Vernon Trafford

Anglia Ruskin University | ARU · Department of Education

The chapter presents an imagined ~ but research / experience informed ~ conversation on the essential aspects of doctoral supervision. It focuses on how an experienced supervisor enabled his doctoral candidates to generate theses that examiners passed with no alteration. The conversation poses questions about that process which are answered. It rai...

The issue of investigating the style of introductory chapters in doctoral theses emerged from our joint experience in conducting doctoral workshops and encountering doctoral candidates from different disciplines, universities and countries. Questions regarding the Introduction chapter to theses that always emerge include, ‘What should the introduct...

Being a successful doctoral supervisor and adhering to international requirements and contexts involves important qualities, for example: being knowledgeable in disciplines and understanding different methodologies; being sensitive to cultural diversity; and cultivating interpersonal relationships. As doctoral candidates and their supervisors carry...

This study investigated how candidates claimed to have made an original contribution to knowledge in the conclusion chapters of 100 PhD theses. Documentary analysis was used to discover how this was explained within theses at selected universities in three countries. No other documents were accessed and neither were candidates, supervisors or exami...

Achieving a doctorate presents candidates with certain challenges – undertaking the research, writing the thesis and defending both at their viva. Throughout that doctoral journey, candidates are expected to display doctorateness in their thesis via the characteristics of high‐quality scholarly research. The blockages that occur and prevent candida...

The conceptual framework is alluded to in most serious texts on research, described in some and fully explained in few. However, examiners of doctoral theses devote considerable attention to exploring its function within social science doctoral vivas. A literature survey explores how the conceptual framework is itself conceptualised and explained....

This article addresses the issue of the hidden cultural dynamics prevailing in teaching and learning English as a foreign language. The study examined the extent to which teachers’ oral feedback and the resulting classroom interaction were affected by aspects of the cultural backgrounds of the teacher and the learners. Evidence is based on an ethno...

This paper illustrates how learners who tell THEIR stories can enhance their learning. Two educational contexts were compared to illustrate different forms of reflective practices. From Israel, first‐year students in a teacher training college who were training to become English teachers participating in an ‘Introduction to Education’ course, were...

Most studies on metalearning and metacognition have focused on undergraduates where reflective and active awareness of learning practices and achievements, or metalearning, has been seen to be useful, indeed essential for the learning achievement of undergraduates (Biggs et al., 20012. Biggs , J , Kember , D and Leung , DYP . (2001). The revised...

Results from action research conducted at APU largely with Israeli PhD students, start to identify good practice in supervisory dialogues, peer support and in facilitative strategies as part of research development programmes. Our results, focusing on learning conversations between students and supervisors, students and peers on research developmen...

Knowing what occurs at doctoral vivas is restricted to those who attend. Since 1998 the author has observed the transactions of doctoral vivas in the disciplines of applied sciences, education, environmental sciences and social science as either Chair, examiner or supervisor. With the agreement of participants the author’s participation in, and obs...

Most research indicating dissonant forms of student learning engagement, leading to problems in the achievement of learning outcomes, is with undergraduates. Action research at Anglia Polytechnic University (APU) involving questionnaires, focus groups and supervisory dialogues, conducted with Israeli and UK postgraduate students between 1998 and 20...

What transpired in one doctoral viva is described and analyzed by the two examiners, candidate, supervisor and chair who participated in their respective ways during this event. The sequence and content of questions asked by the experienced and the less experienced examiners are presented and explained. The theoretical significance of the questioni...

This paper suggests that a significant proportion of questions in a doctoral viva can be predicted. Our evidence is based on 25 doctoral vivas where questions asked by examiners were collected and textually analysed, identifying clusters of themes across vivas. Critical generic questions were drawn from each cluster of themes representing a templat...

During the past two years there have been a number of radical changes in the political, economic and social environment within which local authorities have had to operate. This has placed new pressures and demands both on managers and on local authority organisations which have inevitably affected the attitude towards management development. It is...

This article describes the background, design and conduct of a short programme on Staff Appraisal and Development which was held at Bhopal, India, during May 1976. It indicates that when the identification of training needs is legitimised, subsequent support for a programme of development affects the learning process.

Increasing numbers of domestic and international postgraduates are studying at a distance or offshore. For their supervisors, this could present particular challenges concerning negotiating issues and practices related to demands of studying and undertaking research at a distance, balancing research, work and domestic responsibilities and, for inte...

Bibl. p. 221-246