Education PhD student - Phiona Stanley

Monash Education PhD student Phiona Stanley started her teaching life as a "backpacker teacher" in Peru, and had worked in various teaching, training and management roles in TESOL (Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages) when the inspiration for her research struck.

Having seen a lot of ‘backpacker teachers' pass through TESOL in South America, Europe and China, Phiona began to wonder what impact the "travel and teach" phenomenon was having on both the teachers and their students.

"Minimally qualified Western teachers are teaching English mainly in order to be in China, to travel and to have a year out," she said. "I wondered  - what happens to them as people? "Teaching English is in every Lonely Planet guide as a way to fund or extend your trip but there is almost no research on this end of the TESOL industry at all."

Phiona, who has an MA (Hons) in Politics from Edinburgh University and a MEd (TESOL) from Sydney University, began searching for an Australian university that could help her conduct her research.

"I wanted a Group of Eight university as I really wanted my academic career to begin somewhere that has a good research name, which Monash has," she said.

"The fact that I could do my PhD externally at Monash was essential as I live and work in Adelaide."

Phiona said the Monash Equity Travel grant she received during her research had proved essential to her study. "The Equity Travel Grant meant I could go to China and spend three months researching among a group of Western teachers at a university there," she said. "It paid for flights and accommodation, and for me to survive there for three months on no pay. "Without the grant my thesis just would not have happened, so it was an essential part of my research success."