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Pip Bruce Ferguson PhD, MSocSci(Hons), DipSocSci(Psych), BA(Ed), DipTchg
First, a note about Pip’s name. Bruce is not only the name of her husband, but it was also her surname before she married. When she attained her PhD in 1999, Pip included her surname on the thesis as a tribute to her deceased parents who had made many sacrifices to give her a good education. She has continued to use the name of Pip Bruce Ferguson professionally in her academic career. (Bruce himself has continued to remain dazed and confused about the situation, but to those that know him this will not come as a surprise. See the Blog page of 2nd March for further evidence)
Pip was awarded her PhD in 1999 by the University of Waikato. The title was “Developing a Research Culture in a Polytechnic: An Action Research Case Study” and was based upon work done at The Waikato Polytechnic (now Waikato Institute of Technology) in Hamilton, New Zealand.
A PDF copy can be downloaded by clicking here: PipPhD (note that it is a 4Mb file).
Please leave a message below if you wish to make contact.
Hi Pip
Lovely catching up with you last week – and this website looks great!
Must have been the wine, but I forgot to save the memo on my phone so I lost the contact you suggested. Can you email it to me please
Thanks
Oriel
Hi Oriel
Go to http://www.houseofmontrose.co.nz and you should be able to get to Susan from there.
Cheers
Pip
Dear Pip
I would like ask you for advice regarding my Master’s Degree.
I’m a musician (from a jazz background) and I’m doing my MA in Jazz Performance. When I was researching for my artistic project (besides the project I have to write a 20/25 pages document to justify the performance), I found the Living Educational Theory and it really resonated with me.
I’ve been feeling that my musical practive doesn’t really embody my values in the way I’d like it to. I came to the conclusion that I need more improvisation and interaction, not only with myself, with the band but with the public also. Besides that I feel a very strong need of using my music to affect society on a deeper level, being a platform for social change, in a more sustainable, fair and just society. One of my main inspirations is the way hunter-gatherer tribes use music in such a holistic way…
One possible project would be something like this:
I would have two basic componentes: music and social intervention.
Social intervention:
1) I would create a website were I would ask people form the town where I’m going to perform to write projects or dreams they have and I would select two or three of those.
2) I would invite people from existing projects that exist in that area.
Music:
I’ll ask these people to describe why are they passionate about that project and then I would improvise a piece on the piano, with some moments being played with another invited musician and with the public itself (under my guidance).
After the concert there would be a place for people to exchange ideas. The projects would be posted on my website for future reference, ideally helping create a net of civil cooperation.
The problem is: Some people in my faculty don’t seem to accept that this has a valid concept. They say that this is an introspection but doesn’t seem to create valid discussion to the academy.
I do you think I could support my project theoretically? Is LET a good alternative? Maybe autoethnography or some phenomenological approach?
I would really really appreciate any help you could give because I don’t wan’t to give up what I feel is a deeper misson for my music just because they say it’s not relevant to the academy!!!
Thank you so much
Warm Wishes
Gonçalo Moreira (Aveiro University form Portugal)
Dear Goncalo
I understand what you’re hoping to achieve, and I also understand ‘the academy’s’ resistance to it. There are still a lot of researchers out there who are stuck in the scientific paradigm that sees objectivity, and writing in the third person, as the ‘proper’ way to go.
Obviously, action researchers and the various branches of that approach don’t think that way, because action research requires that people (ideally) research the contexts that THEY are involved in. If you download my thesis, available from my web page, you’ll see lots of stuff on action research, including a slightly debatable concept of ‘solitary’ action research. So I, for one, am very comfortable with research for which the individual who is researching, is also the subject.
There are two action researchers whose work reminds me of what you’re hoping to achieve. One is Geof Hill, an Australian, who included performance cabaret and reflections on that in his doctorate – he’s now at Queensland University of Technology I think. I’m sure he’d be happy to tell you about his work, and perhaps to provide a link to his thesis. The other is Neil Bruce (no relation) who wrote a musical called ‘Take Five, Stay Alive’ as a way of helping young people to take road safety seriously, for his own doctorate and, like Geof, I’m sure he’d be happy to hear from you. However I don’t want to load either of their email addresses to this blog in case of spamming. If you want to send me yours to this address, our moderator will not upload your message, and I can then send you Neil’s and Geof’s addresses after checking with them that they’re happy for me to do so. But the theses of these two guys MAY help your academics to recognise that people can and do gain high level qualifications when they are embedded in their own investigations.
And, of course, if you’ve picked up Living Educational Theories you’re probably familiar with the work of Jack Whitehead, whose website (google it) will give you MANY examples of theses written using this method.
Goncalo, I do encourage you to continue your work to try and get clearance to conduct your research in the way you suggest above.
All the best
Pip
Great talking to you over the weekend Pip. Thanks for the link to your PhD – I think this will be really helpful as our College moves more into action research. Hope to catch up in person soon
Love & hugs Patsy
You’re welcome, and it would be good to help you in your research culture development work if the opportunity arises. Go well – and keep those bucket list items getting checked off! Love and hugs, Pip