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Introduction: We report an investigation on collaboration practices in research papers published in the most prestigious English-medium astrophysics journals. Method: We propose an evaluation method based on three numerical indicators to study and compare, in absolute terms, three different types of collaboration (international, national and local) and authors' mobility on the basis of co-authorship. Analysis: We analysed 300 randomly selected research papers in three different time periods and used the student's t-test to determine whether the paired two-sample differences observed were statistically significant or not. Results: International collaboration is more common than national and local collaboration. International, national and local authors' mobility and intra-national collaboration do not seriously affect the indicators of the principal levels of collaboration. International collaboration and authors' mobility are more relevant for authors publishing in European journals, whereas national and intra-national collaboration and national mobility are more important for authors publishing in US journals. Conclusions: We explain the observed differences and patterns in terms of the specific scope of each journal and the socio-economic and political situation in both geographic contexts (Europe and the USA). Our study provides a global picture of collaboration practices in astrophysics and its possible application to many other sciences and fields would undoubtedly help bring into focus the really big issues for overall research management and policy.

Many students do not engage with reading the scientific literature, which is a core skill in undergraduate students. The learning environment has an important impact upon learning. It was postulated that taking reading out of the formal learning environment might impact upon students' willingness to engage with the literature, and confidence in doing so. A staff-student research partnership initiative funded by Kingston University allowed this hypothesis to be tested. Three Tea Club sessions, informal drop-in reading sessions were offered in a student-owned space within the Students' Union. Refreshments were supplied, aiming for a 'coffee house' feel. Although the numbers of students who engaged with the Tea Club were small, evaluations were positive. In particular students valued the opportunity for peer learning. However the chosen environment was too noisy. Future sessions will be offered within a different, less noisy environment with facilities for refreshments, and will be offered throughout the academic year to facilitate student engagement.

This paper reports a study coauthored with second-year undergraduate students that examines student experiences of undertaking real-life, client-set marketing assessments with an equality and inclusion remit. Students were set a marketing assessment with an explicit social justice focus, thereby prompting them to reflect on their own backgrounds and unconscious biases whilst addressing issues of societal injustice. This study explores the impact on students of closely engaging with this material and how the assessment, which involved them interviewing experts and developing actionable recommendations, altered their views and career plans. Data were generated via focus groups with students who undertook the assessment, supplemented by some alumni and client interviews. The findings are presented as a "3A" framework of Awareness, Application, and Action: first, the assessment raised "Awareness" of broader societal issues and fostered transformation in terms of personal views; second, students developed core skills and networks they could "Apply" in their future careers; and third, "Action" describes the way students felt empowered to make a positive difference to their client and wider society. The 3A model provides simple design principles that educators could implement if they want to introduce transformational experiences based on social justice issues into the marketing curriculum.

The United Kingdom's (UK's) Research Excellence Framework of 2014 was an expensive high stakes evaluation which had a range of impacts on higher education institutions across the country. One component was an assessment of the quality of research outputs where a major feature was a series of panels organised to read and rate the outputs of their peers. Quality control was strengthened after the Research Assessment Exercise of 2008, but questions still remain about how fair it is to rate all papers on the same scale by raters who may vary in both their reliability and their severity/leniency. This paper takes data from a large department in which 23 senior staff rated the outputs from 42 academics. In total, 710 ratings were recorded. The analyses, using the Rasch model, showed that: a single scale described the data well; most raters were reliable although two were idiosyncratic; there was, however, a noticeable variation in the severity/leniency of the raters, which should be taken into account in the overall assessment. Suggestions for future exercises include a pre-appointment procedure for panel members and statistical adjustments for the severity/leniency of raters.

It is well documented in both the British press and mathematics education literature that many consider A-levels (qualifications for secondary school leavers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland) to be insufficient preparation for undergraduate mathematics study in the UK. A-level Mathematics and Further Mathematics are not solely intended for those wishing to go on to study undergraduate mathematics, though this is often the only mathematics study and preparation available to, and done by, most students. A number of British universities now require applicants to perform well on entrance examinations or "extension" papers in addition to achieving certain grades in A-level Mathematics and, sometimes, Further Mathematics. This article outlines research which used the Mathematical Assessment Task Hierarchy (Smith et al., 1996) and builds upon the work of Darlington (2014) to describe the mathematical skills required to answer the questions in extension papers. These are then contrasted with skills required at A- and undergraduate level. Each of the three extension papers analysed (Advanced Extension Awards, Sixth Term Examination Papers and university admissions tests) were found to differ from each other, as well as from A-level and undergraduate examinations. This suggests that there are benefits for students doing such papers before university mathematics study. The advantages of doing these papers are not only for admissions tutors, who can use them as additional indicators of candidates' aptitudes, but also for the students themselves as they gain insights into the nature of undergraduate mathematics and related further mathematical challenges.

An objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) has been recognised as a reliable but workload-intensive assessment method across health sciences studies. Though a variety of digital marking tools have been employed to improve marking and feedback provision for OSCEs, many of these require specialist software or maintenance. This pilot study examines the development and trialling of Microsoft Forms as a marking and feedback instrument for an OSCE within a Sport and Exercise Therapy module. This study aims to assess whether the use of a non-specialist digital tool, such as Microsoft Forms, might be able overcome limitations in current assessment procedures and ultimately provide a more effective method for marking and feedback provision for an OSCE. Results from OSCE examiners (N = 8) and students (N = 30) who participated in the pilot indicate that Microsoft Forms does have the potential to provide a more effective experience for examiners and ultimately improve upon feedback provision for students when compared with a paper-based marking tool. However, concerns around the form's ease-of-use may ultimately influence its adoption as a marking instrument above current paper-based methods.

This paper sets out the importance of teaching contextualized understandings of value within different disciplinary contexts in order to enhance employability and to foster greater levels of engagement with enterprise and entrepreneurship education. Key research has recognised the broader benefits of enterprise and entrepreneurship education, including that of developing graduate employability. Yet enterprise and entrepreneurship may not feel comfortable or relevant to students (Enterprise Educators UK (EEUK), 2012; Henry, 2013). It has been identified that students can better relate to enterprise and entrepreneurship when it is contextualised in professions, sectors and communities of practice, moving away from a focus on venture creation and start up (Gibb, 2005). We argue that taking an approach which is explicitly based on value creation is a crucial driver of student engagement with enterprise and entrepreneurship education. This needs to be based in students' individual values, embedded in their disciplines, and related to the communities of practice which as graduates they will go on to be part of. When grounded in the creation of value at an individual, disciplinary, and societal level, enterprise and entrepreneurship education can appeal to a wider constituency of students. In this paper, we discuss how value creation is understood in three diverse academic disciplines, Business, Biomedical Science and Music. Building on key research and drawing on our extensive practice as educators, we argue that explicitly foregrounding understandings of value within our different disciplinary contexts and developing appropriately contextualized, experiential forms of value creation-based pedagogy, is key to student engagement and enhances graduate employability. [Note: The page range (1-20) shown on the PDF is incorrect. The correct page range is 1-15, 17-20.]

The practice of Corrective Feedback (CF), which is situated within a Second Language Acquisition (SLA) Paradigm, is currently positioned towards an accuracy-orientated delivery based on native speaker norms. This is despite the recognition in different areas of linguistic research that there is considerable variation in the way that English is spoken around the world. This paper argues that the epistemological assumptions and methodological approaches to investigate CF within an SLA paradigm have various underlying weaknesses that undermine research findings. These findings purport to provide support for an accuracy-orientated CF in the English classroom. However, it is suggested in this paper that a meaning-orientated CF would be more reflective and beneficial for students given the transformative changes that have occurred to English over the past 30 years. This perspective is discussed in relation to one teacher's approach to CF who participated in a larger project which examined CF conducted in a British-Sino University.

Through historically oriented critical discourse analysis this article considers how the messages regarding the purpose of higher education, as presented in prospectuses of four case study institutions, have been impacted by massification and marketisation in England between 1977 and 2018. The prospectuses of four higher education institutions of different status were analysed to trace how discourses relating to the value of an undergraduate degree could be identified in the prospectuses. The findings suggest that while the prospectuses presented multiple rationales as to why students should undertake degrees, there was a significant increase in focus on graduate transitions to employment and a parallel hollowing-out of information relating to course content. The study found that over the period the vocabularies drawn on to present the value of a degree have become homogenised, yet the rationales given for undertaking tertiary study became more numerous and complex, making diversity of institutional offers difficult for prospective students to differentiate.

Where a student can benefit from having an examination paper presented aurally, the traditional method is to provide a reader. This can be socially uncomfortable for students, and offers of readers are frequently declined. A trial is reported in which examinations were presented on an Apple iPod. This is a medium with which many students are comfortable, which facilitates easy exploration of the examination paper and repetitive listening and which is both socially acceptable and practical in a normal examination room. The findings indicate that it removes one of the significant barriers to greater take-up of aural presentation.

There is an increasing sensitivity to the challenges posed by the language of examination papers and of instruction in scientific subjects, especially for non-native speakers of English. It has been observed that in addition to technical subject-specific vocabulary, non-technical words such as instructional verbs have been sources of difficulty, and there are indications that other "ordinary" English words cause problems. For many years the aerospace industry has striven to make its manuals understandable and unambiguous to non-native speakers, a goal shared by writers of examination papers. To achieve this, the industry uses Simplified English, a controlled language with limited vocabulary and restricted grammatical rules. While recognising the limitations of this approach, the authors considered that by testing examination papers against the rules of Simplified English, it might be possible to identify areas of potential difficulty for non-native speakers. This paper describes the results of a study which tests past examination questions using software based on AECMA Simplified English, the controlled language in established use in the British aerospace industry. The results identified many lexical items which were not in the original list of "Approved words". Some of these were technical words and others were non-technical terms which are in common use in an engineering context. However, some were potential problem sources, including implicit instructions and vague or ambiguous words. Software alerts that related to sentence structure, in particular those related to sentence complexity, indicated that some sentences had additional problems. (Contains 1 note.)

This article looks at the Coalition Government's recent White Paper and Education Bill whose chief effect will be to further destabilise the schools system in the United Kingdom. The new Bill stipulates that if a new school is needed in an area, proposals for an Academy or a Free School must be prioritised before any other bid can be considered. The Bill facilitates large transfers of land to the new schools, a process over which there will be no local control. The 2010 White Paper announced that the Government would "create a new network of Teaching Schools, on the model of Teaching Hospitals", thereby "giving outstanding schools the role of leading the training and professional development of teachers and headteachers".

Charities are facing a crisis in recruiting board trustees. Additionally, boards have been criticised for lacking diversity and being unrepresentative of society. The purpose of this paper is to propose a solution to the problem of trustee recruitment, by considering university business students as trustees. Through an analysis of advertised trustee jobs, the proposal is evaluated against degree subject benchmark statements. The findings identify some key person characteristics specified by charities when recruiting trustees. The generic criteria could be met by most students and many of the personal skills are developed by students while at university. However, to address some of the experience criteria, may require additional training and some yielding by charities. The paper offers originality in its proposition of appointing university business students as trustees and in its approach to examining the feasibility of that proposition through an analysis of trustee jobs.

Initial Teacher Education (ITE) for the post-compulsory sector (PCE) in the UK is currently under review. Despite earlier plans to substantially increase the use of technology in ITE the Lifelong Learning UK (LLUK) consultation findings recommend that "we will expect that teachers do develop their skills in this area to a limited extent on a mandatory basis" (LLUK, 2011b:12). This is a disappointing departure as other commissioned work such as that from the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) (2009: 8) review of workforce development identified that this area was in need of continuous updating. This article will consider the need more than ever before to explore what Barnett identifies (2007: 1) as the links between teaching and learning in higher education and "pedagogic bungee jumping" with the development of cultures supportive to experimental technology use in ITE focusing upon a group of teacher educators in a West Midlands ITE Partnership (higher education institute (HEI) and partner colleges).

The focus of this article is to consider visual portrayals and representations of disability. The images selected for analysis came from online university prospectuses as well as a governmental guidance framework on the tuition of dyslexic students. Greater understanding, human rights and cultural change have been characteristic of much UK governmental policy regarding disability, and legislation has potentially strengthened the quest for equality of opportunity. However, publicly available institutional promotional visual material appears to contradict policy messages. To interrogate this contradiction, this article presents a tripartite critique whereby three researchers provide a self-inventory of their backgrounds and theoretical and ontological positioning, before presenting their differing interpretations of visual representations of disability. Following an agreed methodological and analytical framework, they addressed the question: what do visual representations of dyslexia and disability look like and what messages do they convey? (Contains 1 figure.)

In November 2010, the British Government, modifying one of the proposals in the Browne Report published in October, decided to allow English universities to charge tuition fees of up to 9,000 British Pounds, while removing almost all the public funding previously provided in the form of a block grant. This had consequences the Government should perhaps have foreseen. HEIs, unsure whether they could remain financially viable if they did not, went for the highest fee allowed. The consequence is that the new system could cost the taxpayer more in providing loans for students at this level than the continuance of direct public funding would have done. Policy was developed to reduce this cost, and one of the ideas which emerged was to allow more providers into the system, including private providers. This has prompted discussion of the resulting value for money, for students and for taxpayers, and then of the meaning of "value", and then of the need to protect the quality of the courses on offer and the "value" of the resulting qualifications. A number of changes seem likely to be necessary in consequence, among them the revision of the rules for granting degree-awarding powers and university title to private providers both profit-making and non-profit-making. This article explores the case for and against these changes.

Fair access and widening participation currently occupy a prominent position in the UK higher education agenda, but these terms remain ambiguous. This paper identifies two prominent strands of policy in the government's approach to access and the widening of participation and contrast these with a third, more progressive perspective. The academic strand seeks to attract "gifted and talented" young people into an unreformed higher education system. The second strand, which is termed the utilitarian approach, posits a need for reform. However, this is undertaken largely to meet the requirements of employers and the economy. In contrast, a transformative approach values diversity and focuses on creating a system of higher education that does not place the burden of change upon potential entrants. This framework is used to explore some of the implications of the government's White Paper "The future of higher education". First, the purpose of higher education is discussed, with particular reference to the distinction between economic and social objectives. Second, the government's view of the structure of the higher education sector is examined, by scrutinizing the notion of institutional differentiation and the role of the access regulator. It concludes that within a more differentiated higher education sector different aspects of the access discourse will become dominant in different types of institutions.

Perceptions of the role and efficacy of written feedback in teaching and learning among teaching staff in British higher education institutions have not been extensively researched. In the present study 48 lecturers in one university and from a cross-section of disciplinary backgrounds were interviewed with respect to their lived experiences with writing assessment feedback. Like most universities, theirs has a stated commitment to academic excellence by, among other things, ensuring timely and useful feedback on assignments. The findings suggest, however, that institutional policies and departmental practices related to formative assessment in this respect are not having the intended effect. Teachers have varied perceptions and beliefs about the purposes of written feedback, and are uncertain about what it achieves and what use students make of it. Far from enhancing written feedback, innovative practices and procedures have created new problems for teachers. There is a clear need for continuing research in this area.

The ability to use the research literature within a given field is a basic skill that students should acquire as part of their higher education studies. However, undergraduates need support in developing this skill. The use of concept maps as an aid to interrogating the literature is described here. This may help students to highlight key issues raised within a research paper, and may be used to demonstrate understanding to their tutors. An example is given by reference to the paper in which James Watson and Francis Crick suggest a structure for DNA. In this, annotated concept maps are used to highlight key issues from the paper from two perspectives: the race to describe the structure of DNA, and the biochemistry of the molecule. (Contains 2 figures and 1 footnote.)

Presents a study that compared examiners' judgments of the grade-worthiness of candidates' A-level examination work at question paper level and at subject level. Suggests that examiners may have compensated to some extent for the different aspects of the subject tested in different question papers when they made holistic judgments. (CMK)

Student writing in university contexts, especially in the area of business, has relatively been under-researched in the English for academic purposes (EAP) literature. Many previous studies have only labelled the types of student writing in the academe. Although labeling is essential as a starting point to map out and understand student writing at university, we still need more research to move beyond labeling and further uncover the expectations and requirements underlying the production of these types of writing. This study duly attempts to fill this gap and it adopted a qualitative ethnographically oriented methodology combining both text and context analyses to explore the types, requirements and expectations of student writing in a business postgraduate programme in a UK tertiary context. Eight participants, students and lecturers took part in the study by allowing face-to-face tape-recorded interviews. In this paper, I will only report findings from the perspective of the lecturer participants. Results of data analysis showed that the type of writing lecturers required for their courses was library research paper. However, the requirements and expectations underlying the production of this paper significantly varied across the courses and among those lecturers. Pedagogical implications for EAP were presented and discussed.

Purpose: Prospective students are exposed to abundant choices, and they are eagerly searching for information to select the best universities for themselves. Likewise, prospectuses are regularly produced by universities to meet this information needs; the purpose of this paper is to examine the key marketing messages used in their prospectuses. Design/methodology/approach: The 2017 undergraduate prospectuses of 121 universities in the UK (out of the 134 members of University UK) were thematically analysed using NVivo10. Findings: Messages were predominantly about the location, the course, student experience, credibility and career progression. They are framed in an appealing way, filled with facts and figures, images of beautiful buildings and smiling students, testimonials of facilities and experiences that form a sense of compatibility and belonging. Research limitations/implications: This study provides insights for the higher educational institutions to enhance their future marketing communications strategies in terms of effectively differentiating one university from another by highlighting the predominantly used appeals among 121 prospectuses and the need for adopting a more consistent approach between the clearing period and non-clearing period in terms of designing the prospectuses. This study has considered only the print platform, and therefore future studies should also look at social media and university websites in the context of the integrated marketing communications. Practical implications: Accurate and coherent narratives should be provided, taking into consideration the diverse nature of target audience. Universities need to realise that they can be held responsible for the promises presented in their prospectuses. Using the city appeal by many universities may be challenging, as there is need to attract students not just to the city itself, but to the university's campus. Originality/value: Having a significantly larger sample than any other previous studies in this field, the empirical evidence provided in this paper is rich and in-depth, thanks to the size and age of the sample as well as the integrated and combined methodological approach. Five keys themes with sub-themes, descriptions and examples were provided, suitable for future research in higher education marketing.

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have mission statements as a matter of course. This article analyses 127 mission statements from UK HEIs, comprising 76.048% of the mainstream UK higher education sector. The statements were divided into the categories of Russell Group; Other; and Specialist Institution. A mixed methods research approach was adopted. The article identifies the fifty-seven most frequently used terms in mission statements. It also identifies the average lengths for each of the three categories. The article also analyses claims made and language used in mission statements: selected statements were subjected to close analysis. The article shows mission statements from Russell Group universities tend to be shorter, whereas HEIs outside the Russell Group make more detailed statements of their provision and credentials. Structurally, mission statements are distinct between the three categories. Linguistically, there is less distinction, though there is some difference in the most frequently used terms in each category.

This article explores the factors affecting the content of universities' mission statements. We conceptualize missions as identity narratives, a type of symbolic representation of an organization. Based on the literature on organizational identity we argue that universities need to address two major challenges when crafting their mission statements, (i) to pursuit legitimacy in spite of multiple and competing expectations, and (ii) to properly balance similarity and distinctiveness from other universities. We identify factors that affect this strategic effort and develop hypotheses that we test in the empirical context of the United Kingdom's higher education system. Results show that (i) among competing expectations, universities choose claims that are plausible to external constituents and consistent with the values of internal members, and that (ii) they adopt claims similar to universities belonging to the same organizational form while differentiating from geographically closer universities in order to reduce competitive overlap.

When transitioning from a familiar learning culture to a United Kingdom higher education (HE) culture, international students face a number of academic, cultural, and linguistic challenges. This paper considers the obstacles that international students experience and critically analyzes the use of social media to aid the academic transition of a group of postgraduate international students. Specifically, it analyzed the use of Yammer to support peer collaboration and communication to enhance academic development of a group of Southeast Asian international students undertaking an MA at a UK university in the North of England. The student feedback suggested that social support networks were important for academic engagement and development. This paper recommends more training on the affordances of Yammer, additional online tutor presence, and more scaffolded activities.

There is a need for improved skills development within the UK's Higher Education Institutions (HEI) stemming from the disconnect between the expectations of employers of the skills graduates have and the skills graduates have gained during their degree. It is well-known now that there is a clear skills gap. The present study aims to explore the effect of graduates and students' perception of skills development in HEI in the UK. A total of 420 participants completed an online survey to explore their perception as well as their confidence of skills development by rating each skill on a Likert scale. The paper discusses the results in light of pedagogical strategies developed to teach soft skills in HE. The paper concludes with recommendations for teaching practice.

Academic developers work with colleagues from every discipline to facilitate learning about teaching, learning and assessment. Boud and Brew (2013) called for academic development to be significantly 'closer to everyday practice' while also recognising development involves extending notions of what 'practice' is. Moreover, Loads and Campbell (2015) called for greater authenticity of academic development: questioning and challenging custom and practice within disciplines in higher education. So how do academic developers, tasked with redeveloping their mandatory Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP), create an authentic and practical programme? Especially one that extends the scope of teaching practice, transforms curricula and assessment and meets strategic objectives around developing student literacies, graduate attributes and strengthening engagement in continuing professional development (University of Glasgow, 2015, 2021). This good practice example showcases the curricula design process of redesigning a cross-institutional PGCAP programme at a UK university, to one that has a strong focus on everyday academic practice, while also adopting authentic learning activities and practical assessments to unlock the creative pedagogical potential of early career academics, and build their confidence. The aim of the redesigned curricula being to encourage collaboration across disciplines, reflection, and learning beyond 'normal' and customary practices within disciplines. This paper also discusses the results of a mixed methods survey of academic colleagues (as students) studying the PGCAP, exploring their perceptions of the programme's authenticity, its practicality, as well as the value of learning activities and assessments and, importantly, the impact on their practice. In terms of implications for practice, this paper encourages readers to consider how they could develop their own curriculum, introduce greater authenticity, and move away from deficit models of academic development.

This paper investigates the author's classroom practice of implementing an interpretive perspective on intercultural language teaching and learning in two online intercultural workshops on the topic of face masks designed and delivered during the COVID-19 pandemic. It reflexively examines two critical incidents in classroom practice in terms of what these incidents reveal about the challenges faced by pre-service teachers in operationalizing an interpretive stance towards intercultural language teaching and learning in practice. Based on the epistemology of reflective practice, this self-study seeks to produce knowledge-of-practice by framing the author's practical knowledge as language teacher in relation to theories of intercultural language teaching. Classroom discourse analysis of teaching and learning sequencies provides an emic lens on the enactment of an interpretive perspective on intercultural language teaching at the micro level in terms of two basic aspects of pedagogical practice: 1) Embedding interpretation in learning design and 2) Mediating learners' interpretations in classroom interaction. The findings reveal that this author's attempts to personalise intercultural language learning and elicit meaningful reflections from students were constrained by the limited semiotic richness of the material presented and the difficulty of going beyond a superficial interactional format to provide effective scaffolding and successfully realize a dialogic stance towards knowledge building. The paper considers the implications of these challenges for pre-service teacher education and offers suggestions for supporting teachers hoping to teach interculturally.

This paper deals with the role of the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) among staff on teaching-only contracts in UK higher education, particularly in contrast with the activities of research-active staff. Drawing on the results of a quantitative study carried out during the summer of 2021 among modern foreign language teachers in 64 UK universities, the questions of the status and purpose of SoTL are addressed. The results of the survey show that, beyond the traditional two-tier division of academic labour based on the research vs. scholarship dichotomy, a third group of academic staff with no research or SoTL responsibilities has emerged in recent years. The paper concludes with recommendations to review the existing divisions between staff on research, SoTL and teaching-only contracts in order to create a more inclusive academic environment where individuals in different types of academic posts can fulfil their scholarly potential.

This paper explores how storying can be used to uncover experiences of student belonging throughout their time in Higher Education. It adopts a framing of belonging that is fluid and which recognises shifting notions of belonging over time. A focus on storying is particularly useful for understanding belonging as it enables university staff to listen carefully and with empathy to what matters to students, what shapes their experiences, and how to communicate these in a way which invites positive action. Through storying with undergraduate student articulations gathered through a survey, interviews and focus groups at a university in the UK, the paper identifies the multifaceted and connected spaces of belonging, temporalities and relationships that come to affect student belonging. Ultimately the paper argues for the collective responsibility of staff and students to create a space of belonging for all, rather than the prevalent discourse which often puts the onus on an individual to "fit in".

Whether enough highly qualified STEM workers are being educated and trained in the UK is an important question. The answer has implications not only for educators, employers and policymakers but also for individuals who are currently engaged in, or are considering entering, education or training in this area. Set against a policy backdrop that prioritises students studying more science for longer, this paper considers long-term patterns of participation in STEM education -- from school science through to graduate entry into the highly skilled STEM labour market. Using a unique dataset that extends across seven decades and comprises many hundreds of thousands of students, the paper finds that patterns of participation in most STEM subjects have varied little over the period considered; suggesting that efforts to increase the numbers of students studying science in school has had limited impact on the throughput of students who study STEM, including the pure sciences, at university level and, subsequently, on the number of graduates who would be available to undertake highly skilled work in areas for which degree-level skills are a pre-requisite.

Purpose: This study aims to reflect on "good practices" in doctoral research supervision and transfer the author's experience to other academics. The author explains the sources of his approach to doctoral research supervision drawing on traditional practice in adult learning and some reference to phenomenology as a "meeting of minds" between academic and industry mindsets. Design/methodology/approach: This is a reflective paper condensing many years of practical experience advising industry managers doing doctoral research. It is not an empirical study as such but draws on extensive practitioner experience based on many successful PhD completions in the business and management domain. Findings: There are no empirical findings as such, but ample practical experience of doctoral research process and outcomes over 40 years of supervision in both the UK and Australian Universities. Research limitations/implications: Generalisation is limited to the number of doctoral research completions (between 70 and 80). Practical implications: The paper concludes with indicators of what the author regards as "good practices" in doctoral research supervision. Social implications: None is directly applicable, but academe-industry working partnerships might be improved with the author's learner- and customer-centred approach to doctoral research with adults in senior positions in the industry wanting to do research. Originality/value: This paper is based entirely on the author's own working experience as a senior academic in UK and Australian Universities.

Purpose: The primary aim of this paper is to illuminate the critical issue of the degree awarding gap in the UK, which significantly impacts students from lower socio-economic backgrounds and minority groups. By conducting a systematic review of existing literature following the PRISMA protocol, this study seeks to uncover the complex web of explanatory factors that mediate the relationship between contextual indicators, institutional culture, and degree awarding disparities. Addressing this gap is vital for promoting social justice, enhancing the economy, safeguarding the reputation of UK universities, and adhering to legal responsibilities. This paper endeavours to provide a comprehensive understanding of the underlying causes of degree awarding gaps and offer evidence-based recommendations for the higher education sector to mitigate these disparities. Design/methodology/approach: This study employs a systematic review design, adhering to the PRISMA protocol, to meticulously analyse the existing body of literature concerning the degree awarding gap in UK higher education. By systematically gathering, evaluating, and synthesizing relevant studies, the review aims to identify and understand the multifaceted factors mediating the link between contextual indicators, institutional culture, and the disparities observed in degree awarding. This methodological approach ensures a rigorous and transparent examination of the literature, enabling the identification of both the breadth and depth of research on the topic. Through this design, the paper aspires to uncover nuanced insights into the mechanisms driving degree awarding gaps. Findings: The review's findings reveal that degree awarding gaps in UK universities are influenced by a constellation of factors, highlighting the complexity of this issue. Key among these are unconscious bias, limited student engagement opportunities with academic staff, institutional racism, inadequate support systems, and a scarcity of social and cultural capital. These factors collectively contribute to significant disparities in degree outcomes, disproportionately disadvantaging students from lower socio-economic backgrounds and minority groups. The evidence suggests that institutional practices and culture play a pivotal role in either exacerbating or alleviating these disparities, indicating the need for targeted interventions to address the root causes of degree awarding gaps. Research limitations/implications: One strength of conducting a systematic review is its rigorous and meticulous nature, which ensures that the process is carefully planned and executed. This comprehensive approach allows for the elimination of biases, as the review systematically gathers and analyses existing literature on the topic. By adhering to a structured methodology, the systematic review enhances the validity and reliability of the findings, providing a robust and unbiased synthesis of the available evidence. This strength lends credibility to the research and reinforces the confidence in the conclusions drawn from the review. Practical implications: The practical implications arising from this information indicate that universities need to address the identified issues directly by implementing supportive strategies and interventions. By doing so, they can create a learning environment that is more inclusive and equitable, allowing all students to unlock their full potential. This may involve measures such as raising awareness about unconscious bias, promoting engagement between academic staff and students, implementing anti-racist policies, establishing comprehensive support systems, and actively fostering social and cultural capital. Such practical actions will contribute to reducing the degree awarding gaps and promoting equal opportunities for all students, ultimately leading to a more equitable and successful educational experience. Social implications: The social implications derived from this information are significant. By implementing supportive strategies and interventions to address the identified issues, universities can contribute to creating a more inclusive and equitable learning environment. This has the potential to have a transformative impact on society by providing equal opportunities for all students to unlock their full potential. By raising awareness about unconscious bias and implementing anti-racist policies, universities can foster a more diverse and inclusive community. Promoting engagement between academic staff and students and establishing comprehensive support systems can enhance social cohesion and create a sense of belonging. Ultimately, these efforts can lead to reduced degree awarding gaps and contribute to a more equitable and successful educational experience, positively influencing broader social equality and cohesion. Originality/value: This paper contributes significantly to the literature by offering a comprehensive, systematic review of the factors contributing to the degree awarding gap in UK higher education, highlighting its originality and value. By focusing on the interplay between contextual indicators, institutional culture, and degree awarding disparities, the study provides novel insights into how these dynamics contribute to educational inequities. Furthermore, the evidence-based recommendations for institutional interventions presented in this paper furnish the higher education sector with actionable strategies to foster a more inclusive and equitable learning environment. This work not only advances academic understanding of degree awarding gaps but also offers practical value to policymakers and educational institutions aiming to enhance social justice in higher education.

Whilst the practitioner field around current student communications has developed in recent years, most published research still focuses either on prospective students, theoretical benefits of student communications or usage of individual channels of communication. This paper contributes to policy and practice by providing the first UK-wide look at current students' communications preferences and behaviours through a meta-analysis of 17 student communications surveys (total students surveyed 20,134). Results show that students expect their universities to utilise a range of channels (including email, social media and student portals) -- i.e. an integrated marketing theory approach. Most students feel that they receive the right level of information; however, overall satisfaction with communications has decreased in recent years. This paper provides recommendations for practice, as well as a template to improve consistency in future institutional student communications evaluations.

In more fluid higher education environments, the concept of third space has been developed to explore the activities of groups of staff who do not necessarily fit formal institutional descriptors. This paper draws on qualitative data from 26 respondents, in eight UK universities, who described significant elements of their work as occurring between professional and academic spheres of activity. Comparing individuals categorised as fully fledged 'third space professionals' with those categorised as simply 'working in third space', the paper suggests that the way individuals build and use social capital, and the recognition accorded to them by institutions, not only impacts on the way that they develop their roles but also is a significant factor in determining their career direction and aspirations. Furthermore, this has led to a general shift from the concept of service to one of partnership between colleagues, whether they are formally classified as 'academic' or 'professional'.

This paper considers the topic of student wellbeing using the lens of a different type of support mechanism -- 'dog borrowing' -- which builds on prior research about emotion work and human-animal interactions but in the context of student transitions and pastoral care in higher education. This novel study was about the experiences of students settling into their university life and how, through a facilitated opportunity for students to connect to a dog and community partners, universities can meet mental health standards for wellbeing support. The findings outlined in this paper provide new insight into; how the university ethos and environment can be viewed as more personalised and emotionally supportive, how different kinds of relationships can support emotion state regulation conducive to wellbeing and effective learning and the ways that a human-animal bond can enhance connection with the community and provide social support for university students who have moved away from home.

Purpose: In this case study, we offer an analysis of feedback from a student experience survey completed by Black undergraduate students who received proactive, targeted coaching and mentoring support during 2021-2022. All the students were studying at a large higher education institution in the United Kingdom which offers a broad range of degree courses by distance learning. Design/methodology/approach: This paper reports on the intervention delivered and analyses the student experience of being offered, and receiving, proactive coaching and mentoring. It is based on the responses of 102 students who engaged with the experience survey after having self-selected to receive the intervention. What follows is an analysis of their experiences using a qualitative in vivo approach based on word frequency in students' free-text comments. Findings: The findings presented are that, in this intervention, students who self-select to receive coaching and mentoring support experience tangible (self-reported) behaviour changes with potentially longer term benefits for their studies. These include improved self-confidence and self-efficacy, increased proactive help-seeking behaviour, greater recognition of strengths and achievement and personal growth and self-awareness. Originality/value: In presenting this case study, we aim to contribute to the growing corpus of practitioner case studies and research papers that show the benefits of coaching and mentoring in higher education and -- more specifically - why coaching and mentoring can be a worthwhile targeted intervention for students from underrepresented backgrounds. This lends support to the growing consensus that students with positive, proactive help-seeking behaviours perform better than students not able to access support (Byrne et al., 2014). We conclude the case study with some practical implications for providers looking to provide targeted support to students.

Background: We explore the theoretical and methodological aspects of decolonising speech and language therapy (SLT) higher education in the United Kingdom. We begin by providing the background of the Rhodes Must Fall decolonisation movement and the engagement of South African SLTs in the decoloniality agenda. We then discuss the evolution of decoloniality in SLT, highlighting its focus on reimagining the relationships between participants, students, patients and the broader world. Objective: The primary objective of this discussion is to fill a gap in professional literature regarding decoloniality in SLT education. While there is limited research in professional journals, social media platforms have witnessed discussions on decolonisation in SLT. This discussion aims to critically examine issues such as institutional racism, lack of belonging, inequitable services and limited diversity that currently affect the SLT profession, not just in the United Kingdom but globally. Methods: The methods employed in this research involve the engagement of SLT academics in Critical conversations on decolonisation. These conversations draw on reflexivity and reflexive interpretation, allowing for a deeper understanding of the relationship between truth, reality, and the participants in SLT practice and education. The nature of these critical conversations is characterised by their chaotic, unscripted and fluid nature, which encourages the open discussion of sensitive topics related to race, gender, class and sexuality. Discussion points: We present our reflections as academics who participated in the critical conversations. We explore the discomfort experienced by an academic when engaging with decolonisation, acknowledging white privilege, and the need to address fear and an imposter syndrome. The second reflection focuses on the experiences of white academics in grappling with their complicity in a system that perpetuates racism and inequality. It highlights the need for self-reflection, acknowledging white privilege and working collaboratively with colleagues and students toward constructing a decolonised curriculum. Finally, we emphasise that while action is crucial, this should not undermine the potential of dialogue to change attitudes and pave the way for practical implementation. The paper concludes by emphasising the importance of combining dialogue with action and the need for a nuanced understanding of the complexities involved in decolonising SLT education. Conclusion: Overall, this paper provides a comprehensive overview of the background, objectives, methods and key reflections related to the decolonisation of SLT higher education in the United Kingdom. It highlights the challenges, discomfort and responsibilities faced by academics in addressing decoloniality and emphasizes the importance of ongoing critical conversations and collective action in effecting meaningful change.

Universities face an uncertain funding environment and turbulent marketplace. Financial scenario modelling offers a potential mechanism to assist in navigating a way forward. Our previous paper on UK universities' practice found some variation in the sophistication of the approaches taken, but the overall impression was of a relatively simple approach, with spreadsheets generally viewed as having sufficient functionality to meet current strategic needs. This subsequent paper offers guidance on the construction of financial scenario models. It addresses the key variables that universities may wish to include, and it offers advice on how models might be formulated and evolve. The characteristics of differing approaches taken by universities in meeting their own scenario modelling requirements are explored by identifying three forms of model: basic, intermediate and advanced. The contribution of this paper is to enable universities, in the UK and beyond, to evaluate and improve their own financial scenario modelling practices.