Close
In March 2023, postgraduate students shared their doctoral research to colleagues and academics.
I applied for the EdD programme back in 2018 and then our family had just resettled in the Netherlands because we had lived in Malawi, in rural Malawi for about 7 years, and I had worked there myself as a middle-tier professional in a rural district in an educational zone. And then when we came back to the Netherlands, I started working as a Director of Education, which is also a middle-tier professional role.
And I was really passionate about investigating how these middle-tier professionals, which I think are really relevant and could really make a change, well, how they contribute to educational quality, because I think they could contribute to educational change, but they're well, kind of overlooked in the literature.
I deliberately chose the EdD programme, which is a doctorate of education because I think it has some elements that are really beneficial for students. For example, it has a very clear structure. It starts with the taught modules in the first year, and so it's about professionalism, professionality, professional identity. And then students are taught research skills, research methods. And I had been out of academics for about 12 years and so that was really helpful for me and then what is also very specific about EdD programme is that there is a cohort of students and these are all experienced professionals in the education sector, in medicine, from different areas. And that makes it really helpful because we learn from each other, we discuss ideas and I think what is helpful as well is that like from those taught modules into the IFS which is a small study and then after the upgrades, the thesis stage. So I think the structure is really beneficial.
My research is an exploratory multiple case study in Malawi and the Netherlands. Because what I think is relevant is not only to explore how these middle tier professionals support educational quality, but also what this support is aimed at, what educational aspirations. So not only literacy and numeracy, but also wider, like personal development, socialisation and the question like what is relevant for children in a certain context in the Netherlands, in Malawi, but also in different parts of countries.