Can anyone else relate?
Since schools went back after lockdown, I have found it challenging to balance work and study. I am now utilising any spare time I have to work on my Literature Review, MORE form and Inquiry Proposal. It is safe to say blogging has been the last thing on my agenda, so I thought it was about time to do a little catch-up blog...
Writing my literature review really helped me pin-point an inquiry title. I began by reading literature around the topic of teacher/student relationships in dance education. Many themes popped up such as self-esteem, authoritarianism, power balance (or imbalance), care, dialogue and the role of the student. However, these themes did not initially help with my aim to find an inquiry title. I had to map these themes and discover what I really wanted to find out from my research. This led me to realise that I actually wanted to know which aspects of the teacher/student relationship best support the student's learning experience. I am excited to see what my research unveils next module.
I have been working through the MORE form and proposal together and admittedly have found it really difficult. I began Module Two by reading all about what is meant by a qualitative non-positivist approach to research and felt fairly confident that I knew what I was going to do. However, whilst writing about methodology and data collection methods in both my Literature Review and Proposal, I realised I was unsure which approach would be most valuable to my research. There was a lot more to consider; what would make the participants feel more comfortable in sharing, how I could best support them and what am I really wanting to get from my data collection, as well as considering the 12 weeks time frame. I have been looking further into ethnography and narrative research to discover which approach would best suit my inquiry. Although I have a rough idea, I am hoping to discuss this further in my mid-term supervision this week.
Although I am facing these challenges now, I can't help but think that at least I will have something to write about in my Reflective Essay...
I hope you are all well :)
Hi Alice, it was lovely to read where you are up to! I agree the Literature Review is a great tool to lead you to a specific point of interest and inquiry. Your focus on the relationship aspects beneficial to the student's learning experience sounds really interesting and I'm really looking forward to seeing where that takes you!
ReplyDeleteI've been struggling a lot with the specifics of my own inquiry and haven't focused too much on filling in forms yet as I really want to try and understand what I'm doing (otherwise I really have no chance of telling someone else about it!). I was worried about where I was but when I spoke to Sam he reassured me that some topics just take a bit more digging and exploring first, and this may be true for you finding which approach you'd like to take with yours.
Looking forward to your next update! x
Thank you Roanne! I think it's really important to take the time to get to know the specifics around your point of interest, hopefully the rest will follow quite comfortably after. I am glad you had a reassuring discussion with Sam, what he says makes sense! I am excited for my tutorial with him on Friday! This process is proving quite challenging, but we will get there in the end. I will be catching up on your blog a bit later x
DeleteHi Alice,
ReplyDeleteI am back at school now as well and feeling similar with having to juggle work and study! The literature review is a great place to start to get your ideas going and seeing what is out there. Also, don't be worried if your ideas change! It is part of the process and lots of things may not go as planned. But that is ok.
Thank you for this post!
Alys x
Hi Alys, it's nice to know I am not alone in feeling this way. I agree, the Literature Review was so helpful to gather and arrange my thoughts. And thank you so much for the advice! It is scary to think that the process may change, but I keep reminding myself to have no expectations, just acceptance. x
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