Josh Waters (PhD student)
Thesis title: Conflicting Cosmopolitanisms: Siwilai, Global Aspiration and the Educational Mission of British International Schools in Thailand
PhD Education
- Moray House School of Education and Sport
Contact details
- Email: j.e.t.watters@sms.ed.ac.uk
PhD supervisors:
Address
- Street
-
Moray House School of Education and Sport, IECS
- City
- University of Edinburgh (Holyrood Campus)
- Post code
- EH8 8AQ
Background
I am a part-time PhD student in Education at Moray House School of Education and Sport. My research looks at educational questions from a sociological perspective, and also draws on broader themes in educational theory — particularly in relation to educational purpose (the aims and values that underpin schooling) and consciousness (how students and teachers come to understand themselves, others and the world).
My doctoral research examines the proliferation of British international schools in Southeast Asia, with a particular focus on Thailand. I am especially interested in how these schools engage with both imagined and lived global connections. I explore how educational purpose is articulated by schools, how it is interpreted by different actors, and how these understandings operate within a global context shaped by historical legacies.
Alongside my research, I work in secondary education and bring over 16 years of experience as a teacher and school leader in both the UK and overseas. This professional background informs my academic interests through sustained reflection on the aims of education, the social dynamics shaping students’ experiences, and the ways in which young people make sense of their place in the world.
Qualifications
MA, UCL Institute of Education
PGCE, University of Cambridge
GRNCM, Royal Northern College of Music
MusB (Hons), University of Manchester
Responsibilities & affiliations
British Association for International & Comparative Education (member)
British Sociological Association (member)
Research summary
- Cosmopolitanism and related theories
- Legacies of colonialism
- Consciousness in education
- Social theory
- International schooling
Conference details
Waters, J. (2025, April 23–25). Developing consciousness: teacher agency in Thailand’s British international schools [Paper presentation]. British Sociological Association 2025: Social Transformations, Manchester, UK.
Waters, J. (2025, April 22–25). Nostalgia and hegemony: Englishness in the Model Music Curriculum [Paper presentation]. RiME 2025: The 14th International Conference for Research in Music Education, UK.
Waters, J. (2024, September 3–5). Becoming ‘siwilai’: British international schooling in post-colonial Thailand [Paper presentation]. BAICE Conference 2024: Transgression and transformation: (re)bordering education in times of conflict & crises, Brighton, UK.