LPLC Research support
The
Centre for Studies in Literacy, Policy and Learning Cultures provides a
range of support for students and staff to plan, conduct and reflect on
the research process. Our research support activities include
- Doctor of Education Saturday workshops and talks
- Online support for external students
- Reading/Writing groups
- Supervisor sponsored study groups
- TESOL Researchers Group
Doctor of Education Saturday workshops and talks
The Doctor of Education program offers seminars on the second Saturday of each month. Many of these sessions feature a speaker on the conduct of research projects. These seminars are open to students in all programs.
Session times for 2008 have yet to be announced.
Workshop examples from the 2005 seminar program
On not using ‘names’ lightly. In (and out of) theories as a researcher
and educator
Elaine Butler, Research Centre for Gender Studies
(1 hour approx)
Applying Foucault? Putting theory to work in an educational research
project
Dr Phil Cormack, Centre for Studies in Literacy Policy and Learning Cultures
(1 hour approx)
This session introduced and illustrated three key concepts from the
work of Michel Foucault: discourse, governmentality and subjectivity. Phil
described how these theoretical constructs were put to work in a study of the
idea of adolescence and its 'discovery' or 'invention' in the early
twentieth century education and curriculum. He also considered how the
work of other researchers and theoreticians are brought to these
concepts in order to select, manage and analyse a large corpus of textual
data.
Powerpoint for
Cormack session (Microsoft Powerpoint 1.2Mb)
Online support for external students
In 1997 UniSA began offering a PhD program to education professionals in
Eastern Canada, followed shortly after by delivery of the Doctor of
Education – a course work professional doctorate for people working across a
broad range of education settings. The programs began as a result of a
research and teaching partnership between LPLC key researchers and
colleagues working in universities in Eastern Canada. Since then they have
expanded to accommodate a number of doctoral candidates working with staff
in the School of Education and other Schools in Education, Arts and Social
Sciences. The Doctor of Philosophy and the Professional Doctorate are both
offered in distance mode.
We have established a website which provides information for potential
candidates as well as a password protected site for enrolled candidates. The
online materials include links to online support, discussion sites, and
guides to stages in the research processes. These online materials are
supported by a summer school held in Halifax, Nova Scotia each year and
ongoing support for supervisors through the UniSA supervisor development
program.
Associate Professor Phil Cormack is Program Director for the PhD (LPEO) and
the EdD (MPEO). Details about the programs can be found at
http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/canada-ds/index.htm
Reading/Writing groups
Doctoral Writing Group
Rob Hattam
Throughout 2008 Rob Hattam will conduct a Doctoral Writing Group to support students with their academic writing and particularly with the writing of their doctoral thesis. If you would like to be involved please contact - Rob Hattam - places are limited.
The group will meet in room C1-57 from 5.00 - 6.30pm on the following
dates:
April 17th
May 22nd
July 3rd
August 14th
September 25th
October 23rd
Foucault and Genealogy Reading group
Rob Hattam
This group has formed to read the later Foucault, the genealogical Foucault, interested in power, subjectivity and ethics. Please contact Rob Hattam for details and to register your interest in joining.
Social Theory in Education Reading Group
Rob Hattam and Lew Zipin
The purpose of this reading group is to provide a venue for postgraduate students to read and discuss books related to the study of policy sociology in education. Policy sociology in education, broadly defined, focuses on those investigations that are interested in the design, trajectory and effects of policy in the field of education. The group generally meets every 3 weeks to discuss the nominated reading and many books and article are discussed including; Nikolas Rose’s Power of freedom, Judith Butler’s 2004 publication Precarious life and her 2005 publication Giving an Account of Oneself. A recent focus has been Fear of small numbers: An essay on the geography of anger, the most recent book by renowned post-colonial theorist Arjun Appadurai. Please contact Rob Hattam to register interest in joining.
Discourse Theory & Text Analysis Reading Group
Phil Cormack and Sue Nichols
If your research involves studying language, text, images, interaction or artefacts you will find these readings and discussion relevant. There will be two readings each session, one an introductory text and the other a foundational text, followed by collaborative analysis of an item of data. Registration for the Discourse Theory & Text Analysis Reading Group is essential. Please contact Sarah Rose to register interest in joining.
As of August 2007 the reading group decided to focus on narrative analysis and inquiry.
Online discussion for this group (password protected)
TESOL Researchers Group
Jenny Barnett
The TESOL Resarchers Group meets once a month to to provide a forum for presentation and discussion of research practices, issues and outcomes Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. Please contact Jenny Barnett to become involved.
The group serves a variety of members:
- doctoral candidates following either the Ph.D. pathway or the professional doctorate (Ed.D.) pathway
- visiting doctoral candidates, here to further their studies for some months
- UniSA staff currently undertaking doctoral studies in TESOL, either at UniSA or at another university
- UniSA staff carrying out funded research, post-doctoral work or other research in the field of TESOL
- visiting scholars with an interest in TESOL
The TESOL research focus is broad, encompassing a range of curriculum, pedagogical and other concerns related to teaching and learning English as an Additional Language (EAL), as well as topics related to second and foreign language development more generally.
Current research areas include:
- English non-major studies in Asian universities, with a focus on factors such as learning strategies, learner autonomy, use of IT, teacher talk, and the employment of native speakers of English
- Academic writing in EAL, including offshore undergraduate coursework, technical English for engineering students, and engagement with graduate research writing
- Intercultural interactions in education, including placements for pharmacy undergraduates and teachers working interculturally
- Curriculum and pedagogies to serve Indigenous learners of English, in Australian urban and community settings, and in Nunavut, Canada
- Professional development for teachers working with EAL students
Research sites are located primarily in South Australia and the Asia-Pacific region, notably China, Japan, Korea, Thailand and Vietnam, although the membership is expanding now to include the Middle East and Canada.
The TESOL Researchers Group meets fortnightly on the Magill campus, and follow-up discussion and exchange of resources occurs through a distribution list, backed by a members’ website. Most of the time, some members of the group are overseas, and recordings of meetings are made available to them through the members’ website, which also provides links to other websites relevant to TESOL research, as well as articles of interest put forward by members.
Online discussion for this group (password protected)
Supervisor sponsored study groups
Doctoral Studies Group (Rob Hattam)
This group has been convened to provide opportunities for doctoral students (PhD and EdD) to discuss their work in progress. The group provides a venue for students to present their research designs, methodological struggles, draft analyses, and theory building. As well, there are sessions to discuss scholarly practices such as reading and writing. Please contact Rob Hattam for further information.
The Wednesday Group (Elaine Butler and Sue Shore)
The Wednesday Group is an informal scholarly research group that meets through virtual and face-to-face ‘meetings’ every 6 or so weeks. The group:
- pursues ideas
- shares work
- has in-depth conversations that relate to specific issues
- has theoretical debates on things methodological that take our fancy.
The group fulfils some supervisory needs for candidates working with Sue and Elaine, but extends far beyond that by drawing on all of our resources in various ways: offering suggestions for the ways in which we use our virtual meeting space and volunteering at times to facilitate or lead sessions. It provides a space for us to respect each other’s work and ideas and develop our modus operandi for doctoral research and supervision in a collaborative way. The group is composed of mainly doctoral candidates across Australia (most in Adelaide at this stage) as well as Canada and soon Africa. To this end it challenges us to reconfigure notions of ‘meeting’ and communicating across international timelines and spaces in challenging ways. Membership is through supervision by Elaine Butler and/or Sue Shore.