Master of Arts Spotlight - Lindsay Gillies
The MA Children and Young People’s Participation and Leadership is designed for any professional who works with children, young people, and their families, with a special interest in facilitating their rights and active participation.
This unique course is designed with special thanks to the Scottish Government, the Scottish Youth Parliament, Children’s Parliament Scotland, and relevant children’s rights organisations. Current student – Lindsay - chats to us about her experience returning to education after a 16-year gap.
Can you introduce yourself?
I’m Lindsay, I live on a small island croft in Argyll and I’m a stay-at-home mum.
What course did you complete/or are currently completing at UHI Perth?
I have just finished my first year of a Masters qualification in Children and Young People’s Participation and Leadership. I’m studying part time so I can fit the studies around my family life. I expect the course to last three years in total.
Why did you decide to do an MA qualification at UHI Perth?
I made the decision to undertake further study at the beginning of last year. I knew I wanted to gain further qualifications and experience, so I spent some time looking at available course options. Part time study was essential for me and so I centred my search around this. I was surprised to find so many course options available for completion on a part time basis and also remotely.
How did you hear about the course?
After tentatively looking at applying for another course, I was fortunate enough to gain some advice from the team at UHI Perth on what my previous study and qualifications would allow to me apply for. At this point, I hadn’t considered a master’s level qualification would be something that was open to me, so I was excited to be considered for this option. Although nervous about returning to HE studies after a 16-year gap, I wanted to take on the course and challenge myself.
Completing a course and working full time can be difficult to juggle – can you describe any challenges you have faced and how you managed to overcome them?
At the moment, I’m a stay-at-home mum with additional caring responsibilities and so I’ve found returning to studying has challenged me greatly both in the academic work itself, but also in the fact that there is a lot more to juggle and think about in terms of managing my time. The first few weeks felt a bit overwhelming at times, I questioned my ability to keep up with the reading, develop better academic writing skills and generally just getting used to the return to study. Only having a couple of hours free a day to dedicate to studying meant that this was a steep learning curve for me. I found that being honest with myself and my tutor regarding this made this process easier, and I tried not to be too hard on myself. I found as I progressed through the academic year that my confidence really grew, and I felt such a sense of achievement every time an essay or report was completed. What really helps is that the course itself and what I’m learning holds significant personal value, and the master’s level qualification means there is a lot of flexibility to focus my reading and essay topics on issues that are relevant to my interests.
How have you found the style of teaching and the support you have received from your lecturers?
I’ve really enjoyed the remote learning aspects of studying during this master’s qualification. The self-directed nature of researching what is of interest to you, works really well for me. I think if you are someone who likes to be flexible with your time and direction of interest, then the style of teaching found on this course is ideal. I’ve found tutors to be really friendly and quick to reply to emails, which is great if you are having a panic about something! Another thing I’ve found is that the feedback on essays and reports is very comprehensive, I’ve had great direction given in what I can do to improve my writing and content. This has been valuable as I will be able to work on this as I progress through my course.
How have you found the course content?
For me, the content has been hugely interesting and the ability to run with a direction of interest has been one of the most motivating things about this course. There has also been a good balance of theoretical and historical focused topics alongside a range of contemporary sources and ideologies to explore.
How have you found studying online?
Studying remotely has been essential for me, I would not be able to complete the course otherwise. The flexibility this affords is amazing.
Has there been any standout/memorable moments from your time at UHI Perth?
As I’ve returned to studying after my last period of studying being 16 years ago, I was really concerned I would not do well at assignments and that struggling to get back into the swing of things would be too much for me. Putting in the hard work and seeing the result of my first assignment cemented for me that I could do it and my confidence was raised hugely as a result of this.
What knowledge, skills and experience have you gained from your course that will help you with career progression?
I am learning a huge amount from the course, both with the aim of taking this forward professionally upon course completion, but for me the personal gains from studying this course specifically are also hugely rewarding. Studying at master’s level was not something I had thought myself capable of achieving, so the confidence boost that this has given me will I’m sure be transferrable to many areas of life.
What are your career goals and plans?
I would like to move towards a professional role utilising the skills and knowledge achieved from the qualification. I feel the course is a good way of finding my feet with balancing a working role with caring and parenting responsibilities and has given me experience of combining tasks and situations to do just that.
Do you have any hobbies or other interests, outside of your work or studies?
We have a large garden and polytunnel that we use to grow our own vegetables here on the croft, and the daily maintenance of this keeps me busy outside of studying or parenting responsibilities!
Anything else you feel like telling us about your experience?
When I started online studying, using the tools required for the course, I was really disheartened at my lack of IT skills in this area. Things like submitting an essay look a lot different to what I’m used to! However, I was amazed at how quickly I learned to navigate the platforms enough to do what I needed to do and really did start learning more as I worked my way through the course materials.
Have you enjoyed studying at UHI Perth?
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my first year back to studying and I’m looking forward to continuing with my studies in September this year.
And finally, what advice would you give to anyone thinking about doing a similar course at UHI Perth?
I think that for anyone who is nervous about returning to study, particularly after a large gap away from academic work, I would say it’s been hugely worth taking the plunge. There has been twenty years gap between my Undergraduate course and the master’s qualification I’m undertaking now, and the whole experience of studying has, for me, been so much more enjoyable and rewarding this time round.
