Completing a professional doctorate invites reflection not only on the research itself, but also on the journey of becoming a different kind of scholar. This post continues an article series where professional doctorate graduates reflect on their journeys. Each article offers a candid look back at the challenges, shifts in identity, and lessons learned along the way, providing insight and encouragement for those currently undertaking or considering a professional doctorate.
The third article in this series is written by Dr Lewis Barrett-Rodger. Lewis is a Deputy Headteacher and Mathematics Subject Specialist for Initial Teacher Training. He is also an Honorary Visiting Fellow at Anglia Ruskin University, where he supports doctoral students and contributes to research publications. His doctoral research (EdD) explored children’s lived experiences of learning mathematics outdoors, and his professional interests include outdoor learning, mathematics education, phenomenology, and practitioner research. Through his academic and professional work, Lewis is committed to bridging theory and practice and deepening understanding of how pedagogy shapes learners’ experiences.
Letting Learn: reflections on an EdD in outdoor mathematics education
Completing a professional doctorate is rarely only about the research itself. It is also a process of becoming, of learning to see one’s professional world differently, to question what once felt certain, and to find meaning in complexity. In this post, I reflect on how my EdD, a hermeneutic phenomenological study exploring the lived experiences of children learning mathematics outdoors, has transformed both my professional and personal ways of being.
From practice to inquiry
My journey began firmly rooted in professional practice. As a primary deputy head teacher and mathematics subject specialist, I approached my research from a place of curiosity about how children experience learning mathematics beyond the classroom walls. My motivation was practical and immediate: I wanted to understand how outdoor contexts might shape mathematical understanding and engagement.
At that point, my professional and research identities were tightly bound to a positivist worldview. Mathematics had always represented precision, logic, and clarity, qualities I also brought to my teaching and leadership. I believed that effective pedagogy could be measured, analysed, and evidenced through quantifiable outcomes. Yet, as my study evolved, it became clear that this stance could not capture the richness of children’s lived experiences of learning.
A turning towards phenomenology
Before my doctorate, I had never encountered phenomenology. To step into this world was to enter unfamiliar territory, one where certainty gave way to ambiguity, and where my role as a researcher required humility, openness, and reflexivity. Initially, I worried about how to conduct phenomenological research ethically and rigorously as a novice. However, through deep engagement with the writings of hermeneutic phenomenologists and extensive reflexive journaling, I found my footing.
The reflection that “moving from a quantitative, positivistic epistemology to one that focuses on individual, subjective and emic perspectives was as challenging as it was rewarding” (Crowther & Thomson, 2022, p.4)[1] resonates strongly with my experience. Letting go of my taken-for-granted assumptions and attuning to participants’ voices demanded that I see differently, not as a teacher assessing learning, but as a researcher dwelling with the phenomenon of learning itself.
Confronting assumptions, finding meaning
Working so closely within my own professional context brought both privilege and challenge. My insider perspective offered depth, yet it also carried presuppositions formed through years of experience. Through reflexive techniques, I confronted these assumptions and began to notice new meanings in the children’s accounts. I learned to attend not to what I thought should matter, but to what revealed itself as meaningful in their words and actions.
This shift transformed how I now view mathematics learning. Previously, I saw outdoor learning primarily as a creative and engaging pedagogical approach. The study confirmed this, but it also revealed much more, the profound importance of relationships, collaboration, and embodied experience in learning mathematics. I came to understand that learning is not only cognitive but relational and environmental.
Transforming professional practice
The EdD has had a tangible impact on my teaching and leadership. Most of my mathematics lessons once followed the familiar rhythm of demonstration, practice, and assessment. My research has disrupted this pattern. It has shown me that learning unfolds through interaction, with others, with materials, and with place. Inspired by Heidegger’s notion of “letting learn”, I now see my role not merely as an instructor but as a facilitator who creates spaces for discovery and connection.
I have reimagined my classroom practice, increasing opportunities for outdoor mathematics and collaboration. I also encourage trainee teachers to explore these approaches, recognising that meaningful learning often arises when we loosen control and allow experience to lead.
Beyond the doctorate
While my role as deputy head and mathematics specialist remains, my identity as a researcher has deepened. I now also support doctoral students, particularly those exploring phenomenology, as an honorary visiting fellow at Anglia Ruskin University. The EdD has expanded not only my academic repertoire but also my sense of professional purpose.
Ultimately, my doctoral journey has been one of broadening, of seeing education through both scientific and phenomenological lenses. It has reaffirmed the importance of rigour and evidence, while also revealing the power of wonder, openness, and human experience in understanding learning.
Key takeaways
- Professional doctorates can transform how practitioners see both research and practice.
- Adopting phenomenology invites humility, reflexivity, and openness to uncertainty.
- The EdD equips educators not just to improve practice, but to see it anew.
[1] https://www.routledge.com/Hermeneutic-Phenomenology-in-Health-and-Social-Care-Research/Crowther-Thomson/p/book/9781032285825
Want to read more Looking Back articles? Find them here: The looking back series.