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ePortfolio of Benazir Zainab Rahiman

I am a fourth-year PhD student in the Department of Education Studies at the University of Warwick. Under the supervision of Dr Pontso Moorosi, my research is based on leadership and its construction in childhood.

Throughout my career, be it in managerial positions in businesses or teaching at the university, I was continuously intrigued by the nuances of leadership behaviour in people I interacted with. During my tenure as a tutor engaging students in an MBA program in the Middle East, leadership was a module that I most enjoyed delivering and had a profound impact on my development. My experience in teaching adults and an undying passion for the subject led me to consider investigating leadership skills that present themselves in childhood. Having grown up in India, my constructs of leadership were heavily influenced by the culture of the country. I realised it would be interesting to investigate the dimensions that influence children in India currently and thereby explore the benefits of leadership emergence in childhood.

My doctoral programme investigates the reliability of leadership concepts by analysing the manner in which children construct and display leadership. It involved collating evidence from preadolescent children in India and from adults responsible for them, The research is intended to stimulate self-analysis and self-awareness in children towards leadership and find ways in which they can hone and nurture their leadership skills. I expect my doctorate research to pave the way to further studies in future that may explore the possibility of including leadership as a curriculum subject in secondary schools.

Academic Qualification

Bachelor of Engineering from University of Kerala, India

Master of Business Administration from Herriot Watt University, UK

Certificate of Preparing to Teach in Higher Education from University of Warwick, UK

Academic & Professional Membership

British Educational Leadership, Management & Administration Society

Warwick Volunteers - Volunteering on the Right to Read programme at secondary schools

Awards

Recipient of the BELMAS (UK) bursary in Educational Administration, Leadership and Management

Conferences Presented at

Presented a paper 'How much do we know? - A diary research on adolescents' constructions of leadership in India.' at STORIES 2021, annual conference hosted by the Department of Education, University of Oxford on 15th March 2021.

Presented a paper 'How much do we know? - A diary research on adolescents' constructions of leadership in India.' at Department of Education Studies Research Seminar Series 2020-21, University of Warwick on 17th March 2021.

Presented a paper 'What makes a leader? - A study on adolescents' constructions of leadership using diary research.' at 8th Annual Education Studies Post Graduate Research Conference 2021, University of Warwick on 24th April 2021.

Presented a paper 'Unpacking Leadership - A research on adolescent's constructions of leadership in India.' at Midlands Graduate School DTP Annual Conference hosted by University of Birmingham on 23rd June 2021.

Presented a paper 'Let's start at the beginning - A research on children's constructions of leadership in India.' at BELMAS Annual Conference on 3rd July 2021.

Academic Responsibilities

Conducted a Guest Teaching Session for the Policy, Strategy and Resources (PSR) module delivered as part of the PGR Teaching scheme of the Department of Education Studies at University of Warwick on 13th February 2020.

Co-chaired Education Studies PGR Conference 2020, conference cancelled at the execution stage due to Covid 19.

Co-chaired 8th Annual Education Studies Post Graduate Research Conference 2021, University of Warwick on 23rd and 24th April 2021 as an online event.

Conducted a Guest Teaching Session on Diary research for the Advanced Research Methods (ARM) module delivered to the first-year PhD students of the Department of Education Studies at University of Warwick on 22nd May 2021.

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Benazir Zainab Rahiman

benazir@warwick.ac.uk

Supervised by Dr Pontso Moorosi

Centre for Education Studies

University Of Warwick

CV4 7AL, United Kingdom