Narratives of the Learning Journey Undertaken by Doctoral Students

• In Event: STEM in Graduate Education

Abstract

This inquiry is an analysis of reflective accounts written by 13 science education practitioners becoming doctoral students in three countries. Each student was asked to reflect on their initial interest as a practitioner, how they got into research, how they engaged with theory and designed a research strategy, how experiences influenced their thinking and choices, how they made decisions and evaluated their success, and how challenges were overcome. Analysis of the reflective accounts focused on the basis for research design, including decision points, influences and challenges. Students adopted a range of methodological approaches, quantitative and qualitative, and took different routes from practice to theory and back. The analysis can inform supervisors how to conceptualise students’ engagement in research and theory.

Author

• Shirley Simon, UCL Institute of Education