Professional learning: lessons for supervision from doctoral examining

Most research into research supervision practice focuses on functional, collegial or problematic power-related experiences. Work developing the supervisory role concentrates on new supervisors, and on taught development and support programmes. Most literature on academics’ professional learning concentrates on learning to be a university teacher and, latterly, a researcher. However, the research supervisor’s role is constantly evolving in response to experiences with a variety of students, and reflection on this can contribute to professional learning. Initial research (Mullins & Kiley, 2002) suggests examiners learn from examining experiences feeding back into supervisory roles. We argue that being a thesis examiner provides academic staff with opportunities to learn about their own supervisory practices, enhancing their professional learning. Our research reports on examiner perceptions of learning from examining doctoral theses, which can be taken back into supervisory practice, and translated into advice for other supervisors and doctoral students

A comparison between the conceptions of research of candidates enrolled for standard PhD and integrated PhD programmes

© 2020, © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Conceptions of research, which lead to approaches to research, provide useful insights into how candidates think about research. In terms of doctoral candidate development, understanding and appreciating these various conceptions can assist in supporting candidate learning. This study evaluated differences in conceptions of research between PhD candidates commencing at an Australian university in the standard PhD programme, and those in a new structured programme termed the Integrated PhD. An online survey was distributed to both cohorts and as the findings showed, respondents’ conceptions of research were not significantly different for most categories, except Research as testing by data/experiment. Other key differences between the cohorts included their motivations for undertaking a PhD and the type of learning assistance required. The results highlight the need for structured support to help develop candidates’ understandings of knowledge creation and to recognise the variations in candidates’ conceptions of research and hence their research learning approaches

Helping students demonstrate mastery of doctoral threshold concepts

Research into the characteristics of successful PhD theses (See for example Bourke, Hattie, & Anderson, 2004; Holbrook & Bourke, 2004; Kiley & Mullins, 2004; Lovitts, 2007; Mullins & Kiley, 2002) suggests that examiners expect to see evidence of a variety of relatively abstract rather daunting achievements and skills. We propose that this might be because satisfactory completion of a PhD indicates both a contribution to knowledge as well as providing evidence of conceptual, critical and creative research and articulation. This evidence demonstrates a range of related disciplinary or inter-disciplinary understandings and skills at the doctoral level. Terms such as ‘conceptual framework', ‘critical perspective', ‘contribution to knowledge' and their abstract indicators are examples of those rather elusive aims in doctoral research. For candidates to be able to bring such achievements into their writing, focused, accessible and timely feedback from supervisors is essential

The challenges facing non-governmental organisations in transforming conflict through capacity-building in Nothern Uganda

Capacity-building is an essential component of post-conflict reconstruction (PCR) and peace-building in the aftermath of violent conflict. Civilians, mainly women and children are driven or abducted from their homes during violent conflict and suffer various abuses and atrocities. Many spend the duration of the conflict as refugees in Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps in neighbouring countries. Violent conflict impinges on their psychological well-being and socio-economic development making their re-integration into their former communities extremely complex and challenging. In the case of Northern Uganda, the conflict lasted for over two decades. However, since the ―Cessation of Hostilities Agreement‖ of 2006, the peace-building process has been particularly evident here. Numerous stakeholders have been involved in the capacity-building processes in Northern Uganda, and one such organisation is the Friends of Orphans (FRO) in Pader district, Northern Uganda. The purpose of this research study is to explore the challenges facing the FRO in transforming conflict and building sustainable peace through capacity-building in Pader district. The study explores the programmes the organisation implements and investigates how these programmes are relevant for the transformation of conflict. Apart from reviewing the literature, the researcher conducted semi-structured interviews and used participant observation. The employees of the FRO – all of whom are involved with capacity-building in these communities – participated in these interviews in their capacities as social workers, teachers, administrators and field workers. The beneficiaries of these programmes include former child soldiers, abductees, child mothers, land mine survivors and orphans. Lessons learned by the FRO, as well as the researcher‘s recommendations, are discussed in the study in order to assist the future work of the organisation and other stakeholders who have devoted their efforts to the recovery of areas emerging from conflict

A survey of services for the speech and hearing handicapped in New England

Thesis (Ed. M.)--Boston University, 195

A survey of services for the speech and hearing handicapped in New England

Thesis (Ed. M.)--Boston University, 195

Leap into... Lifelong Learning

Part of a collection of documents from Leap, formerly a University of Adelaide website providing information about learning and teaching initiatives at the University, archived in PDF format 26th April 2012.This publication is designed for University of Adelaide staff who are interested in lifelong learning—what it is and how it can be put into practice to enhance learning and teaching.Margaret Kiley and Robert Canno

The Rhetoric of Abolition: Continuity and Change in the Struggle Against America\u27s Death Penalty, 1900-2010

This article seeks to understand when, how, and where the framing of arguments against capital punishment has changed. While others have focused exclusively on the national level, we studied the framing of abolitionist arguments in three American states: Connecticut, Kansas, and Texas. Each is located in a different region of the country, and each has its own distinctive death penalty history. We studied the framing of arguments against the death penalty from 1900 to 2010. Our study suggests that the rhetorical reframing of the campaign against capital punishment that has occurred at the national level has had deep resonance at the state level. Over the course of the 20th century in Connecticut, Kansas, and Texas, the focus on error and arbitrariness has assumed greater prominence among abolitionists. In each state, this change began to take hold in the late 1960s and 1970s and accelerated as the 20th century drew to its close. But, in each state, older frames persisted. Older arguments continued to occur with greater frequency than the new abolitionism

Understanding Teacher Education Students' Research Competence Through Their Conceptions of Theory

Learning a scientific way of thinking is a fundamental aim of university education. It means that there are certain thinking skills that students across all disciplines should learn during their studies. For example, critical thinking and reasoning skills are essential for all university graduates. In addition, students are expected to achieve certain skill levels related to scientific research, for example: learning the basic concepts of science and research methodology, understanding the research process and understanding the nature and origins of scientific knowledge. We call these skills research competence and see research competence as one of the main elements of scientific thinking. We assume that understanding the basic concepts of science is a starting point for the development of research competence and more broadly, for scientific thinking. However, previous studies have shown that scientific concepts are not easy for students to learn. The aim of this study is to increase our understanding of a particular aspect of university students' research competence by exploring teacher education students' (N = 179) conceptions of one of these challenging concepts, the concept of theory. The results illustrate that understanding the concept of theory is challenging even for graduating (fourth and fifth year) master students. Only half of them were able to describe the concept of theory in a scientific context suggesting that the other half had unscientific conceptions of theory, named here as non-scientific conceptions. When looking at the students' who reported scientific conceptions of theory, one quarter of graduating students and a few early stage (first and second year) students had a declarative approach meaning that they were able to describe the concept of theory by using some basic scientific terms. About one fifth of graduating and early stage students had a procedural approach meaning that they were able to describe theory related to research as "doing". Only a small number of students showed an understanding of the nature and origins of scientific knowledge and the role of research and theory, called here an epistemic approach