Meet the postgraduate researcher: Abigail Bowling
Posted on Wednesday 12 August 2026
The York Graduate Research School connects more than 2,000 PGRs across all disciplines at York. Here, we spotlight Dr Abigail Bowling: pstoassionate PhD graduate from the Department of Education.
As we head into submission season, we asked Abigail to talk us through her highlights from her research, top tips for preparing for a viva and her plans for her next chapter now she's recieved her doctorate!
What are you researching?
The career decision-making of early career teachers in England. I interviewed 54 teachers and thematically analysed these.
What drew you to this topic?
After studying at York for my undergraduate degree, I went into teaching and saw a lot of teacher turnover. I saw the impact this had on teachers and on students as well. I always knew I wanted to come back to research so I started drafting my PhD proposal on this, ironically contributing towards teacher turnover!
What were you doing before?
As said above, I was a teacher, I taught secondary Computing, Computer Science as well as Criminology to Sixth Form students.
If you weren't doing postgraduate research, what would you be doing instead?
Social research elsewhere!
What's on your work desk?
Right now my work desk has the cork from the bottle of Asti I popped when I submitted my PhD thesis, an "A" pendant which belonged to my Grandma and my PhD certificate (I really need to get that framed!)
What's your typical working day like?
My day starts with a human alarm clock (my child), breakfast, getting ready, childcare drop off and then starting my work day. I work as a Government Social Researcher so my day is quite varied depending on where we are up to with a research project, then I do the reverse after work: childcare pick up, dinner and bedtime routine - the life of a parent!
What do you enjoy most about being a postgraduate researcher?
Being engrossed in a research project that I have chosen to pursue and I'm passionate about.
What do you wish you'd known before you started?
The one piece of advice I would give to someone about to start or at the beginning of their PhD is that the first year is quite a strange year. You feel like you're not doing much as you're preparing for ethics/data collection but all of that is important and you will get to the fun part!
If your research had a theme song, what would it be?
I can't think of one song in particular but a tropical house playlist really helped to focus me and keep me calm whilst doing the PhD - music I still listen to now during my working day. I will go on YouTube and type in Tropical House and there's lots of hour long videos which I put on to help me feel calm, I would recommend it if you like summer/holiday vibes!
What do you do to relax?
I've recently started dancing and have been in a few shows which has been fun (it's also helped with my confidence), I also love a nice day out with my family to a farm or picnic in the park.
What has been the highlight of your research so far?
Getting to go to so many conferences to share my research (Getting to go and present at AERA in Denver, Colorado, USA was so much fun!)
How did you get ready for your viva? Do you have any tips you'd recommend?
I re-read my thesis, made a list of common viva questions and had a practice viva with my friends and family where I presented my research and they asked me questions about why I did certain things or anything they were interested in. It allowed me to have like a positive experience of being questioned about my research, which helped me to prepare for the real thing!
What's next for you now you've handed in your thesis?
Now that I've graduated I'm focusing on my job as a Government Social Researcher as well as drafting and submitting some journal article manuscripts (fingers crossed!) based on my PhD.
Share your story
Could you be our next spotlight? Contact our newsletter team at student-communications@york.ac.uk for more information on taking part in upcoming ‘Meet The PGR’ features.