurodivergent graduate researcher.

What was found

The results will be available in November 2026.

How the trial was delivered

The project will use a two-arm, parallel-group, randomised controlled trial design to compare the intervention (training in neurodiversity-affirming supervision practices) to supervision as usual. Participants will be recruited from the La Trobe University’s Higher Degree by Research Supervisor Register (~1,000 supervisors), who will be offered compensation to complete all stages of the trial.

After completing consent, eligibility screening, and the baseline assessment, participants will be randomly allocated into the intervention or control group using block randomisation to ensure equal numbers in each arm (conducted by an independent statistician who is not part of the evaluation team).

Participants in the intervention group will be invited to complete the module via La Trobe University’s Learning Management System up to one month prior to attending the workshop. At the end of the workshop, intervention group participants will complete a post-intervention assessment, and a follow-up questionnaire four weeks later.

In addition to the baseline assessment, control group participants will be asked to complete assessments at four weeks and eight weeks after entering the trial.

A mixed ANOVA will be conducted to evaluate outcomes within (time: baseline/post/follow-up) and between groups (intervention/control); significant interactions between time and group will indicate intervention effects, followed by simple main effects analyses.