Unit for Postgraduate Education Research (UPER)
The Unit for Postgraduate Education Research brings together scholars who are conducting collaborative research into how to improve practice in the broad field of doctoral education. Its members include scholars who engage in research into macro and micro level strategies for supporting doctoral research and writing excellence. At the macro level studies are investigating the processes of supervision, central university procedures, and the creation of new structures and forms for disseminating the completed theses. At the micro level research is examining thesis writing processes and the types of supports required for diverse student groups during and post thesis completion.
The Unit is available for collaborative and external contract work and is keen to discuss opportunities for this.
Projects
The issue we are exploring in this project is: What are the realities of international and domestic students in UoW Masters programmes and how might identified stressors impact on their progress and achievement? Aspects of interest include features of academic study, additional responsibilities and relationships, student career motivation/s and resources. We are investigating self-reported levels of individual wellbeing; high and low points of tension in their programme, the nature of any challenges and strategies for meeting the challenges. We are interested in understanding any patterns of student experience emerging from this aspect of the study.
In this Teaching & Learning Research Initiative (TLRI) funded project researchers worked with tertiary lecturers in electronics engineering, doctoral research and writing, management communication, and English to identify threshold concepts in and across disciplines...Final report
This study was an ongoing collaboration with Prof. Kathy Green, an advanced research methods specialist at the University of Denver College of Education and Assoc. Prof. Lise Claiborne of the University of Waikato Faculty of Education. The project explored doctoral graduates' and professional researchers' views of the adequacy of their preparation for undertaking research.
This study was the result of a collaborative research project involving experienced doctoral supervisors from Massey, Victoria and Waikato Universities. The research explored the complex ethical challenges facing students and staff who work together on doctoral research projects. Doctoral study has become more complex due to changing institutional and funding requirements that can put new pressures on doctoral candidates to complete in a timely manner. This has specific implications for international students. The research group explored new debates around ethical approaches that arise from feminist, postmodern, post-qualititative and indigenous research questions and was coordinated by Lise Claiborne (University of Waikato) and Assoc. Prof. Sue Cornforth (Victoria University of Wellington).
The work was published as a special issue of the journal Knowledge Cultures, 2013, volume 1, number 5
Professor
Marcia Johnson
Faculty of Education, University of Waikato
Marcia’s research has focused on supervisory practice and the development of a pan-university, collaborative research and writing environment for Waikato students (the Doctoral Writing Conversations). She has conducted research into “threshold concepts” that face doctoral students when writing their dissertation. The overall goal of that project was to develop a framework of key threshold concepts and “best practice” strategies and activities that can inform supervisory and doctoral writing practices.
Lise Bird Claiborne
Faculty of Education, University of Waikato
Lise has been involved in research, supervision and administration of higher degree research students for over 20 years. She has published research on the complexities of ethics, care and support of doctoral thesis candidates. Her most recent research has examined ways that supervisors handle difficulties that arise when doctoral students struggle to complete their theses. Part of this research project involved setting up an online discussion forum with highly experienced academics around New Zealand who shared their experiences of working with a diversity of doctoral candidates. The research explored new qualitative methods informed by feminist poststructural theories.
Margie Hohepa
Faculty of Education, University of Waikato
Margie has extensive research and publication experience within Māori education. Her research is framed by Kaupapa Māori principles and theory. Her research has included the study of Māori educational leadership, assessing and reporting student achievement in Māori medium settings and Māori medium initial teacher education. She is currently leading a TLRI project on kōhanga-kura transitions. Margie has supervised a number of Māori doctoral candidates to completion and has published on processes of Māori doctoral supervision.
Lynn Bloom, University of Connecticut
Cathy Coleborne, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia
Kathie Crockett, Faculty of Education, University of Waikato
Elmarie Kotzé, Faculty of Education, University of Waikato
Craig Hight, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia
Anne McKim, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, University of Waikato
Kay Weaver, Waikato Management School, University of Waikato