This week, our research work was centered around producing a first draft of our methodology report. As a group, we have gotten into a good rhythm of splitting up the work but also being there to support each other if some people's workloads are heavier on certain weeks. This week, we wrote the methodology report in three parts: looking at our literature review, our form analysis, and how we started making our framework for the impact evaluation form for the alternative provision and day school groups. At first I struggled to get started but once I reflected on the journey of the past few weeks I was able to complete the first draft, which will naturally continue expanding as we continue making the final framework for the forms.
This week also had an insanely, incredibly inspiring start for me. As a cohort, we were fortunate enough to be visited by Catherine Day and Matthew Rycroft, who provided us with stories from their long-lasting careers as civil servants, advice on how to make a difference in this world, and their personal opinions on what makes a great leader. It was fantastic to see how these two people, who have seen politics in all its forms from inside the machine, still remain undeterred in the positive possibilities for government, and their initiative the National Strategy Project encapsulated that. It was a gentle but firm reminder of what this programme is all about; ethical leadership and making a difference in the communities which have opened themselves to us.
Now that we are halfway through the summer, I am just feeling immense gratitude for the opportunity I have been given. I have learnt so much about research, an area which as a law student I wasn't as well versed in, through the introductory sessions each week with our programme manager Ben, and have also learnt more about myself, and the type of adult and leader I would like to be, I have also learnt so much about Oxford, and how it extends so much further than just the sub fusc and spiraling towers into an incredible vibrant community who wishes to help and make everyone feel included as much as possible.
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Isabella, this is a lovely reflection on reaching the midpoint of the Research Summer. I was particularly pleased to read how your group has moved beyond simply dividing tasks and is beginning to respond collectively when one person’s workload becomes heavier. That flexibility and mutual responsibility will become increasingly important as the different sections of the report need to be integrated into one coherent methodology.
In your next reflection, I would be interested to hear more about what you have learned through constructing the framework itself. How have the literature review and your analysis of existing forms influenced particular choices about what the new impact-evaluation form should ask, measure or make visible? Equally, how are you ensuring that sections drafted by different team members share consistent definitions and methodological assumptions?
Catherine Day and Matthew Rycroft clearly made a considerable impression on you. Was there one particular insight about leadership or public service that you would now like to put into practice during the remaining weeks?
Your growing appreciation of Oxford beyond the University is also important. Community partners have entrusted the cohort with their experiences, priorities and time; ethical research involves considering what responsibilities accompany that trust. What would make your eventual framework genuinely useful to the schools and organisations that have contributed to it?
Your gratitude and enthusiasm come through wonderfully. The next three weeks offer an opportunity to translate both into a clearly reasoned and practically valuable final output.