Tina A . Doe
Acknowledgements :
My education philosophy is best summarised by the African proverb “ it takes a village to raise a child ” i . Having completed this book , which has its genesis in a Doctor of Education program that I recently finished , I understand that it takes a village to support such an endeavour . This page is about the people in my life who afforded me the opportunity to make the space , take the time , and find a place to complete this book and the associated study , which in ‘ Tina time ’ was certainly slow paced learning ! Usually it is the women in my life that I have to thank and to this end I extend my sincerest and heartfelt thanks to : my daughter , Gia who is 12 and kept reminding me that I was good at this stuff and could do it ; my mother in law , Lesley and my friends Denise , Tanya , Deb and Ellen all of whom saved me from giving up by offering their editing expertise to keep the work moving ; my girlfriend Justine who did the cover photo shoot and my mamma , Maddalena who at 77 still cooks meals for me to bring home , not only looks after but entertains and educates grandchildren , and generally keeps me sane . However , this time around it is the men in my life who really made the difference : my son , Gabriel who reminded me that if I wasn ’ t enjoying it why was I doing it ? I started my masters when he was 6 months old and today he is 10 ; my papa , Giovanni who at 87 threatened that he would be dead if I didn ’ t hurry up and finish but in reality set the benchmark for me because it is his great dream of coming to Australia to make a better life for his children that has kept me focused , Byron without whom there would not be a book and my husband , Graeme who holds the fort and has kept the home fires burning and who has learnt to take everything on , even packing the lunches though he still refuses to do the ironing . I need to express my sincerest thanks to Professor Richard Smith who seeded the ground for school based practitioners to work in universities and Professor David Lynch who gave me the professional space and the academic position to explore the TPLI in all its phases . Finally I express my gratitude to my doctoral supervisors , Professors John Dekkers and Bruce Knight . While I credit Bruce with starting me , and indeed kick starting me on this journey , I don ’ t believe that it is standard that doctoral candidates are supported and nurtured to the extent that John Dekkers gives to his work . So I finish by saying that John Dekkers is an awesome supervisor and that without his patience and persistence , the title Doctor of Education would still be an elusive dream , far away and out of reach for Tina Doe . This book and the associated doctoral dissertation is indeed an accomplishment that my village can be very proud of .
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