ADVISOR-CENTRED, PEER-SUPPORTED: FEEDBACK ECOLOGIES OF INDONESIAN EFL STUDENTS ACROSS THREE DEGREE LEVELS

Abstract

Feedback in thesis writing is usually studied as a two-way exchange between student and supervisor, yet students draw on a wider ecology of advisors, peers, institutional services and digital tools. This study examines how the feedback ecologies of Indonesian EFL thesis writers are composed and how they change across undergraduate, master's and doctoral levels. An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design combined a questionnaire completed by 23 students from 11 universities with semi-structured interviews with six of them, two at each degree level. Advisors formed the core of every ecology, named as a feedback source by 12 of 14 undergraduates, all 4 master's students and 4 of 5 doctoral students. Peers formed a supporting layer that thinned with degree level: 9 of 14 undergraduates named peers, compared with 2 of 4 master's and 1 of 5 doctoral students, and no doctoral student combined advisor and peer feedback. Writing centres were used only by three undergraduates. Advisor feedback was rated the most effective support overall (M = 4.45 on a 1-to-5 scale), while undergraduates rated peer mentoring, writing centres and workshops lower than postgraduates did. Interviews showed undergraduates embedded in reciprocal peer groups described as bahu-membahu, master's students drawing on seniors and graduates, and doctoral students working in relative isolation, with one noting the absence of a peer-review culture. The study proposes a layered model of advisor-centred, peer-supported feedback ecologies and argues that institutions should strengthen the peer and institutional layers, particularly for postgraduate writers.