Navigating change: A PhD study of women middle managers in academia

Precious Ebele Madueke is a PhD candidate in a cotutelle program jointly offered by Deakin University and Coventry University. Her research project, ‘The Intersection of Identity, Values and Lived Experiences of Women Middle Managers in Three HEIs’, explores how women middle managers in academia navigate organisational change, with a focus on leadership. Motivated by personal experiences during her MA—amid policy shifts and institutional restructuring—she became interested in how precarious conditions affect both staff well-being and their capacity to support others. Here, she talks about what she hopes to achieve with her research and her experience as an HDR student at Deakin.

What is your research project about and why did you choose this topic?

My research explores the lived experiences of women middle managers in three public universities in Australia, Nigeria and the UK. I investigate how their identity and values intersect with their institutions’ culture and policies to influence their leadership practices.

During my MA, there were changes to immigration policies and restructures across many universities in the UK. In that time, I experienced uncertainty and anxiety, which made me curious about how the university staff affected would feel. Stemming from my interest in trauma-informed practice in education, I wondered if the academics/staff were supported as they were often expected to provide pastoral care amidst precarity. In one event, a university had shut down their creche without making alternative provisions for the staff and students who needed that service. This turned my attention to the experiences of women in academia. As I engaged with the literature, I found at the time, that it was sparse about women middle managers. I chose this topic to explore how these women navigated institutional changes, e.g. a restructure, and how such changes affected their leadership practices and work experience.

What are you hoping to achieve?

I hope that the findings from this research will inform policies and leadership development initiatives that recognise complexity, support wellbeing, and value diverse standpoints. I would also like to contribute to the development of a toolkit or a set of guidelines for human resources/talent and leadership teams to better support the wellbeing and professional development of women middle managers, particularly as higher education (HE) is in flux.

Why did you decide to do your PhD at Deakin?

My PhD is part of a cotutelle agreement between Coventry University and Deakin University. I applied for this cotutelle because the project call was about sustainable governance in Higher Education, and I thought that it aligned with my interests. The prospects of having four supervisors who would bring their expertise to my journey and coming to Melbourne, took my anticipation from a 5 out of 10 to a 10 out of 10.

I think that the structures and program between the School of Education at Deakin and the Centre for Global Learning at Coventry are complementary, and it has enriched my experience. In hindsight, when I applied for the cotutelle, it was largely about the excitement of going to Australia and what the expertise of the supervisory team would add to my research. Now, I think more about how the culture of support and excellence in these institutions and the people that enable said culture, finetune my journey to being a researcher. I think that is an important consideration when one plans to do a PhD.

How has your experience with your supervisors been so far?

I have four supervisors as part of the cotutelle: Dr Katrina MacDonald, Professor Jill Blackmore, Professor Marina Orsini-Jones and Dr Federica Jorio. They have been amazing and supportive. I think that when I have completed my PhD, what I will miss the most is my supervisory team and their warm, firm and constant guidance. In terms of expertise and pastoral care, I have been fortunate in this PhD. Also, as a Nigerian woman and mother to three children under 8 years old, the PhD has been an adventure. So, I am thankful for my supervisors who have held my hands as I settled into studying, learning and becoming a researcher.

How have you managed juggling study, work and life in Melbourne?

My community – my family, supervisors, friends and colleagues, have been instrumental to me finding balance in study and life. Settling into Melbourne has been lovely. My supervisors and colleagues at Deakin’s School of Education have taken me around town and signposted events and networks that have helped me experience Melbourne at my pace. The HDR development sessions have also been a good opportunity to meet other HDRs. I found a nice church community with NewHope Baptist Church, Melbourne that supports me, as well. At Deakin, it is the seemingly little things- like the gym, wellbeing team, RDA, the library team, shut up and write, among others – that keep me grounded. Being at Deakin has been an amazing experience.

What has been a highlight of your PhD so far?

The highlight of my PhD so far is twofold. First, passing my confirmation. Writing and preparing for my Confirmation of Candidature, and the support I got from my supervisory team and family, makes it an experience I look back on fondly. I recognise my growth and the impact of my academic community in that process.

Second, I simply enjoying studying. I am fascinated by how the things I read, the people I meet and the bureaucracies within my institutions have refined me and the way I think about life in general. I am more aware of my biases and assumptions and have become more thoughtful, more willing to live beyond myself and to think about legacies that impact communities and people beyond my personal interests.

What are your plans when you complete your PhD?

After completing my PhD, I hope to explore opportunities in teaching alongside research about trauma-informed practices in education, and the structures and policies that influence these practices in Higher Education contexts.

L-R: Dr Katrina MacDonald, Precious Madueke, Professor Jill Blackmore.