Reflection on thesis writing when it is over

In my blog entry I would like to share my feelings about thesis writing. In general thesis writing can be a challenging experience, but eventually it brings a lot of satisfaction when you get the result. When reading literature I met an inspring author Simon Marginson whose works strongly my research and my vision of higher education in general.

Writing the literature review was a big challenge for many. So many theories about globalization and the role of global university rankings in it. I was especially impressed by the writings of Australian scholar Simon Marginson who gives a very deep insight in the processes of competition in higher education, relations of power and Anglo-American dominance in higher education. Such authors as Simon Marginson can be really inspiring for young researchers.

However, when I was reading Marginson and other notable scholars, I did not agree with some of their points. I thought that Western scholars do not understand post-soviet higher education issues and challenges, and I expected to receive different results from what I read in the literature review. To my surprise, I received findings which strongly support opinion of Western scholars about global university rankings, despite the fact that I was conducting my research in the post-soviet context. My practical experience made me value western research methods more than I was learning about them from books: I see this as a big learning outcome for me: I understood that Western scholarly approach is very valid and prcatical and that it really works.