The Faculty of Education currently has over 50 PhD students (full and part-time), representing a diversity of regional, national and international backgrounds. They have been attracted to study at Canterbury Christ Church because of the growing reputation of researchers associated with the six research themes|, as well as the diversity and strength of the Faculty of Education in childhood studies, initial teacher education, professional development and lifelong learning. Undoubtedly the success in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise has also enhanced the Faculty’s reputation for research.
Our substantial portfolio of educational programmes at undergraduate and Master’s level provides an important rationale for the PhD programme as well as a source of recruitment. The PhD offers a progression pathway for experienced education professionals to develop their understanding of their work and its context, and of learners and of learning, as part of contributing to the quality of educational institutions and provision in the wider community nationally and internationally. The PhD programme also supports the Faculty of Education in ensuring that research and scholarship are embedded in every aspect of its work, not least because many staff are themselves doctoral level students.
The Faculty has a wide range of vibrant research activities, including the research themes|, in which research students actively engage with extensive programmes of seminars, workshops and national and international conferences, all designed to create an inclusive, cosmopolitan academic culture. The research themes are:
Each of the research themes encourages PhD, EdD and other doctoral students, alongside members of the Faculty, to participate and contribute at all stages of their work: from initial ideas and proposal submission, to work in progress papers, considering particular ‘challenges’ that may arise in their studies – conceptual, methodological and or ethical – in an open and supportive environment.
There is an increasingly active collaboration with the