Recent PhD vivas
Come and meet some of the people who have had recent PhD vivas in our Department.
Their theses will soon be available electronically and can be accessed via Lancaster University Library.
You can also view details of some earlier vivas in our Archive of PhD vivas.

Evelyne Jackman
Evelyne was a member of Cohort 5 of the Doctoral Programme in Education and Social Justice and she was supervised by Dr Richard Budd and Dr Cassie Earl.
The title of her thesis is: Being Rooted and Living Globally: A critical approach to the (re)presentation of history in Social and Modern Studies textbooks

Seanan Clifford
Seanan was a member of Cohort 9, of the Doctoral Programme in E-Research and Technology Enhanced Learning, and he was supervised by Dr Melis Cin and Dr Brett Bligh.
The title of his thesis is: Changing Shared Work Practice: Developing Faculty and Administration Voices in Institutional Educational Technology Policy in South Korea

Jen Majka
Jen was a member of Cohort 3 of the Doctoral Programme in Education and Social Justice and she was supervised by Dr Murat Oztok.
The title of her thesis is: Promoting Intergroup Relations Through Dialogue: A Qualitative Study on the Intergroup Dialogue Project.

Matthew Lee
Matthew was a member of Cohort 6 of the Doctoral Programme in Education and Social Justice and he was supervised by Dr Sue Cranmer.
The title of his thesis is: Exploring experiences of ‘inclusive’ education in international schools from the perspective of parents who have children labeled with SEN/D.
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Anita Devi
Anita was a member of Cohort 4 of the Doctoral Programme in Education and Social Justice and she was supervised by Dr Melis Cin.
The title of her thesis is: SENCOs in England: career trajectory, CPD and a leadership model through identity and agency.
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Barbara Turner
Barbara was a member of Cohort 3 of the Doctoral Programme in Education and Social Justice and she was supervised by Dr Jan McArthur.
The title of her thesis is: The best days of our lives? Experiencing literacy inequalities: the continuing impact of literacy inequalities on a group of individuals, who failed to reach their desired level of literacy at school.

Samuel Eneje
Samuel was a member of Cohort 11, of the Doctoral Programme in E-Research and Technology Enhanced Learning, and he was supervised by Dr Julie-Ann Sime.
The title of the thesis is: Educating Sub-Saharan Africa: Assessing Mobile Application Use in a Higher Learning Engineering Programme

Sebah Al Ali
Sebah was a member of Cohort 10, of the Doctoral Programme in E-Research and Technology Enhanced Learning, and she was supervised by Dr Julie-Ann Sime.
The title of the thesis is: Teaching during a pandemic: A cultural-historical activity theory analysis

Siara Isaac
Siara was a traditional route research student and she was supervised by Professor Paul Ashwin
The title of her thesis is: Epistemic Practices: a framework for characterising engineering students’ epistemic cognition.

Antone Osindi
Antone was a member of Cohort 4 of the Doctoral Programme in Education and Social Justice and he was supervised by Dr Murat Oztok.
The title of his thesis is: The case for an egalitarian education system in England: What is stakeholder opinion on abandoning classist structures?

Lee Mackenzie
Lee was a member of Cohort 5 of the Doctoral Programme in Education and Social Justice and he was supervised by Dr Melis Cin.
The title of his thesis is: A Critical Exploration of the Effects of English Language Instruction in Colombian Higher Education on Low-income Students’ Capability Formation.

Lin Zhang
Lin Zhang was a member of Cohort 7, of the Doctoral Programme in E-Research and Technology Enhanced Learning, and she was supervised by Dr Sue Cranmer.
The title of her thesis is: Gamification Design in Self-Paced Online Courses for Adult Learners: A Mixed Methods Study.

Kay Sidebottom
Kay was a member of Cohort 4 of the Doctoral Programme in Education and Social Justice and she was supervised by Dr Murat Oztok.
The title of her thesis is: Rhizomes, assemblages and nomad war machines – re-imagining curriculum development for posthuman times.

Rob Miles
Rob Miles was a member of Cohort 10, of the Doctoral Programme in E-Research and Technology Enhanced Learning, and he was supervised by Dr Kyungmee Lee.
The title of his thesis is: A Change Laboratory: A collective approach to addressing issues in laptop-mediated English language classrooms.

Nicholas Bovee
Nicholas Bovee was a member of Cohort 5, of the Doctoral Programme in E-Research and Technology Enhanced Learning, and he was supervised by Professor Jo Warin.
The title of his thesis is: Left to Their Own Devices: On Using iPads Within a Flipped Classroom Approach to Support Student Autonomy and Engagement in Compulsory EFL Classes.

Anietie UKPabio
Anietie UK Pabio was a member of Cohort 9, of the Doctoral Programme in E-Research and Technology Enhanced Learning, and he was supervised by Professor Don Passey.
The title of his thesis is: Together But Alone: Belongingness and Troublesome Socio-Academic Identities of Distance Doctoral Students.

Dermot O'Donovan
Dermot was a member of Cohort 20 of the Doctoral Programme in Educational Research and he was supervised by Professor Paul Trowler.
The title of his thesis is: Education for Sustainable Development in Irish Higher Education: Policy, Practices and Change in a Climate of (R)evolution.

Annette van Rooij-Peiman
Annette was a member of Cohort 21 of the Doctoral Programme in Educational Research and she was supervised by Dr Ann-Marie Houghton.
The title of the thesis is: The Role of Psychological Capital in First-year Computer Science Students’ Retention from a Threshold Concepts Perspective.

Lauren Mawson
Lauren was a member of Cohort 20 of the Doctoral Programme in Educational Research – Higher Education and she was supervised by Professor Jo Warin.
The title of her thesis is: Educational Preparation of Newly Qualified Nurses and Factors Influencing Transition: A Mixed Methods Case Study.

Nim Yan Sun
Nim Yan Sun was a traditional route research student, supervised by Dr Natasa Lackovic and Professor Paul Ashwin.
The title of her thesis is: Teaching-learning interactions in the design tutorial through the perspectives of semiotics and symbolic interactionism: A case study in advertising and communication design.
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Halcyon Louis
Halcyon was a member of Cohort 3 of the Doctoral Programme in Education and Social Justice and she was supervised by Professor Carolyn Jackson.
The title of her thesis is: Using a Data-Driven Approach to Explore Secondary School Students’ Perspectives on School Violence in Trinidad and Tobago.

Sean McMinn
Sean was a member of Cohort 6, of the Doctoral Programme in E-Research and Technology Enhanced Learning, and he was supervised by Dr Murat Oztok.
The title of his thesis is: The Role of Connectors in Supporting Knowledge Construction in xMOOC Learning Networks: A Mixed Methods Multiple Case Study.

Michael Bowles
Michael was a member of Cohort 10, of the Doctoral Programme in E-Research and Technology Enhanced Learning, and he was supervised by Dr Kyungmee Lee.
The title of his thesis is: An exploration of the mediating effects of a digital, mobile vocabulary learning tool and device use on Gulf Arab learners’ receptive vocabulary knowledge and capacity for self-regulated learning.

Ben Johnson
Ben was a member of Cohort 4 of the Doctoral Programme in Education and Social Justice and he was supervised by Professor Carolyn Jackson.
The title of his thesis is: Towards a Post-Heteronormative Habitus: Teachers’ Perspectives on embedding LGBT+ inclusive Education in UK Primary Schools.

Vassilia Stefanou
Vassilia Stefanou was a member of Cohort 4, of the Doctoral Programme in E-Research and Technology Enhanced Learning, and she was supervised by Professor Don Passey.
The title of her thesis is: Investigating the Implementation of Blended Provisions for an Introductory Computer Module.

Ioana Hartescu
Ioana Hartescu was a member of Cohort 3 of the Doctoral Programme in E-Research and Technology Enhanced Learning and she was supervised by Dr Brett Bligh.
The title of her thesis is: Project-based learning and the development of students’ professional identity: a case study of an instructional design course with real clients in Romania.

Chidi Ezegwu
Chidi was a member of Cohort 4 of the Doctoral Programme in Education and Social Justice and he was supervised by Dr Melis Cin.
The title of his thesis is: Masculinity and Access to Basic Education in Nigeria

Leo Edwards
Leo was a member of Cohort 3 of the Doctoral Programme in Education and Social Justice and he was supervised by Dr Sue Cranmer.
The title of his thesis is: Perception, knowledge and experience of caregivers supporting individuals living with or suspected of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Grenada: An Exploratory Study.

Meg Westbury
Meg Westbury was a member of Cohort 8 of the Doctoral Programme in E-Research and Technology Enhanced Learning and she was supervised by Dr Brett Bligh.
The title of her thesis is: Academic librarians' Twitter practices and the production of knowledge infrastructures in higher education.

Andrea Bullivant
Andrea was a member of Cohort 3 of the Doctoral Programme in Education and Social Justice and she was supervised by Dr Jan McArthur.
The title of her thesis is: From Development Education to Global Learning: Exploring Conceptualisations of Theory and Practice Amongst Practitioners in DECs in England

Dave Webster
Dave was a member of Cohort 20 of the Doctoral Programme in Educational Research – Higher Education and he was supervised by Dr Ann-Marie Houghton.
The title of his thesis is: Art and design course leaders’s perceptions of, and approaches to the curriculum and the implications of these approaches for students.

Steve Chubb
Steve was a member of Cohort 17, of the Doctoral Programme in Educational Research and he was supervised by Professor Pete Boyd and Professor Malcolm Tight.
The title of his thesis is: The impact of a new National Curriculum on subject leaders in primary and secondary schools.

Eloise Symonds
Eloise was a Traditional Route PhD student and she was supervised by Dr Jan McArthur and Professor Paul Trowler.
The title of her thesis is: Reframing power relationships in higher education: An integrated understanding of conflicting power relationships and undergraduate subjectivities in the current university climate.

Zoe Hurley
Zoe was a member of Cohort 9, of the Doctoral Programme in E-Research and Technology Enhanced Learning, and she was supervised by Dr Natasha Lackovic.
The title of her thesis is: Social Media and Gulf-Arab Women’s Empowerment: Lessons in Dynamics and Distractions.

Ravindra Prasad
Ravindra was a member of Cohort 5, of the Doctoral Programme in E-Research and Technology Enhanced Learning, and he was supervised by Dr Brett Bligh.
The title of his thesis is: Is Mobile Learning Effective? Case Studies in the Corporate Training Environment.

David Golding
David was a member of Cohort 3 of the Doctoral Programme in Education and Social Justice and he was supervised by Dr Murat Oztok.
The title of his thesis is: Governing a Sri Lankan higher education institution across the colonial difference.

Thomas Wartenweiler
Thomas was a member of Cohort 3 of the Doctoral Programme in Education and Social Justice and he was supervised by Dr Jo Warin.
The title of his thesis is: Teachers’ Experiences of Spirituality in Swiss Secular High Schools – An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.

Mona Abdelfattah Ahmed Younes
Mona was a member of Cohort 2 of the Doctoral Programme in Education and Social Justice and she was supervised by Dr Murat Oztok.
The title of her thesis is: Blended learning and refugees’ empowerment through a capability approach lens.

Gemma Campion
Gemma was a member of Cohort 2 of the Doctoral Programme in Education and Social Justice and she was supervised by Dr Nicola Ingram.
The title of her thesis is:“Our Voices, Our Images, Our Story”A Narrative Inquiry Study of Children’s Lived Experience in DEIS Primary Schools in Ireland.

Rasha Al Okaily
Rasha was a member of Cohort 7, of the Doctoral Programme in E-Research and Technology Enhanced Learning, and she was supervised by Professor Don Passey.
The title of her thesis is: Moving Towards Flexible Ubiquitous Agnostic Design (FUAD) Framework from an Informed View of Lecturers’ Practices.

Sue Graham
Sue was a member of Cohort 20 of the Doctoral Programme in Educational Research and she was supervised by Professor Malcolm Tight
The title of her thesis is: Higher and Degree Apprenticeships in English Higher Education: a Policy Implementation study.

Deborah Binns
Deborah was a member of Cohort 3 of the Doctoral Programme in Education and Social Justice and she was supervised by Dr Jo Warin.
The title of her thesis is: “Living on the island but staging the world” How can drama help children to understand how they belong in the world? A joint exploration of values and identity by primary aged children and their teacher.
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Errol Luders
Errol Luders was a member of Cohort 8 of the Doctoral Programme in E-Research & Technology Enhanced Learning, and he was supervised by Dr Natasa Lackovic.
The title of his thesis is: Multimedia Artefacts and Teaching-Learning Experiences Relating to Summative Assessment Feedback (SAF) and Student Overall Satisfaction.
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Rasha Essam
Rasha Essam was a member of Cohort 8, of the Doctoral Programme in E-Research and Technology and she was supervised by Professor Don Passey.
The title of her thesis is: A professional development programme for supporting teachers in the design, development, and implementation of Technology Enhanced Learning activities for teaching Arabic as a foreign language.

Peter Hourdequin
Peter Hourdequin was a Traditional Route PhD student and he was supervised by Professor Paul Trowler.
The title of his thesis is: Multilingual Computer-mediated Communication Practice and the development of Symbolic Competence: Insider research from a Japanese University.

Maria Loizou Raouna
Maria Loizou Raouna was a member of Cohort 8 of the Doctoral Programme in E-Research and Technology Enhanced Learning and she was supervised by Dr Kyungmee Lee.
The title of her thesis is: Exploring the Universal Design Principles of a Flipped Classroom Model for Inquiry-Based Learning in Cyprus Primary Education Context: A Multiple Case Study.

Kathryn Fox
Kathryn Fox was a member of Cohort 20 of the Doctoral Programme in Educational Research and she was supervised by Professor Paul Ashwin.
The title of her thesis is: Teacher Educator Perceptions of Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching – A Phenomenographic Study.

Catherine Hasted
Catherine Hasted was a member of Cohort 20 of the Doctoral Programme in Educational Research and she was supervised by Dr Brett Bligh.
The title of her thesis is: Humanities doctoral education for a relational future: a Change Laboratory research intervention.

Patrick Baughan
Patrick Baughan was a member of Cohort 17 of the Doctoral Programme in Educational Research and he was supervised by Professor Malcolm Tight.
The title of his thesis: “The Sociological Imagination”: Researching sustainability, using Phenomenography.

Collette Gavan
Collette Gavan was a member of Cohort 16 of the Doctoral Programme in Educational Research and she was supervised by Dr Sue Cranmer and Professor Murray Saunders.
The title of her thesis is: Using robotics to explore computer programming: Investigating undergraduate student experiences and attainment.

Elaine Allen
Elaine was a member of Cohort 2 of the Doctoral Programme in Education and Social Justice and she was supervised by Dr Jo Warin.
The title of her thesis is: Supporting a School in Kathmandu, Nepal in its Drive for Excellence: A Case Study.