As Investigadoras Maria Helena Araújo e Sá e Susana Pinto, do CIDTFF do Departamento de Educação e Psicologia da Universidade de Aveiro, juntamente com Prue Holmes da Durham University, foram convidadas pela Macquarie University (Austrália) para uma Doctoral Writing Discussion que decorreu no dia 2 de março, das 8h30 às 9h30m, online.
O convite surge da publicação do capítulo “The role of languages in doctoral examination” que integra o livro da Routledge “The experience of examining the PhD: An international comparative study of processes and standards” (editado por Michael Byram & Maria Stooicheva). Ao longo da sessão, as investigadoras interagiram com estudantes de doutoramento sobre o conteúdo do capítulo por eles lido e analisado.
“The role of languages in doctoral examination” | Abstract:
This chapter explores the theme of languages in the experience of examining the doctorate across the 13 case studies. Increasing internationalisation of universities shows that doctoral candidates’ languages were often different from the official languages of the country (and university). While examiners reported being aware of and open to languages impacting the doctoral process (at supervisory and examiner levels, and within international research teams), multilingualism raised tensions around monolingual norms coming from the official language of the country and university. Examiners highlighted the unfair burden that English as a scientific lingua franca placed on candidates, particularly where theses are awarded by publication, which necessitated proof reading and other forms of language support. They also expressed concern about linguistic—including monolingual—standards and norms in the presentation of theses, and how examiners responded in the examination process. The findings highlight the need for support for candidates in acquiring the linguistic knowledge and academic style in the language concerned, and the need for policy development concerning the role of languages in knowledge construction, their representation (and presence) in theses, and in examination processes.
