International student mobility has garnered significant attention in higher education research. Despite this attention, a fundamental question persists in the field: What does it mean to be an 'international student', as perceived by the students themselves? This article presents the findings of a phenomenological qualitative study to delve into…

The student experience with mathematical modelling has the potential to differ in nature to the experience of a typical mathematics student. The research reported in this paper forms part of a broader study looking into tertiary learning experiences for mathematical modelling. This paper reports on: What are the student experiences when learning…

This paper focuses on Vietnamese PhD students' imaginative geographies of their destination countries. Using the data collected from in-depth semi-structured interviews with 18 Vietnamese PhD students, the study examines the participants' preparation for their sojourn before their departure, as well as their first multi-sensory experiences of the…

My PhD study explored the experiences of a cohort of Iranian doctoral candidates in New Zealand. This paper presents my response to the unexpected challenge I faced as I collected data and formed my theoretical framework. I found that Western interpretations of non-Western international students largely ignored social-cultural specificities. I…

Based on a study of a postgraduate course, we show how--through the processes associated with applying a strategic tool--students developed the understandings that allowed them to span disciplinary and organizational boundaries. We reveal how the students, working in groups and acting as consultants to industry clients, developed specific…

Teaching evaluation is deeply entrenched in institutional quality assurance and is a feature of a range of policies including academic recruitment, promotion, and performance management. Universities must ensure that evaluation practices meet regulatory requirements, while balancing student voice and wellbeing. There is extensive literature…

This paper proposes a distance-based doctoral supervisory model to support students in the process of navigating self, agency, and emotions over their doctoral journey. The model emerged through our examination of the lived experiences of three Chinese female doctoral students who, though enrolled as internal students in our New Zealand…

A sometimes-neglected aim of education in the context of Maori, the tangata whenau (indigenous peoples) of Aotearoa New Zealand, is to build Maori students (tauira) as Maori, a process that supports them to navigate the academic world as well as enhancing their "Maoritanga" (Maori practices, beliefs, way of life). Notions of educational…

Many countries have doctoral viva examinations, mostly conducted in-person until the COVID-19 pandemic. This article explores the changing processes and experiences of doctoral vivas forced online, from the perspectives of three examiners (two Uk, one NZ) and one recent candidate (UK). It sheds light on remote viva examinations exploring…

Attending and presenting at academic conferences is an essential aspect of the doctoral journey. Academic conferences offer opportunities for PhD students to present their research, network with other researchers, and learn about the newest developments in their field. This small-scale, qualitative study explored conference experiences of nine…

Socialisation in doctoral education is a multifaceted process through which students acquire the knowledge, skills and values required to perform in a scholarly community. The literature reports numerous experiences of doctoral students, but socialisation and the challenges faced by international students has received limited attention. As an…

This report presents an evaluation of students' experiences in a student-run clinic project in Aotearoa New Zealand, aiming to provide interprofessional learning opportunities and accessible health services to the community. Qualitative focus group interviews were conducted with students' post-clinical placement. A six-step thematic data analytic…

Purpose: This study introduces a non-orthodox approach to the dominant policy-based approaches to graduate employability through contextualizing international students' everyday experiences within their educational and wider structural contexts of the labour market. Design/methodology/approach: The study used narrative frames to collect data from…

Innovations in schooling and the architectural design of schools offer the opportunity to re-examine existing pedagogical practices. Graduating teachers need to be ready to teach and conversant with changing school environments and approaches to school organisation. However, there is a dearth of research that explores the student teachers'…

A wealth of evidence about the place and value of student evaluations of teaching (SET) exists. Issues highlight often unspoken assumptions about the separation of evaluation from core teaching-learning processes. Despite the research presenting the teacher/institutional viewpoint, few studies address student perceptions of, and engagement with,…