I believe that PhD findings should be freely available and not hidden in university libraries. A summary of my PhD (carried out between 2014 and 2018) is available at: http://www.gertrudecotter.info/phd.thesis/
Thesis title:
“What can educators learn about engaging university students in Development Education (DE)? A Critical investigation into the power of community-linked learning and multimedia methodologies in Irish Higher Education”.
This PhD study explores the concept of Civic Engagement in Local and Global Social Justice issues in Higher Education. It uses participatory action research, direct action and web-based action on local and global social justice issues. Focusing on student teachers at University College Cork, Ireland, it includes a virtual classroom in which students and participants from diverse backgrounds in Ireland and a developing country come together to learn about and take action on social justice issues in a collaborative forum. It asks if virtual cultures and direct action social justice communities develop and encourage stimulating and intellectually transformative learning, in collaborative learning partnership. The study explores student and participant perceptions and reflections on their progress and participation in learning. Qualitative methodologies are used to identify the philosophical intersection at which multiple pedagogies meet: civic engagement, social justice, critical pedagogy, digital humanities, development and intercultural education. The research illustrates the capacity, or not, for intentionally constructed online and direct-action educational experiences to stimulate innovative and transformative approaches to university teaching and learning with a view to improved civic engagement in global social justice issues and improved intercultural skills for all participants with the ultimate aim of effecting meaningful change in lived injustice. Participating Groups UCC Students Refugee Community Lesvos, Greece Community Radio Youghal Action Lesotho Family Carers Cork LArch Community