Graham McPhail

“I decided to do a doctorate because I enjoyed my masters so much I thought ‘why not keep going’. I’m addicted to studying and enjoy the challenge of having to think deeply about my area of study and of reading, writing and crafting my research. My topic is looking at the tensions for teachers of music between classical and popular music and while the study is rigorous I find the cohort structure brilliant. We have very wise and supportive cohort leaders and our meetings are a wonderful opportunity to discuss our projects with other students, to share the problems and peer-review each other’s work.”

Graham McPhail is studying for a Doctor of Education (EdD). He combines his study with work for the NZQA as a national moderator for NCEA Music internal assessment. A former music teacher, he is a classically trained violinist who plays in AKBarok.

Find out more about the Doctor of Education.