Capstone Chronicles 1: Introduction
I am writing this series of blog posts called ‘Capstone Chronicles’ as part of the community of practice for the Ma International Development/Global Studies at RMIT.
The blog aims to critically reflect on key processes, ideas, challenges and learnings throughout the planning, conducting and writing of my capstone thesis. In each post, I aim to critically reflect on either a technical milestone or ‘light bulb moment’ in the hope that these reflections are helpful for others undertaking a thesis or research project in the Ma program or otherwise.
I really wanted this thesis to be practical and immediately contribute in some way to either my own practice or others. Inspired by Michaela Guthridge’s ‘Without Choice’ thesis research in partnership with the Salvation Army, I planned to collect data through a research project which would also provide immediate benefit to a partner organization. My background in education made me keen to pursue a learning focus, and that’s about all I was sure of.
So, my initial planning was really a drawing together of key aspects of the program: My reflective report which focused articulating processes; my MSC story through which I navigated the intersection of pluralism and my role as a teacher and development practitioner; my critical annotated bibliography which explored voice; an exploration of NGOs as gap-filling actors; colonialism’s separating and positivist legacy; decolonial and post development theoretical framings; and ecological ways of thinking, being and knowing.
The following post I will outline my experiences and learning through the program under three key themes: reflexivity, articulation, and community, which have shaped my thesis topic and the initial questions of how participants in capacity-building programs construct (rather than receive) knowledge, and which existing processes, when made visible, can facilitate a shift from top-down ‘capacity building’ to mutually reflexive collaborative knowledge construction.
In following posts, I will reflect on aspects of my thesis development including applying for ethics approval, seeking peer support through our community of practice, co-design and data collection, participatory data analysis, and key theoretical frameworks.
