Learning communities and fair trade in doctorates and development: report of a collaborative project

Abstract

This article reports the second stage of a study examining an academic partnership in which Bangladeshi doctoral students in a western university focus their research in the grounded context of Bangladesh and investigate the processes for change. After briefly outlining the previous published stage which examined the academic trade in higher education with developing countries, the article builds on the concept of fair academic trade to critically reflect on the development of a doctoral learning community, a publication project and three specific doctoral studies. The methodological approach is one of participatory action research, with focus on critical reflection on practice.

Keywords:

• learning community
• academic partnership
• participatory action research
• doctoral study
• reciprocity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The first very unexpected and major earthquake struck in September 2010. Tens of thousands of significant aftershocks followed, included one in February 2011 that destroyed much of the city including parts of the university.