May, 2022 - The Doctoral College Blog

Bio: Tracey Warren is currently a postdoctoral research associate on an ESRC funded project within the Developmental Intergroup Processes (DIP) Lab (CLES) until the end of June 2022. Tracey is interested in research focusing on inclusion, diversity and equity in education and enjoys her time researching in schools, talking with parents and other stakeholders about their experiences within the education sector.

Having graduated with an EdD in December 2021 I was considering my future employment options as prior to writing up the thesis I had worked in pretty intensive education leadership positions, both internationally and within the UK. After nearly five years of studying I really wasn’t sure what to do next: a postdoc or return to leadership posts within the primary or special education sector. The post was advertised over the winter break and certainly hit all my interest requirements so I submitted an application.

The postdoc with the ESRC funded project ‘Bystander reactions to the intergroup exclusion of immigrants among British children and adolescents,’ under the guidance of principal investigator, Professor Adam Rutland, has certainly provided me with plenty of challenges, stretching my organisational skills, drawing on my knowledge within education and schools, as well as developing me as a researcher. The Bystander project set out to inform educational policy and practice within schools which would encourage students to challenge discrimination, through social exclusion, and promote positive peer relationships. The project has drawn from the Social Reasoning Developmental (SRD) approach to social exclusion.

Since I took up post at the beginning of February 2022 a large part of my role has been liaising with schools, NGOs, practitioners (such as educational psychologists) and academics to set up seminars and workshops to disseminate the findings of this four-year project. Along with these events there has been the opportunity to work within a project team to review the research findings, coding survey responses, discuss publications and further research study designs related to the initial project findings.

The role has also allowed me the opportunity to develop my own research ideas which have taken me into primary and secondary schools in and around Exeter to interview children and young people about their ideas on bystander responses. The focus groups and interviews are currently being transcribed and will inform a further study by another member of the project team, Ayse Sule Yuksel, that will take place during the second half of the summer term 2022.

Although the Bystander project is coming to the end of ESRC funding, the work continues as the team attend conferences to disseminate the work and articles are drafted, submitted and reviewed for academic publication. If you are interested in the Bystander project findings you can find out more from the seminar and workshop at the Institute of Education on Friday 17^th June, 2022 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/creating-inclusive-schools-research-and-practice-tickets-324353087817, through the DIP Lab website https://blogs.exeter.ac.uk/diplab/projects/bystander-project/ and publication of the first article “Perceived Similarity and Bystander Self-Efficacy Increase the Likelihood of Youth Challenging the Exclusion of an Immigrant Peer” (in press) in https://issbd.org/

#research #psychology #education #inclusion #ESRC #bystander #bystanderresponses #schools #schoolsupport #immigrants #educationalpsychology #academicchatter #academia

Kelly Louise Preece is the Researcher Development Manager for PGRs and the Research and EDI Manager. You’ll recognise her face from workshops, her voice from WEBINARs, and her jokes from the 90s. You can follow her on twitter @Preece_Kelly and subscribe to her podcast for musings about researchers, development…and everything in between!

Last week myself and my job share, Kathryn Coombes, travelled to Penryn to run a couple of face-to-face Lego Serious Play sessions. For those who haven’t attended one of our LSP sessions yet, LSP is a problem-solving methodology, developed by Lego. It is, quite simply, a tool to think through and reflect on problems. We use LSP to deal with some of the more challenging and ephemeral aspects of the PGR experience – for example dealing with writer’s block and finding your way out of a rut.

During the Finding your way out of a rut using Lego Serious Play session we develop a shared ‘toolbox’ for overcoming challenges. The toolbox developed in our sessions last week was particularly useful, and so we wanted to share it here.

Before you start – stop and reflect. Rather than just diving in, think about the problem or challenge ahead of you and what you might need to do to overcome it.
At this point, you may also want to identify your goal or outcome to help you focus on the problem more clearly. This may be setting a deadline, a particular ‘output’ (a presentation, journal article, draft of a chapter) or the answer to a question or problem.
Break it down. Whilst have a goal is important, goals are often big and unmanageable – and therefore demotivating. If your goal is to write a draft of a thesis chapter, break it down in to smaller tasks – reviewing your notes, making a plan, writing individual sections. Smaller tasks are more achievable, less intimidating and help motivate us. You can find some useful resources on this in our Project managing your research degree online resource.
Do your research. Use your skills and do what you do best. If you are stuck in a rut – perhaps you are struggling for motivation after your upgrade – do your research. What strategies exist for maintaining motivation? Can you undertake any training to help? (Hint you can – it’s called maintaining momentum and focus after your upgrade and you can watch a recording of the session on Exeter Learning Environment or access our online resources.)
Talk to other people. Chances are someone in your immediate circle, one of your peers, a postdoc in your department, or even a friend of family member has experienced something similar. Talk the problem through with them. Ask them how they overcame it. What strategies did they develop? They may have helpful solutions – but sometimes just talking through a problem can help you think through a problem or feel less alone.
Use your supervisors. Their role isn’t to solve the problem for you, but it is to guide you. They have oversight and perspective on your project or work as an outsider. Use it. They have also likely been through similar experiences – ask them how they dealt with it.
Get creative. We tend to work in set ways, which work for us most of the time. You might have a set strategy for planning a piece of written work, for instance. But what can you do when it doesn’t work – if you get stuck? Do it differently. Simple tools like mind mapping, using post it notes, or even playing with Lego can help you visualise a problem differently, think critically and creatively and come up with solutions.
Rest. We tend to think the answer to productivity or overcoming a problem is to keep working at it. But it isn’t. We need rest to recharge our literal and metaphorical batteries, but also to let our ideas percolate. There’s a reason why we have our lightbulb moments when we are doing something else – our brains are processing the information and making connections subconsciously. So having rest, and taking breaks, is one of the most important tools in your box. Kay Guccione calls it #TakeBreaksMakeBreakthroughs.
As well as rest, relax. Rest and relaxation are not the same thing – something I have learned the hard way! Engage in activities that nourish and energise you – going for a coffee with a friend, binging the latest Netflix phenomenon, walking, reading, cooking, cycling…whatever floats your boat. For me, its all forms of crafting (knitting, crochet, sewing, embroidery…) and building Lego.
When it’s over – stop and reflect. We learn more in our personal and professional lives from when things go wrong than when they go right. When you have overcome that challenge or got out of that metaphorical rut, reflect. What happened? What strategies did you use to overcome it? How did you cope physical and emotionally? What helped you relax? Who did it really helped to talk to? Through reflection, you can refine your toolbox and build something bespoke to you.