Tag: doctoral research

Doctoral Student Spotlight: Antonia Voigt, Education PhD Student & Best Full Paper Award Winner

Posted on by cu19879

Antonia has been paving the way for greater sustainability management in UK universities after choosing to explore the topic for her doctoral thesis. Her work was even recognised for a prestigious award last year! 

We caught up with Antonia to learn more about her area of research expertise, her journey as a PhD student at the School of Education, and what her hopes are for her groundbreaking research after successfully defending her doctoral thesis.

Antonia presenting her PhD findings at the 84th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, the preeminent professional association for management and organization scholars.

Tell us a little bit about yourself!

I am a passionate researcher, and for the last nine years, I have immersed myself in the world of academia. I believe in the power of lifelong learning. Every year, I have pushed myself a little further beyond my comfort zone and tried out something new. Whether through presenting my research at a global conference or serving as the Faculty PGR representative at the University of Bristol, I am striving to have a positive impact on people’s lives. On the rare occasions when I am not at university, you will probably find me folding intricate origami figures or watching the latest K-drama series.

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Reading for pleasure in German at A-level: an interview with Professor Katrin Kohl

Posted on by School of Education University of Bristol

By Cathy Shail, PhD, School of Education

As part of the literature review research for my doctoral study, a phenomenology into reading for pleasure at A-level in German, I conducted an expert interview with Katrin Kohl, Professor for German literature at the University of Oxford.

Her book Modern Languages – why it matters was of great interest and there were some ideas she raised that I felt were relevant to my study. I was also eager to glean the perspective of a modern linguist on the topic of reading for pleasure and second or third language acquisition.

The questions I designed were aimed at exploring her views on the reading for pleasure process, its impact and role in language acquisition as well as meaning-making. The A-level literary curriculum and examples of accessible reading in German for young linguists were other aspects upon which I was equally keen to seek her opinion. (more…)

In Conversation With: Pen Williams, Education PhD Student & BERA SIG Best Presentation Award Winner

Posted on by cu19879

We spoke with Pen Williams, an Education PhD student and doctoral researcher at the School of Education, who recently won the Nature, Outdoor Learning and Play Special Interest Group (SIG) Best Presentation Award at the British Educational Research Association (BERA) Annual Conference. She told us all about her journey at the School of Education so far – progressing from her Masters degree to her PhD – to her specialist research interests and her reaction to receiving the prestigious award this year.

Tell us a little bit about you!  

I’m currently in the third year of my PhD at the School of Education and am busy analysing the data I collected earlier this year! Before returning to full time study, I was a secondary teacher for about 20 years, teaching English in schools and colleges in and around Bristol. I also work with the Global Goals Centre on delivering their workshops based on the sustainable development goals. Other than that, I’m a mum, proud Bristolian and season ticket holder at Ashton Gate for the Bristol Bears! 

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Designed by Students for Students: Skills Workshops for our PGR community

Posted on by School of Education University of Bristol

By Antonia Voigt and Deepti R Bhat; PhD students, School of Education

A generous grant under the “Enhancing Research Culture” scheme at the University of Bristol enabled us to provide our postgraduate research community with a unique and much needed learning experience.

Over three months, from February to April 2023, we ran four workshops under the heading “Learning to connect: Building our research community through effective communication”. These included a session on learning how to write an impactful conference abstract, how to design a captivating presentation, and deliver it in a memorable way, and lastly, how to build relationships through networking.

We are excited to know that we were able to make a difference to our postgraduate research community through this project. In this blog, we want to share our experience and three take-away messages. (more…)

Creative methods unlocked my lockdown research

Posted on by School of Education University of Bristol

By Sarah McLaughlin, BA(Hons), MSC. PGCE, School of Education, University of Bristol (Doctorate in Education student)

I commenced my Doctorate in Education journey in September 2018 – pre Covid! Little did I know that a pandemic would join me along the way and threaten to hinder my research.

When Covid rules put a halt on face-to-face data collection, I had big decisions to make. Should I wait it out until restrictions lift? After all, this would blow over after a few months, right?! Or do I change my methods? I needed to find a way of giving my participants a voice and allowing them to tell me their stories and reflections so that I could ask questions and understand how they constructed their return to education as mature students. (more…)

Salma’s story: What is it like to conduct doctoral research during a pandemic?

Posted on by School of Education University of Bristol

Blog post by Salma Al Saifi, doctoral researcher at the School of Education, University of Bristol

The spread of the worldwide pandemic of Covid-19 with all the strict measures and restrictions applied to minimize its impact on people’s lives have posed a serious challenge to the conduct of my research project. For instance, conducting fieldwork such as interviews and classroom observations during such circumstances was problematic and challenging for me. (more…)