Two international post-graduate students reflect on their time at Durham University so far.
I’m a 35 year old female from Kansas City, MO, USA. I taught 3rd and 4th grade in a suburban school district outside of Kansas City for 13 years before coming to study a PhD. After about 5 years of teaching, I realized I might want to eventually work in a School of Education training teachers. To do this, I knew I wanted to complete a PhD as a full-time student rather than doing an EdD part-time while working which was an option that some in my district chose. I continued to consider this idea over the next few years. I hosted student teachers in my classroom, served on professional development committees, and became our district’s first New Teacher Facilitator meeting with first and second year teachers on a monthly basis to provide supportive programming. Each of these experiences confirmed my desire to eventually start a PhD and work with preservice teachers.
What brought me to starting my PhD in England at this time was my interest in the primary school curriculum methods. During my undergraduate program, my small liberal arts college in Liberty, Missouri, USA provided the opportunity for education students to travel to Chippenham, England for the month of June and complete a fieldwork experience in classrooms. I was placed with a Year 5/6 class and loved every minute of it! The school taught through topics, and each half term brought a new topic for the students to explore.
During my masters degree a few years later, I participated in the program again. These experiences ignited in me a love of England and a passion for thematic curriculum models. In 2019, I was wanting to travel and visit English schools again, so I started looking for opportunities for teachers. I found the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teacher Research grant and applied. Luckily, I was given the award, but unfortunately, due to the COVID19 pandemic, I had to wait until spring of 2022 to carry out my research.
In April 2022, I spent 3 months at Durham University under the mentorship of Dr. Linda Wang. She was kind, encouraging, and helped me reach the goals I had set for the program. I shared with her my ambition of working with preservice teachers and my interest in research that could make a difference in classrooms. After introducing me to Professor Doug Newton and Professor Lynn Newton, they all encouraged me to consider applying to Durham and working with them on my PhD. Because of the relationship with those three people and how comfortable and welcomed I felt in the city of Durham, I decided to apply and begin my journey.
I’m looking at curriculum models in primary schools. This comes from my experiences in Chippenham during my undergrad and masters programs in addition to my personal teaching experience. As a teacher, I felt like the separate-subject model was not beneficial to my students or me. It made for very segmented days and lacked a feeling of purpose for some of the teaching/learning we were doing.
I have found the resources and faculty expertise to be excellent so far. Each of my supervisors has expertise in a portion of my project. I hope to find or design a tool that captures key stage 2 students’ perspectives on their learning and compare between curriculum models as well as between the US and UK. Dr. Wang is very familiar with comparative research. Professor Lynn Newton is an expert in primary school teaching and the curriculum, and Professor Doug Newton is an expert in students’ thinking and creativity. I am confident I’m gaining a wealth of knowledge by having these 3 as my supervisors.
While the US and UK have many similarities in their education systems, from my experiences, it seems the US is much more separate-subject and testing focused. The provides a comparative lens from which I view the literature and during my Fulbright research, my observations and interviews.
The experiences our children have and the knowledge and skills they are exposed to at young ages can have a big impact on how they view themselves now and in the future. In a fast-changing world, it’s important that we’re providing learning experiences that make the most of the primary school years and prepare children for an unknown future. I believe my research will provide further understanding of how to create these learning environments for all children.
I really appreciate the structure. It was one of the reasons I ultimately chose to pursue a degree in the UK rather than in the US. I needed a better work/life balance after being a teacher and having several commitments in and out of school. I was worried that attending a university in the US where I would have several classes each semester for the first two years and be thrust into graduate teaching work would add to a feeling of burnout. Because of the structure at Durham, I am finding a better balance in life and am looking forward to opportunities later in my program where I might take on some teaching at the university.
My supervisors have been fantastic, and I feel I can stop in their offices anytime to talk. They have made me feel very comfortable. They have also set me up with a peer mentor who is another international student studying primary school curriculum. I also attended some of the induction meetings at the beginning of the term for PGR students. At the tea/biscuits/conversation time after the meeting, I met several peers from various colleges and departments with whom I have continued a friendship.
I want to become a respected voice for primary school teaching and learning. I would consider a research position for a short time, but I want to work with teachers. My ultimate goal would be to work in a college or university that allows me to do some research, work with preservice teachers, and have a consultant role with local schools to develop their curriculum and work with their teachers.
Even though I’m in such an early stage of the degree, I’ve been told that there will probably be some opportunities for me to mentor other postgraduate students and possibly assist with some teaching at the university. These opportunities, along with my research degree from such a prestigious research-oriented School of Education, will provide experience I need to secure a teaching and research position at a university.
I chose to attend Durham University for its academic prestige and athletic recognition. I was really drawn to this program because being a dual citizen of two countries, I experience intercultural communication every single day of my life. Back home, I am a physical education teacher and felt that this degree was very appropriate as I teach students from many different countries that speak many different languages. This degree will greatly benefit my communication skills not only as an educator but also in my everyday life. Durham University is also a very well known and prestigious university which further swayed me to want to attend!
The University has done an amazing job at supporting my transition by providing a lot of resources and support. Ustinov College which is where I live has hosted many events to get to know a lot of other students and have made me feel very welcomed in this new environment. I feel that I am in a safe space and can always ask questions on anything that I may need.
I think that Durham’s teaching and research excellence will greatly benefit my career as a future educator by ensuring I receive the best education. My professors have a lot of experience in the intercultural communication field which makes me confident that I will develop my skills in this subject area.It has also been lovely working with other international students which in itself has enhanced my intercultural communication.
The formative and summative assessment that I will need to complete for the Intercultural Communication module has already been memorable as I have had to and will further continue to practise my intercultural communication. This is because I will conduct interviews with a student from another country and analyse my communication with them. I find this assignment very unique and helpful towards my goals.
This programme has encouraged me to apply knowledge as we often analyse case studies and simulations in class that encourage my problem-solving in intercultural contexts. This involves analysing real-life scenarios from educators in other countries and has led to debating different cultural interpretations which has been really interesting to me. We take part in a lot of group analysation and discussion which further allows me to apply my knowledge.
Being an international student here at Durham has definitely supported the idea of how important intercultural communication is due to the exposure to a diverse student body on a daily basis. Since being here, I have met students from many different cultural backgrounds which has taught me a lot about different cultures. These interactions have enriched my learning because every day I experience interactions that require intercultural communication as I have direct engagement with a range of students that have many cultural perspectives.
As I mentioned previously, my students are from many different places all over the world which is why this programme will greatly benefit my future career. San Diego, California is a very intercultural city and I will definitely utilise the skills and knowledge that I will gain from this programme.
I think that analysing documents containing other educators’ cultural experiences with group members has been a really helpful activity that will be very valuable in my future work because I will need to work with other educators and decide which teaching methods will be most effective for our students. Furthermore, reading various research articles on different aspects of cultures will also help me in my future work to better understand my students.
The study options here at Durham have been great as an international student. Being able to view the material remotely has helped me in working at my own pace and revising key ideas from lectures. Furthermore, having review sessions with the teaching assistants have also helped me a lot in diving deep into the material assigned. Lastly, collaborating with my peers and also having individual work has been a great balance in supporting my learning.
After graduating from Durham University I would like to be a full time physical education high school teacher and a tennis coach, hopefully in California. The University is helping me towards my goals by supporting me in helping me be a better educator with students from different cultural backgrounds. Also, in communicating with my peers from various countries, I will be prepared to work with my colleagues in my future educational setting. Playing on the tennis team here has also helped me in my goals as I aspire to continue playing at a high level after finishing my collegiate tennis career.
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