Doctoral defense in education science: Megumi Nishida
Aðalbygging
Aula in the main building of the University of Iceland
Megumi Nishida defends her PhD thesis in Educational Sciences, University of Iceland. The oral defence takes place Tuesday, December 5, at 1:00 pm in the Aula in the main building of the University of Iceland as well as in live stream.
Dissertation title: Becoming a hybrid educator within the global context: Self-study for empowerment.
Opponents: Dr Kathleen Pithouse-Morgan, Professor at the University of Nottingham, England, and Dr Monica Taylor Professor at Montclair State University, USA.
Main supervisor: Dr Hafdís Guðjónsdóttir, Professor emerita at the School of Education, University of Iceland.
Co-supervisor: Dr Ólafur Páll Jónsson, Professor at the School of Education, University of Iceland.
Expert in the Doctoral Committee was Dr Deborah Tidwell Professor at the University of Northern Iowa, USA.
Dr Karen Rut Gísladóttir head of the faculty of education and pedagogy will conduct the ceremony.
All welcome.
About the project:
In my doctoral project, I explored the path to empowerment in becoming a hybrid educator between Japan and Iceland through the Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices (self-study) methodology. The dissertation (kápa) collects my five self-studies with various qualitative methods to make meaning of my doctoral project.
A concept of empowerment theoretically underpins my self-study research. For data collection and analysis, I used narrative as an overarching method. In the early stages of my self-study (2014-2018), I relied on traditional qualitative methods such as interviews and observations to collect data. In the later stages (2019-2023), I used arts-based methods, including metaphor and Japanese Haiku poetry. Combining these different methods, my self-study methods kept developing to explore answers to my complex questions and go beyond “so what” through multiple layers of analysis.
The first self-study investigates the self-study movement in Japan and my potential position as a critical friend to the Japanese teachers’ self-study community. The second self-study explores my professional development at an Icelandic preschool using the metaphor of “building the boat.” The third self-study examines my workshop experience of teaching critical reflection to Japanese student teachers through Haiku. The fourth self-study publication analyzes how my understanding of “love” transformed while working with Icelandic children. Finally, the fifth self-study reflects on the critical friendship-based doctoral student and supervisor relationship.
Upon reflecting on the five self-studies, I identified two streams: Professional life (how I became a hybrid educator between Japan and Iceland); and self-study methodology (how my understanding and the use of self-study methodology changed as I gained more professional experiences in the global context). Based on the findings, I discuss the three types of hybridity that make me become a hybrid educator. In conclusion, I share a short story about my doctoral studies using the self-study tree metaphor to encapsulate my overall learning from the self-study experience.
About the doctoral candidate
Megumi Nishida (西田めぐみ) is a hybrid educator educated and trained in Japan and Iceland. She completed her undergraduate studies and earned teaching certificates in social studies and English at the Osaka University of Foreign Studies in Japan. She moved to Iceland in 2008, and enrolled in International studies in education, M.A., and then Teaching in lower secondary school, M. Ed. at the University of Iceland to earn teaching certificates in Iceland. She has been working as an early childhood educator at an Icelandic preschool since 2014. Megumi is married to Baldur Sigurgeirson and their daughter is Særún Sai Baldursdóttir Nishida.
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