In this article, I present how I navigated unexpected apprehension that I faced while communicating with teacher participants during my PhD data collection (via interviews, observations and document study). I mediated the apprehension by strategies such as disclosing my teacher identity, expressing an interest in their practice and assuring them…

This paper reports how I addressed the issue of extensive missing values in my PhD study, "Digital Competencies of High School Mathematics Teachers". I collected data using an online survey. Several methods exist to address the issue of missing values. I utilised multiple imputation (MI) as it provides more accurate results. The mean…

An increasingly multicultural Aotearoa early childhood education (ECE) landscape forms the context for my doctoral study in progress. My research explores the culturally embedded and negotiated environmental identities of a growing number of migrant Indian teachers. This article documents my experiences of confronting and navigating the unexpected…

The global COVID-19 pandemic has severely hit the lives of the people of Nepal. The country witnessed two phases of lockdown over 10 months from March 2020 until August 2021. I completed my PhD data collection in Nepal through February to April 2021, when the pandemic's risk was naturally lowered. My research explores local value systems of…

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected the field of teaching and educational research, requiring new changes to methodological tools in my research. My doctoral study examines Maldivian primary teachers' engagement with social studies pedagogies through reflection. The pandemic posed several complex data collection challenges which I…

The move to focus on Pacific indigenous research methodologies and methods is a complex yet ongoing experience for researchers of Pacific heritage. The relational positionalities of Pacific researchers allow a move away from a dual or binary perspective of one's research responsibilities to a more fluid understanding of what it means to do…

This article draws from a larger doctoral study that examines parents' and teachers' perceptions of parental involvement in early childhood learning. The COVID-19 lockdown happened on March 18, 2020, in Cameroon before data collection was completed, therefore presenting an opportunity to investigate home-school relationships during this period.…

This article retells the story of a researcher from the time she prepared for the data-gathering in her home country, to the time she was in the field. The story, in her own words, are reflections on how she utilised the advantages of being an insider to the studied context. The lessons illustrated by the researcher in this article may help other…

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese students studying in doctoral and postgraduate programmes outside of China numbered over 600,000 (2017). A number of these students may return to China to gather data. This article explores tensions between compliance with the bounds of formal ethical approval and further research opportunities that may…

The article documents the reflections on gathering data from the home country via distance while living and studying in New Zealand. These reflections strengthen the idea that data collection via distance could be a viable solution in circumstances where face-to-face data collection may not be an option. Three threads: negotiations, insider…

The appointment of the University of Waikato's first Assistant Vice-Chancellor Pacific in February 2019 was an important milestone, not only recognising years of work and dedication by numerous Pacific and Maori staff, but triggering a new strategic direction for 'Pacific at Waikato'. This paper explains that journey, one that is underpinned by…

World-wide responses to the global pandemic, such as travel restrictions, border closures and lockdowns, have posed new challenges to researchers. For qualitative researchers conducting fieldwork, gathering data in person can be inapplicable (Howlett, 2021). My research investigates English as a Foreign Language (EFL) pre-service teachers' beliefs…

A postgraduate student researcher coming from a context where there is an absence of an active research culture is likely to face several challenges when undertaking doctoral study at a university with a deep-rooted culture of research. They may experience academic writing, researching and thesis structuring struggles, and may specifically…