Practices and Experiences in Educational Researcher Training: Reflections from Research Students Exploring the Theme, Living Well in a World Worth Living in During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

AbstractThischapter is a case study which describes and reflects on the first steps into research practice for a group of international Masters students who were soon to embark on writing educational research theses when the COVID-19 pandemic started in early 2020. Because of a sudden transition to online learning and cancellation of in-person fieldwork opportunities, this group of fledgling researchers conducted a small research project that sought answers to the question—What does it mean to live well in a world worth living in? The purpose of the project was to find out how this particular group of people, in a certain time and place, would respond to this question. Four themes emerged: political engagement; connection and basic needs; social stratification and access; living slow and in ‘flow’. This chapter outlines this project from the perspective of a research student and the teacher, and illuminates the various student groups’ understandings of what it means to live well in a world worth living in. Using the theories of ‘communities of practice’and ‘practice architectures’, the chapter reflects on the dynamics and processes through which the research student groups engaged with the subject; and what their experience might mean for educational researcher training.