Graduate Research School

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The Graduate Research School has overall responsibility for maintaining the formal University record of each student’s path through a research qualification. We keep students informed of seminars, forums, events and other activities, both social and academic via the postgraduate and doctoral networks. We also coordinate a central seminar series for all postgraduate students.

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    The changing landscape of master's degree curricula: a view from New Zealand
    (University of Minho Institute of Education Research Centre in Education (CIEd), 2013) Kelly, E; Kranenburg, I; Morgado, JC; Alves, MP; Viana, I; Ferreira, C; Seabra, F; van Hattum-Janssen, N; Pacheco, JA
    Until recently, master’s degrees were primarily focused on developing research skills and enabling further specialisation in a subject area studied at undergraduate level. Over the last twenty years their focus has broadened and there is now a wide variety of master’s degrees, partly as a result of increasing participation in higher education and also because of the demand for professional qualifications at postgraduate level. Alongside this, not only has there been significant growth in the numbers of master’s qualifications, but also increasing variation in terms of the focus of the curriculum and, the volume of work required for completion of the degree. As Davies (2009) so fittingly comments, this variety of modes and purposes gives the master’s degree ‘a polymorphous character, which is not yet well charted’ (p.17). Taking a qualitative approach and using documentary analysis of selected qualifications frameworks and related documentation, this paper explores changing nature of master’s degrees and how their characteristics are represented in qualifications frameworks in New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom and Europe. Traditionally, the majority of New Zealand master’s degrees have been classified as research degrees. We will examine the recent changes to master’s degrees in New Zealand, and discuss these in relation to master’s qualifications elsewhere, highlighting key features and differences, including those related to curriculum structures.
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    Making it work: identifying the challenges of collaborative international research
    (University of Calgary Press, 2006) Goddard, JT; Cranston, N; Billot, J
    In this article, we explore the challenges – and benefits – of conducting collaborative research on an international scale. The authors – from Australia, Canada, and New Zealand – draw upon their experiences in designing and conducting a three-country study. The growing pressures on scholars to work in collaborative research teams are described, and key findings and reflections are presented. It is claimed that such work is a highly complex and demanding extension to the academic’s role. The authors conclude that, despite the somewhat negative sense that this reflection may convey, the synergies gained and the valuable comparative learning that took place make overcoming these challenges a worthwhile process. The experiences as outlined in this paper suggest that developing understandings of the challenges inherent in undertaking international collaborative research might well be a required component of the professional development opportunities afforded to new scholars.
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    Forming school identities in the context of increasing community diversity
    (Common Ground Publishing Pty Ltd, 2008) Billot, J
    If identity is culturally constructed, then the context in which it develops impacts on its stability during a time of social change.Within Aotearoa/New Zealand, communities are experiencing multiple forms of change due to the repercussions of political, economic and social policies. A further significant transformation is that of the ethnic composition of communities, instantiated by the Auckland metropolis. While communities are evaluating levels of social and economic sustainability, principals within secondary schools are also grappling with a school character that is dynamic, complex and challenging. It is within such school communities that benefit is gained from proactive leadership strategies that facilitate social cohesion. Conceptually, if identity relates to both the ‘internal experience of place and external participation in world and society’ (Cockburn, 1983, p. 1) then school identity should provide an inclusive environment whereby students can belong to the school while retaining their own sense of cultural self. This paper refers to the research findings of an international study, to show that while deliberate practices can draw together diverse groups to achieve social inclusion, tension exists when the focus is not fully multi-dimensional.
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    The New Zealand internet project: marrying a global survey with local funding
    (New Zealand Sociology, 2010) Billot, JM; Crothers, C
    No abstract.
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