We spoke with Dr. Siân Ephgrave, a former Education PhD student at the School of Education, who was recently awarded the Faculty of Social Science and Law Doctoral Prize for 2024! We found out all about her reaction to winning the prestigious prize, Sian’s experience studying with us, and what she plans to do now.
Tell us a little bit about you!
My name is Siân Ephgrave and I live in East Bristol with my daughter and partner. I grew up in North London and attended my local state primary and secondary schools, and sixth form college, before completing my undergraduate degree in English at Swansea University.
I was a secondary school teacher of English from 2003 until 2015 when I was awarded a full scholarship by the Economic and Social Research Council to undertake doctoral research into teacher wellbeing.
What inspired you to study at the School of Education, University of Bristol?
I was inspired to apply for a PhD at the School because I had such a brilliant experience doing my Masters in Educational Leadership, Policy and Development there in 2012.
What did you love most about your time at the School of Education?
What I loved most about being at the School of Education was that the teaching staff were really encouraging and supportive and it was great to meet other mature students and educators from all over the world. Studying there gave me new perspectives on my work as a teacher and strengthened my belief in the emancipatory potential of education.
What inspired your choice of thesis topic for your PhD? Can you tell us a little bit about your chosen topic?
Though I loved much about being a teacher, there were some things I struggled with. My interest in teacher wellbeing was inspired, in part, by these experiences. I also wanted to hear more from teachers themselves about what wellbeing means to them, to better understand their authentic wellbeing needs. It seemed to me that, despite several decades of research into teachers’ high levels of stress and low levels of workplace wellbeing, there had been little improvement and in fact, things seemed to be getting worse in some ways.
I worked with 25 other English teachers to compose poems and vignettes on the topic of wellbeing and from there found that English teachers conceptualise wellbeing in various ways that can be understood in terms of the importance of diversity, inclusion and authentic self-expression. The study also found that English teachers’ authentic wellbeing needs are intimately connected with the subject they teach and its potential for experiential and creative learning.
‘The teaching staff were really encouraging and supportive and it was great to meet other mature students and educators from all over the world.’
Congratulations on winning the Faculty of Social Science and Law Doctoral Prize 2024! How did it feel finding out that you had won?
Of course, I was very pleased to hear that I had won the Faculty of Social Science and Law Doctoral Prize for 2024. I was proud of the work I had done and grateful to the teachers who worked with me on the project, and to National Writing UK for helping me to find co-participants and for allowing me to run workshops with some of their groups as a guest-facilitator. There were a lot of ups and downs on my PhD journey, so hearing that I had won the prize was a lovely moment on a rainy autumn day!
Can you tell us more about the award and what it means to you?
Winning the prize has renewed my motivation to complete, and submit for publication, the papers I have been working on. It has reminded me that I have an important message to share with a wider audience and though life is busy, I can make space for writing and sharing this work with others.
What have you been up to since graduating and completing your PhD? What are your plans for the future?
Since completing the PhD I have been working as a lecturer. Until June 2024 I was working as a lecturer in Community Engagement as part of University of Bristol’s English department on their flagship direct access degree – ‘English Literature and Community Engagement’. My colleagues on the team were so supportive and fun to work with, and my experiences in that role helped me to apply for, and be offered, my current role as a lecturer in Education at the University of Bath, where I am currently Deputy Director of Studies for the part-time, distance learning MA Education programme.
We loved catching up with Siân and we can’t wait to see more of her incredible work in the future!
Find out more about our Education PhD programme:
Visit our Education PhD programme webpage: https://www.bristol.ac.uk/education/study/doctoral/
