The PhD Journey So Far
This month I have been bringing together and reflecting on 20 months’ worth of writing as I draw near to a significant milestone on the PhD journey- the Annual Progress Review (APR).
The APR is intended to ensure that students are progressing toward a doctorate and will achieve an on-time submission of suitable quality. The APR process needs to be completed before the end of 12 months for full-time students or 24 months for part-time students.
The thesis topic for my PhD is Reimagining broader equity goals for neurodivergent children and young people.
The thesis topic for my PhD is Reimagining broader equity goals for neurodivergent children and young people. I am using a comparative case study approach to explore neurodiversity across Scotland, Denmark, and Abu Dhabi. My interest in this topic is driven by my own experiences within the neurodiversity sector as a teacher, school leader and a professionally accredited and qualified coach. These countries have been identified due to my work as a school principal in Scotland, the connection we had with another autistic organisation in Denmark and a new position I recently started in Abu Dhabi.
The first 12 months of my PhD consisted of many new opportunities, and access to professional development, including training and learning a language. I was involved in delivering workshops and webinars on my research topic including what ‘inclusion’ currently looks like for autistic individuals in Scotland at the 11th Symposium on Autism in Nanjing, China, and Creating a Culture of Wellbeing for Autistic Pupils in Schools for Worth-it Positive Education, in England. I wrote two successful funding bids for a Danish Language course run through Edinburgh University and was accepted into the ‘Spring into Methods Workshops’ run by the SGSSS. A highlight was publishing my research on coaching and teacher agency in CollectivEd working papers for Leeds Beckett University.
Year 2 of my journey has brought new challenges, including navigating a move to the United Arab Emirates.
Year 2 of my journey has brought new challenges, including navigating a move to the United Arab Emirates. I have considered the framing of my research and how I draw from the three different countries, highlighting how the locations illuminate one another. I have started to learn and use common greetings and responses in Arabic and learnt more about the Arab culture supported by my colleagues at work. I am noticing that this influences my thinking a lot, particularly in this field and the navigation of different systems and processes across cultures. Looking ahead to my next year, I have been revisiting my PhD timetable, which spans across 2-year blocks from 2021 – 2026. I have started the process of ethics and firming up the method and methodology of my research as part of dividing up the use of my time.
I have recently launched the Neurodiversity Digital Resource Library.
In conclusion, at this point in my PhD journey, the neurodivergent perspective in this research is still core to my research along with the perspectives of parents and carers. I have recently launched the Neurodiversity Digital Resource Library. It includes books, websites, podcasts, video recordings and other documents that are accessible electronically. This Digital Resource Library is built with the ability to filter content according to resource type and neurodiversity. It will continuously be updated and added to throughout my PhD and beyond.
