ABOUT US

Guidelines and Purpose

We set up this blog to provide a place where UOCE and other postgraduate students can share information and support, discuss ideas and confusions, and develop conversations about the research journey.

This is a collaborative blog. Our blog posts are primarily written by a small group of University of Otago College of Education postgraduate students. We tend to be Social Science and qualitative researchers, so there is a bias towards discussion of those areas. However, we welcome contributions from any postgraduates or advisors.

If you are a UOCE postgrad, or considering becoming one, we also have a social Facebook group. The UOCE Postgrads Facebook group is a closed group limited to UOCE affiliated postgrads, and only group members can read the posts there. There is also a general Otago University Postgraduate Society Facebook group for University of Otago postgrads not affiliated to UOCE.

- Lara, Kim, and Shire (Editors)

Guidelines for Contributors:

1. We aim to keep blog posts on the topic of your postgraduate journey, although this can be broadly interpreted.
2. We aim to keep posts between 300 and 1000 words. 
3. If you want to share your non-postgraduate related experiences, we're happy to link to your own personal journals/blogs in the sidebar.
4. Please remember that this is a public blog so anyone can read what is written.
5. We retain the right to remove any content deemed inflammatory, defamatory, or offensive.  
6. If you would like to share your experiences and thoughts in a post, please message us via the Contact form on the Home page.

                                                              

The UOCE Postgrad Team

 

Postgraduate Lives Editorial team

Lara Sanderson

In July 2015, Lara took over as chief editor of the Postgraduate Lives blog. Lara is a PhD Candidate in Education. Her research explores the lived experiences of disabled teachers, combining both narrative and poetic inquiries to produce a multi-textual account. Her research interests include Human Rights issues (Women, Children and Disability), Ethics and Poetic Inquiry.  When she is not writing poetry, thesis, or poetry for her thesis, she is a National Executive Committee member of ACHIEVE (a post-secondary inclusive education NGO), and rocks out with the Otago Uni Ukes.

PhD Candidate in Education
University of Otago College of Education
Twitter: @Lara_Sanderson

Kim Brown 

Kim is a PhD Candidate at the University of Otago College of Education.

PhD Candidate in Education

Shire Agnew
Shire is a PhD Candidate at the University of Otago College of Education.

PhD Candidate in Education

Contributors

Keely Blanch

Keely is a PhD candidate at the University of Otago exploring how young people understand digital citizenship. Other research interests include identity, the use of Facebook in education, using Facebook as a research tool, and research ethics. Keely has tutored at the 100-level for several years, lectured in a 200 level paper, and held various research assistant roles. She is also a member of the NZ Ethics Committee which offers ethical review and advice to community organisations and others not covered by institutional ethics review. Previously, Keely was chief editor of the Postgraduate Lives blog until mid-2015. Away from the office, Keely can usually be found searching for the best wifi signal, intermittently attempting to rescue her garden from the weed invasion, or ferrying her children around.

PhD Candidate in Education

University of Otago College of Education
Twitter: @frankeeross

My Academia.edu

Donna Price 
Donna is an English teacher and Head of Department at a High School in Levin. Currently she is studying for a Doctorate of Education with a focus on the role of feedback to improve academic achievement in Year 9 and 10 students. She was lucky enough to be awarded a TeachNZ scholarship and have the year to concentrate on her study via the distance programme at the University of Otago College of Education.

Kate McAnelly
Kate is a MEd candidate at the University of Otago College of Education (and ECE teacher, currently based in Invercargill). Her dissertation is exploring how communities of learners can best come together to support the active participation of children with disabilities and their families in early childhood settings. Her research interests include disability studies, inclusive education, childhood studies, social justice, the politics of education and affective teaching and learning approaches, particularly as they pertain to ECE. When she's not studying, researching, teaching or advocating as the NZEI's early childhood national caucus rep for Murihiku Southland, Kate can be found baking up a storm in the kitchen, reading non-academic books, spending time with her husband and three young children.
My Academia.edu
My Research Gate


Sylvia Robertson

Sylvia is a PhD Candidate at the University of Otago College of Education.
PhD Candidate in Education

Tracy Rogers

Tracy is a PhD candidate at the University of Otago, College of Education. Her doctoral study investigates the educational persistence of secondary school girls in Cambodia. Tracy completed her BA Honours in 2013 at the University of Otago, before embarking on her PhD in June 2014. Her area of interests include gender inequality in education (girls' education), educational resilience and persistence, cross-cultural contexts, and human rights. In support of the International Day of the Girl 2014, Tracy and her peers organised a Dunedin-based pecha kucha event which celebrated girlhood. Tracy is a sponsor and mentor to a secondary school girl in Uganda as part of her girls' education advocacy. Tracy has lived and worked in South Africa, UK, Australia, Singapore, and New Zealand.

PhD Candidate in Education
University of Otago College of Education