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The discourses around feedback and assessment within higher education are often proliferated as critical to student learning, and attention to student (dis)"satisfaction" is often high on the agenda. As academics spend extensive time and effort on the production of summative feedback, this paper draws on the initial findings from a small-scale study of the use of "Pecha Kucha" as a methodology for formative assessment within two undergraduate modules. The dominant themes suggest some disparity between staff and students regarding the "purpose" of formative assessment and the paper argues that "Pecha Kucha" can be used as a platform to develop assessment dialogues, with the subsequent development of a pedagogic literacy around feedback practices. Furthermore, the value of listening to different narratives from research studies, students and tutors supports the reframing of assessment as a supportive mechanism beyond the elicitation of "proof" of learning.

This paper argues that the sociology of education would benefit from greater integration with social scientific research focused on morality. This body of research offers a rich set of resources that can illuminate and extend many of the sociology of education's intellectual concerns. In support of this argument, the paper draws on data from Millennium Cohort Study in the UK to empirically examine how a wide range of socio-demographic characteristics are related to young people's moral attitudes. The analysis focuses on the extent to which adolescents state that a range of actions are wrong. In doing so, the paper makes an important contribution to studying the moral lives of young people.

Students' satisfaction with feedback and assessment has historically been low. This is confirmed by the most recent National Student Survey where feedback and assessment still remain the area of least satisfaction. Such projects as Transforming the Experience of Students through Assessment (TESTA) attempt to tackle the issue by providing a channel of communication between staff and students at the programme level. This paper reports on the results of the University of Greenwich version of TESTA and identifies points of tension between staff perceptions of their practice, and students' perceptions of their assessment experience. Using cross-institutional data we identify common themes where the discrepancies between accounts affecting satisfaction rates emerge, i.e. quantity and quality of feedback, assessment loading and clarity of goals and standards, and provide our impartial explanation of the sources of those discrepancies.

Much time is invested by markers in providing feedback to students that is personalised, aimed at providing them with information to feed forward into their next piece of work. Given the investment of time by tutors in the feedback process, we were necessarily concerned with how it is used by students and keen to explore and develop practice. This paper therefore draws on an action research project to explore students' perceptions of assessment feedback and the impact of an intervention to enhance its use. This paper presents an initial review of this work, highlighting the way that it has developed feedback processes and students' engagement in self-regulated learning.

This paper reports findings from research into the benefits of integrating podcasts into a first year undergraduate module on English Language and Communication at Kingston University. As part of a Faculty teaching and learning support scheme for first year undergraduates, six podcasts were developed to improve students' learning and study skills and to provide advice on portfolio development and presentation skills. Student learning experience through podcasts was evaluated through two focus groups, personal interviews (six students) and an end of semester evaluation questionnaire (n=35). The paper describes the teaching and learning context and how the podcasts were integrated as part of the blended learning delivery. It discusses to what extent podcasts were able to achieve of the intended outcomes and the processes involved in achieving those outcomes. The findings led to development of a model for integrating podcasts in on-campus blended learning, and which can have potential applications in distance learning contexts. The model is based on three main features of podcasts identified as facilitating student learning: learner choice and flexibility offered by podcasts; tacit knowledge and experience of peers conveyed in discussions; and a sense of informality brought into formal learning. The research reported in the paper was carried out as part of national research project entitled "Informal Mobile Podcasting and Learning Adaptation" (IMPALA) with funding from the UK Higher Education Academy. (Contains 5 graphs and 1 figure.)

The work outlined here provides a comprehensive report and formative observations of the development and implementation of hypermedia resources for learning and teaching used in conjunction with a managed learning environment (MLE). These resources are used to enhance teaching and learning of an electronics module in product design at final year undergraduate level in Loughborough University. This research has taken place over a two year period when such resources were developed and implemented. Such hypermedia-based learning resources were developed by the author and include text, graphical, video and sound based media. The managed learning environment referred to in this paper as "Learn" is a university wide file-server system which is used to facilitate distance learning as well as provide support to many aspects of teaching, learning and assessment at Loughborough University. The work reported here focusses on the use of the MLE in support of face to face learning as this module is not undertaken on a distance learning basis. The author has uploaded all relevant teaching and learning resources onto the MLE for accessibility by the students on this module. Moreover, internet-based learning resources and assessments, in the form of pre-written computer programs and circuit building projects, were developed by the author, to enable the students to gauge their knowledge and understanding at staged points through the tutorial and laboratory sessions within the module. In addition, this paper presents through case study, the way in which this module is delivered and received, illustrating how such resources are used by both teacher and learner. As such this proves as , an exemplar for effective deployment of such supportive technologies and resources in learning, teaching and assessment of a product design and technology module at undergraduate level.

The adoption of enabling technologies by universities provides unprecedented opportunities for flipping the classroom to achieve student-centred learning. While higher education policies focus on placing students at the heart of the education process, the propensity for student identities to shift from partners in learning to consumers of education provides challenges for negotiating the learning experience. Higher education institutions (HEIs) are grappling with the disruptive potential of technology-enabled solutions to enhance education provision in cost-effective ways without placing the student experience at risk. These challenges impact on both academics and their institutions demanding agility and resilience as crucial capabilities for universities endeavouring to keep up with the pace of change, role transitions, and pedagogical imperatives for student-centred learning. The paper explores strategies for effective change management which can minimise risk factors in adopting the disruptive pedagogies and enabling technologies associated with "flipping the classroom" for transformative learning. It recognises the significance of individual, cultural and strategic shifts as prerequisites and processes for generating and sustaining change. The analysis is informed by the development of a collaborative lifeworld-led, transprofessional curriculum for health and social work disciplines, which harnesses technology to connect learners to humanising practices and evidence based approaches. Rich data from student questionnaires and staff focus groups is drawn on to highlight individual and organisational benefits and barriers, including student reactions to new and challenging ways of learning; cultural resistance recognised in staff scepticism and uncertainty; and organisational resistance, recognised in lack of timely and responsive provision of technical infrastructure and support. Intersections between research orientations, education strategies and technology affordances will be explored as triggers for transformation in a "triple helix" model of change, through examining their capacity for initiating "optimum disruption" to facilitate student-centred learning, role transitions, and organisational change. We share the findings of "our story" of change to harness the positive utility of these triggers for transformation through deploying strategies for negotiating complexity, including the requirement for a shared vision, a robust team approach, the need for ongoing horizon scanning and application of soft skills (e.g. active listening, timely communication) necessary in order to build student confidence, academic partnerships, and facilitate organisational dexterity and resilience in the face of barriers to change.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss a novel life cycle approach to education for sustainable development (ESD) where the students become "design thinkers". Design/methodology/approach: A case study on the creation, development and utilisation of educational games by university students is presented. The paper discusses the case study in the context of Kolb's experiential learning and dynamic matching model, Perry's stages of intellectual development and Beech and Macintosh's processual learning model. The data used were from questionnaire feedback from the pupils who played the games and students who designed the games. Further qualitative feedback was collected from local schools involved in playing the games created by the students. Findings: Overall, the students responded positively to the assessment and would like to see more of this type of assessment. They enjoyed the creativity involved and the process of developing the games. For the majority of the skill sets measured, most students found that their skills improved slightly. Many students felt that they had learnt a lot about effectively communicating science. The school children involved in playing the student-created games found them accessible with variable degrees of effectiveness as engaging learning tools dependent on the game. Originality/value: This paper contributes a new approach to ESD which incorporates learner-centred arrangements within a full life cycle of game creation, delivery, playing and back to creation. The games can be used as a tool for enhancing knowledge and influencing behaviours in school children whilst enhancing ESD capacity in schools. The assessment also helps forge important links between the academic and local communities to enhance sustainable development.

In the UK policies such as the Children's Plan 2008-2020 through to Promoting the Emotional Health of Children and Young People (2010) identify that professionals such as teachers, youth workers, social workers and youth offending specialists, do not have the necessary underpinning knowledge to adequately support children and young people's emotional well-being. Further that these professionals fail to recognise when a child or young person may need additional help. These findings suggest that gaining knowledge and understanding of emotional well-being for children and young people is a key requirement for those working in this field. This paper is an evaluation of an initiative that saw a partnership of developing joint learning materials from expert emotional well-being organisations being delivered as part of an undergraduate award at a traditional Higher Educational (HE) Institution. The evaluation showed that the introduction of interactive, e-learning materials, supplemented with role play and scenario based learning and running concurrently alongside work experiences enabled students to acquire and apply knowledge and understanding of emotional well-being for children and young people to real situations, and thus bridged the "practice-theory gap".

Drawing from the Uses and Gratifications Theory, this study examined the Gratification Sought and the Gratification Obtained from using Social Networking Sites among Iranian, Malaysian, British, and South African higher education students. This comparison allowed to drawing conclusions about how social networking sites fulfill users' needs with different cultures. Data were collected through a quantitative study applying online and paper-based questionnaire carried out in 2013, using a representative sample (N = 320). Findings showed differences in students' motivation to join to and to use of social network sites in each country. Interestingly, the researchers found that cultural differences may determine the uses and gratifications of social networking sites.

This paper introduces an innovative course design incorporating both communities of practice and reflective practice as a learning strategy for part-time learners in higher education. The new design has been applied to teaching HR practitioners in a UK-based business school. Findings indicate that the suggested way of organizing teaching and learning for part-time professionals is very informative and facilitates a richer engagement with theory whilst addressing issues of practice.

The challenges facing UK higher education are both well documented and controversial; however, pitted against this context is the requirement for psychology departments to provide an increasingly rich and diverse university experience for students, whilst ensuring progression and retention remain central to undergraduate provision. Despite the recognition that induction is of upmost importance in ensuring a successful transition from pretertiary to higher education, many universities are faced with changing budgets in the post-Browne era (Browne, 2010) across all aspects of academic life. Such a challenge presents departments with a unique paradox since student expectations continue to rise as the dominance of consumerism reaches fruition, whilst budgets continue to decrease. In acknowledging the importance of induction for both the overall student experience and for retention, the University of Worcester designed and successfully implemented an induction programme on a considerably reduced budget. A satisfaction questionnaire was completed by 136 undergraduate students inducted in 2011 and the results compared to those of 87 students from 2010 (where the induction budget was considerably higher). The results indicate similar levels of satisfaction and engagement with induction activities and whilst an off-site activity remains key to the success of induction, such an activity doesn't have to present considerable expense. This paper provides an overview of designing an induction programme on a reduced budget, presents satisfaction results from undergraduate students who completed induction in both 2010 and 2011, and presents suggestions for best practice in the design of induction events for psychology undergraduates.

Games based learning is currently a hotly debated topic in education and is a fertile field of study (Holmes, 2011; Abrams, 2009). Many schools are exploring ways in which games can be embedded into the curriculum, to enhance learning through deeper engagement and higher levels of motivation (Miller & Robertson, 2010). This paper explores the use of game consoles to support learning for young students (ages 8-11) and evaluates their recent success in primary education. Over time game consoles and video games have been portrayed as a male oriented technology. This research investigated the current use of game consoles in learning and how it might positively affect a child's learning and motivation, but focused solely on female students' experiences. In the study we investigated the research question: "Do game consoles have a positive impact on girls' learning and motivation?" A semi-structured questionnaire was distributed to girls in Key Stage 2 (n = 49) across three schools that have already incorporated game consoles into their curriculum. The study found that game consoles and video games can have a positive impact on girls' learning and motivation and are key themes that have been raised by teachers. However, due to several limitations in this research some issues were not fully addressed, and we identify some future areas for research.

Learning a language through distance means is becoming increasingly widespread. The investigation reported in this paper was part of a large study (n = 590) carried out in 2011, which examined the experience of English-speaking students learning French pronunciation in a distance setting. This paper explores the hypothesis that there is a link between foreign language anxiety (FLA) and phonological attainment when learning in a distance setting. Quantitative methods included a questionnaire which explored FLA and learning pronunciation of English-speaking students learning French in a distance setting (n = 590). Pronunciation competence and FLA were measured using two instruments: an adapted version of the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale, which was part of the questionnaire, and a phonological attainment rating table, assessed through a reading activity. A significant correlation was found between good pronunciation skills and low levels of FLA.

This paper offers clarification of science teacher orientations as a potential component of pedagogical content knowledge. Science teaching orientations and beliefs about science held by 237 preservice science teachers were gathered via content-specific vignettes and questionnaire, respectively, prior to participation in a UK-based teacher education program. Data presented support "Didactic, Academic Rigor," "conceptual change," "activity driven," and "inquiry" orientations as intuitive teacher stances. The paper proposes a continuum for these five science teaching orientations, ordered by potential teaching quality that may be useful to science teacher educators. Even though all participants were qualified scientists, naïve beliefs about science were prevalent, with few examples of "informed" and "partially informed" beliefs. Alignment of orientations and beliefs shows that orientations override preservice teachers' notions of science teaching. Therefore, a further recommendation based on these data is that preservice science teachers' beliefs about science are regarded as a component of subject matter knowledge and excluded from science teaching orientations.

Business schools have the responsibility of preparing students for work in multicultural organisations and global markets. This paper examines a situated learning experience for undergraduates through a virtual collaboration between a UK university and a Brazilian university. This facilitated remote communication using social media and smart devices, allowing students from both institutions to enhance their cross-cultural management competencies. A qualitative approach was used for the research, drawing on the reflections of the tutors from both institutions and feedback received from students in the UK and Brazil. This paper provides empirical observations regarding the use of this innovative pedagogic approach, generating discussion of the implications for teaching, thus contributing to the literature on international collaborations in cross-cultural management education.

This paper reports on the design and evaluation of a UK University's global eLearning MBA programme. The aims of the research were to investigate the learning experiences of the students on the course and to evaluate the effectiveness of the support system so as to improve the programme. The primary research method was a longitudinal semi-structured questionnaire survey, and data were collected from students taking the course during the years 2008-2010. Three rounds of survey were conducted, resulting in 149 valid responses. The first round showed a fairly high level of student satisfaction with the programme, but also indicated areas that needed further improvement. The impacts of subsequent changes in the programme and the learning support system were investigated in the second and third rounds of the survey. Feedback from these has helped develop additional changes in the learning content and delivery approach of the programme. Overall, the findings helped improve the course's delivery approach, enriched the course's content, enhanced its quality, and improved the satisfaction level of the students. It is hoped that these findings can provide useful insights to course managers and eLearning developers of other courses offered in a global context. (Contains 2 figures and 3 tables.)

Despite much research into doctoral education over the past two decades, theorising the field remains challenging. Recently, identity has been taken up as a conceptualising frame. Views of identity vary but often privilege the reproductive features of society, downplaying how individuals can be intentional in pursuing their desires--with the doctorate but one feature of a broader life. Further, many focus on the experience of the doctorate only rather than the doctorate as situated within earlier experiences and intentions and future imagined careers. This paper draws on evidence from a five-year research programme into doctoral experience to argue for a view of identity, identity-trajectory, that attends particularly to individual agency, interweaving the academic within the personal, and incorporating students' pasts and imagined futures. By re-focusing attention on the agency, resourcefulness and independence of doctoral students, identity-trajectory contributes pedagogically and conceptually distinct ways of framing doctoral experience. (Contains 3 endnotes.)

Polymer Chemistry days run by Bristol ChemLabS at the School of Chemistry, University of Bristol for year 10 (14-15 year olds) school students are described. Pre and post questionnaires were analysed to determine the impact on attitudes to science. There was no change in attitudes to the importance of science or practical work in science, but increases were observed in attitudes to learning science in school, self-concept in science, science outside of school and future participation in science. Using a two-tailed t-test at the 2s level of significance (95% confidence level) or higher a "combined interest in science" (combining items from learning science in school, science outside of school and future participation in science) was significantly increased. Using a two-tailed t-test at the 3s level of significance (99% confidence level) or higher self concept in science was increased. Such an increase at such a high tolerance level is noteworthy. Both males and females attitudes to science increased as a result of the polymer workshops but scores for males were consistently higher than for females. Students studying individual science subjects (triple science) and combined science at GCSE (UK) both returned very high scores for enjoyment of the day. The results of these surveys are discussed in detail in the paper.

Although the theoretical benefits of feedback are generally well established, in practice those benefits can be less than clear. This is particularly the case on shorter courses, where students have limited scope to integrate feedback into future assessment performance. If we accept that one of the key purposes of feedback is to encourage students to reflect on--and subsequently change--their performance, there is a strong argument for feedforward in such cases. This paper analyses the performance of 137 students on an MBA module in financial decision-making. An assignment was delivered to two groups, one of which was involved in a structured feedforward exercise. At the end of the module all students completed an evaluative questionnaire. In addition, a focus group was held with a group of students who had been involved with the feedforward exercise. The study found that increased support and guidance through the feedforward process had no significant impact on student performance, but that student satisfaction increased. The question of performance was found to be intertwined with complex issues of strategic approaches to learning, satisficing behaviour, "spoon-feeding" reactions and workload management. The study points to a need for more qualitative research into students' strategies for assessment.

Many university departments provide public engagement activities, often referred to as "outreach" to school students, their teachers and other members of the public. It is less common for University Departments to run activities for their employees let alone the children of these employees. This paper looks at the value put on an engagement activity both by participating students and their parents who are employees of the host university. Analysis shows that the students welcome the opportunity to experience aspects of their parents' workplace and those parents are extremely supportive of such initiatives.

There is growing appreciation of the importance of understanding the student perspective in Higher Education (HE) at both institutional and international levels. This is particularly important in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics subjects such as Computer Science (CS) and Engineering in which industry needs are high but so are student dropout rates. An important factor to consider is the management of students' initial expectations of university study and career. This paper reports on a study of CS first-year students' expectations across three European countries using qualitative data from student surveys and essays. Expectation is examined from both short-term (topics to be studied) and long-term (career goals) perspectives. Tackling these issues will help paint a picture of computing education through students' eyes and explore their vision of its and their role in society. It will also help educators prepare students more effectively for university study and to improve the student experience.

The patchwork text is an assessment method whereby students produce and share short pieces of writing over the course of a module that are subsequently integrated in a final summative piece. This paper reports on the experience of using this method of assessment in a criminal justice module. The objective behind introducing this form of assessment was to address students' complaints about the quality and promptness of feedback they had received previously in the course. The results from the evaluation suggested that students had a very positive experience as the patchwork text had helped them manage their time more effectively, develop an integrated understanding of the topic and self-reflection skills and achieve the best possible result. A crucial element of the success of the patchwork text assessment proved to be the opportunity to receive formative feedback from the tutor.

As a way to raise attainment, schools are encouraged to form ability groups across classes for particular subjects. There is limited evidence however about the relationship between setting and primary school children's characteristics and how teachers perceive them. The aim of this study was to investigate associations between set positioning for English and Maths and teachers' perceptions about 11-year-olds' behaviour and school attitudes and future education goals, and children's psychosocial and cognitive characteristics and background through secondary data analyses of the fifth sweep of the Millennium Cohort Study. The study employed binary logistic regression analyses and revealed strong associations between set positioning and teacher perceptions of 11-year-olds' behaviour and attitudes and future education goals. Associations between set position and teacher perceptions of children's identity as learners were stronger than those for children's self- reported attitudes and behaviour. Also, family income and gender emerged as strong predictors of children's position in sets. Set positioning is not a neutral act; it has implications about children's personal agency and their identity as learners.

Purpose: In the UK, concern frequently has been voiced that young people lack appropriate employability skills. One way to address this is to provide work based placements. In general, previous research findings have indicated that young people find such placements useful because of help with career choice and relevant skills. However, most studies are retrospective and involve sixth form or degree students. The purpose of this paper is to extend previous research by collecting information before and after the placements. Design/methodology/approach: This investigation involved questionnaires with nearly 300 14-15 year-old students who provided a pre- and post-placement self-reports about their employability skills and their work-experience hosts provided ratings of employability skills at the end of the placement. Findings: There was a significant increase in student ratings of their employability skills from before to after the placement, and although the employers gave slightly lower ratings of some employability skills than the students, the two sets of ratings were reasonably close. In addition, the students had high expectations of the usefulness of the placements and these expectations were fulfilled as reported in the post-placement questionnaire. Originality/value: These positive findings, extend the knowledge of the effects of work based placements, by focussing on the opinion of the young people themselves, using a pre- to post-placement design, by validating student self-reports with host employer ratings, and by focussing on a younger than usual age group.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of a simulator for teaching programming to foster student engagement and meaningful learning. Design/methodology/approach: An exploratory mixed-method research approach was adopted in a classroom-based environment at a UK university. A rich account of student engagement dimensions (behavioural, affective/emotional, and cognitive) was captured through descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. This was triangulated through reflective and in-depth validation of open-ended questions. Findings: Results show higher behavioural and emotional engagement in simulator-based sessions, but relatively low cognitive engagement when compared with traditional programming sessions. A strong interweaving relationship between these three dimensions is evident in both the traditional and simulator approaches. Therefore, a balanced distribution of the dimensions is recommended for effective planning and delivery of programming sessions. Research limitations/implications: Student engagement is multidimensional as it includes various internal and external/ecological factors. This study did not consider external factors, such as family and societal influence; it focused on the classroom-based environment. Originality/value: This study critically examined the use of simulation as a means to foster student engagement in programming sessions. Findings suggest that a balanced activities within the three engagement dimensions can facilitate meaningful learning.

Purpose: This research aims to examine the main findings of the SusTEACH study of the carbon-based environmental impacts of 30 higher education (HE) courses in 15 UK institutions, based on an analysis of the likely energy consumption and carbon emissions of a range of face-to-face, distance, online and information and communication technology (ICT)-enhanced blended teaching models. Design/methodology/approach: An environmental assessment of 19 campus-based and 11 distance-based HE courses was conducted using questionnaire surveys to gather data from students and lecturers on course-related travel: the purchase and use of ICTs and paper materials, residential energy consumption and campus site operations. Results were converted into average energy and CO2 emissions, normalised per student per 100 study hours, and then classified by the primary teaching model used by lecturers. Findings: The main sources of HE course carbon emissions were travel, residential energy consumption and campus site operations. Distance-based HE models (distance, online and ICT-enhanced teaching models) reduced energy consumption by 88 per cent and achieved significant carbon reductions of 83 per cent when compared with campus-based HE models (face-to-face and ICT-enhanced teaching models). The online teaching model achieved the lowest energy consumption and carbon emissions, although there were potential rebound effects associated with increased ICT-related energy consumption and paper used for printing. Practical implications: New pedagogical designs using online and distance-based teaching methods can achieve carbon reductions by reducing student travel via residential and campus accommodation. Originality/value: Few studies have examined the environmental performance of HE teaching models. A new classification of HE traditional, online and blended teaching models is used to examine the role of ICTs and the likely carbon impacts.

Purpose: This paper examines the experiences of engaging with academic writing of international doctoral students in the schools of humanities and education at a UK university. The purpose of this paper is to uncover the real accounts of international students whose cultural and language backgrounds are often marginalised and considered, not as facilitators, but as barriers to academic writing in the western context of universities. Design/methodology/approach: Developed broadly within an interpretive post-positivistic paradigm, the study utilised Harré and van Lagenhove, 1999 Positioning theory and Goffman's theory of Stigma to interrogate accounts of 12 students from the two schools in a year-long project involving three focus group discussions, questionnaire responses and personal reflective summaries by the students. Findings: The paper highlights the notions of stigma associated with their foreign writing conventions and how students experience tensions and apprehensions about their ability as they painfully negotiate the new academic writing conventions of the institution. International students position themselves as vulnerable outsiders working within an ill-defined but highly valued language environment. Research limitations/implications: The research is limited to the extent that it utilises a very small number of students as its key source of evidence. However, the study was not aimed at providing generalisation as much as it sought to explore issues associated with the use of language by international studying in UK universities. Practical implications: The study has practical implications for the professionals in HE to develop clear guidelines about what constitutes good English and to provide greater support to international students who see themselves as vulnerable outsiders in an environment which marginalises their linguistic and cultural identities. Social implications: The study has implications for the social, cultural, and academic integration of international students in HE institutions. Originality/value: The paper signals a need for diverse writing frameworks which seek to promote rather than silence and marginalise potentially rich sources of knowledge and understanding in an increasingly globalising world.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report the notable findings of students with different domiciled status. There is a lack of research and understanding of how prior study experiences and the expectations of new students that are due to embark on an MSc by coursework level (also known as postgraduate-taught [PGT]) can impact on their study and ability to persist and succeed. The research available has mainly been confined to post-experience surveys. By identifying prior study experiences and study expectations, education providers in higher education institutions can use these insights not only to attract more students but to improve retention rates and the overall student experience. The research undertaken in the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Computing at a London-based, post-1992 institution aims to provide valuable data and insights into this nationally and internationally neglected area. Design/methodology/approach: New taught postgraduate students provided data on their previous study experiences, study expectations, opinions of postgraduate-level study and demographic data via a hard copy questionnaire which was distributed and completed during the orientation period in September 2012. It was entered into the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), and a range of tests were run on the data. Findings: The findings in this paper and the project in general will be further explored and investigated as a result of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) awarding a major grant to the post-1992 university to undertake research into these areas amongst nine similar English universities. Research limitations/implications: As the research was conducted over a one-year period, the findings are based on the limitations that such a time and financially limited project can offer. The institution at which the research was undertaken is a post-1992 institution that has high concentration towards teaching functions. The findings in this paper and the project in general will be further explored and investigated as a result of the HEFCE awarding a major grant to the post-1992 university to undertake research into these areas among nine similar English universities. Originality/value: The research highlights the similarities and differences in prior study experiences and expectations of studying at PGT level between the UK-, the European Union- (EU) and Non-EU-domiciled respondents. The research offers potentially important findings for similar institutions that are currently looking to develop and expand their PGT provision.

This paper offers a long-term reflection on the introduction of a photographic research project into a third-year undergraduate Human Geography module. The findings indicate that, whilst the students valued the project, it did impact on their overall performance, their evaluation of the module and the ways in which they spoke about it. The paper complements other discussions of photographic research methods in Human Geography by confirming their popularity and value to students' learning but argues that their introduction requires planning and reflection to mitigate some of the unintended consequences noted here and to maximize their benefits.

Even though critical thinking is carried out in schools across the country, there is no attempt to take high-level published philosophical research into schools. This paper reports on a pilot where this was attempted. The findings suggest that this can be done successfully and moreover that the results can be contextualised so as to count towards "impact" in the Research Excellence Framework (UK). The paper suggests that this means philosophers have not only a way of developing children's confidence and reasoning, but also a way of meeting the requirements on Higher Education Institutions within the UK.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to introduce the papers in this special issue and some issues surrounding choosing management as a career. A jointly developed questionnaire is also presented. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is descriptive in nature. Findings: It is crucial for researchers and practitioners to expand their perspectives to include other cultures and other theoretical perspectives beyond those offered by traditional vocational choice theories. Originality/value: Understanding the antecedents, correlates and consequences of people's vocational choice to become managers will not only help researchers and practitioners and benefit managers, but will improve the understanding of career choice in general. (Contains 1 note.)

This paper presents student perspectives on what they consider to be a fair and equitable national education system, based on their own experiences of primary and secondary level schooling by the age of 13 or 14. A survey of 5432 students in five countries involved a questionnaire administered as part of an EU-funded project to develop indicators of equity in European school systems. Overall, the UK students reported favouring an egalitarian system where all students were treated in the same way, and this was largely what they felt that they experienced. In this respect, they differed from their peers in the other EU countries, a substantial proportion of whom thought that the least able should receive more support and attention in class, but who found that more attention was actually given to the more able. The UK students also appeared to be more self-confident about their ability to succeed in school. The paper discusses these results in terms of policies for school allocation, student assessment and the formation of personal notions of justice. In particular, it argues that equity in structure and procedure is important for the effective teaching of notions of justice in citizenship studies. (Contains 8 tables.)

The main purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual model for the use of web 2.0 online technologies in order to develop and enhance students' critical thinking skills at higher education level. Wiki is chosen as the main focus in this paper. The model integrates Salmon's 5-stage model (Salmon, 2002) with Garrison's Community of Inquiry (Garrison, Anderson & Archer, 2000), and is grounded in empirical data from three case studies. This model can act as a theoretical foundation for module leaders and practitioners to design and implement web 2.0 technologies to enhance students' critical thinking skills. The aim of the research was achieved by generating a 4-stage Online Presence (4-SOP) model. The 4-SOP model consists of four stages and three online presences to provide a step-by-step guide for module leaders and practitioners to introduce web 2.0 online technologies to students. This model can be applied to other web 2.0 online technologies tools rather than just focusing on wiki. The paper makes a contribution to the current state of the use of web 2.0 technologies especially in module design and delivery.

This paper aims to provide Business English and EAP practitioners with a rationale for including the analysis of narrative elements in business addresses in their language teaching in order to encourage critical thinking in learners. By studying these elements, and the rhetorical function of the narrative in particular, students can become more aware of how the use of narratives can be part of a strategy to convey a particular message in order to influence perceptions and to enact change in a company (Moon 2010: 133). This is especially the case when the company has undergone a crisis (Hearit 1995). The business addresses chosen for the study are the annual reports of two global companies, BP and Toyota, both written post-crisis. According to a narrative analysis of both reports, outlined in the paper, there are significant differences between the two papers in the use and effect of rhetoric. The findings of a quantitative study show that Business English students are able to identify differences in rhetorical functions and corporate identity construction within the texts, suggesting that such a contrastive analysis can develop students' critical thinking skills. These findings are supported by a further small-scale study assessing potential classroom applications of the reports in which example activities and tasks were piloted with small groups of EAP students.

This paper centres on the tensions between the introduction of plagiarism detection software (Turnitin) for student and tutor use at undergraduate level and the aim to promote a developmental approach to writing for assessment at a UK university. Aims to promote developmental models for writing often aim to counteract the effects of the structural organisation of learning and assessment in higher education. This paper will discuss the potential for the implementation of plagiarism detection software to operate as a "change artefact", creating opportunities for a departure from the habits of practice created by the demands of writing for assessment and the potential for the emergence of enclaves of good practice in respect of writing development. Tutor and student qualitative responses, gathered via questionnaires and focus groups, were analysed in order to investigate the effectiveness of this initiative. In this inquiry, plagiarism detection emerges as a dominant theme within regulatory discourses of malpractice in higher education. The promotion of writing development via a tool for regulation and plagiarism detection seems to be a mismatch and the extent to which Turnitin can operate as a change artefact to promote developmental approaches to writing for assessment in higher education is questioned. The suitability of plagiarism detection software as a tool to promote writing development will be discussed in light of the findings from this inquiry.

This paper reports on findings derived as part of a two-year project funded by the European Union's Daphne III scheme, involving collaboration between seven partner organisations across six European countries. The project involved an evaluation, using questionnaires and focus groups, of domestic abuse prevention education programmes delivered in schools in the UK, France and Spain. This paper presents the findings from the UK focus group discussions, conducted with young people aged 10-11 years, and 13-14 years to explore their opinions about the intervention delivered in their school. The focus groups revealed the following challenges for service providers in this area: young people can misunderstand issues related to domestic abuse, especially the role of power and control within relationships; there is a tension between educators giving young people free expression to share their opinions and challenging sexism and other prejudices; and boys can become disengaged with gender-based interventions. These issues point towards three key considerations when implementing a domestic abuse prevention education intervention: programme content (the what); the teaching methods used (the how); and whether teachers or external organisations should deliver the programme (the who).

Studies undertaken since the introduction of Web 2.0 have focussed mainly on open educational resources (OERs) such as email, blogging and virtual learning environments. No consistent efforts have been undertaken to study the use of social networking sites as a tool for learning in the second language classroom. This study examined the use of social networking sites as a means of establishing an asynchronous online environment for use in language learning in a classroom setting. The findings described are based on the use of a social networking site called Ning in a classroom during a summer school project, which was conducted at a further education college in the UK. The project focussed in particular on informal language practice when using social networking sites. The paper then examines the effect the use of the social networking tool had on group cohesion and learner-to-learner interaction, and how these, in turn, enhanced informal language learning due to an increase in learner collaboration. The study found that the use of Ning enhanced group cohesion and that learners started working in different groups once Ning was introduced. Finally, it highlights the potential technical and administrative barriers that can impede an institution in implementing its educational strategy in regards to OERs -- in this case, social networking sites in the classroom. The further education college in which this study took place had no policies in place in regards to the use of OERs in the classroom, thus the paper concludes with recommendations in regards to training and policies so that researchers and practitioners can learn from the project.

This paper is based on in-depth interviews carried out with students in their first and final years of undergraduate study. The paper examines how students approached career decision-making and the rationale underpinning the approach they adopted. The research found that students were not utilising the type of rational approaches to career decision-making promoted by policymakers, careers professionals and the educational system. This was because students tended to be present-rather than future-orientated; they had a predisposition to an extrinsic locus of control and dependency rather than agency; and they preferred to make decisions using informally absorbed information and their intuition. The paper concludes by suggesting that colleges and universities should encourage students to critically evaluate the way they currently make decisions and support the development of their students' decision-making skills so that they can make more rational career decisions.

This paper reports the development and empirical testing of a model of the factors that influence the teaching-research nexus. No prior work has attempted to create a measurement model of the nexus. The conceptual model is derived from 19 propositions grouped into four sets of factors relating to: rewards, researchers, curriculum, and students. The propositions are operationalised by 61 scale-items and empirically recomposed by a factor analysis on data obtained from 247 UK accounting academics. We demonstrate that, in the discipline of accounting, there are six factors that describe the positive effects of relations between academic research and teaching. We also identify five factors that militate against productive relations between the two. This double-edged sword we term the teaching-research gestalt: although faculty research can be beneficial to teaching and vice versa, there can also be negative effects. The relationship between academic research and teaching therefore requires judicious management.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of factors such as attention, preparation, participation, feedback and engagement on the student learning performance. Design/methodology/approach: Students of an undergraduate business course of a British university took part in the survey. The survey questionnaire was distributed to students during the revision week of the course and a total of 61 valid responses were gathered from them. The linear regression analysis using statistical package for the social sciences was performed to analyse the data. Findings: The results indicated the significant relationships for all six hypotheses. The model explains a variance of 43.2 per cent in learning performance, which indicates that independent constructs contribute significantly on the research model's performance. Research limitations/implications: First, the sample only provides the students' views about the use of clickers in the classroom setting. Second, the sample size for the gathered data is small. Third, the variance explained by the research model is reasonably moderate and hence can be improved further. Originality/value: This is the first study to explore the impact of factors such as attention, preparation, participation, feedback and engagement on the student learning performance in the UK educational setting.

One approach to plagiarism prevention focuses on improving students' authorial identity, but work in this area depends on robust measures. This paper presents the development of a psychometrically robust measure of authorial identity--the Student Attitudes and Beliefs about Authorship Scale. In the item generation phase, a pool of items was developed and assessed for content validity by subject matter experts. In the exploratory phase, data from 439 higher education students were used to identify a latent variable model with three factors: "authorial confidence," "valuing writing" and "identification with author." In the confirmatory phase, data from 306 higher education students were used to test the three-factor model's reliability and validity. The three-factor structure was confirmed, and the results showed that the SABAS has a stronger psychometric basis than previously available measures. This measure of authorial identity can be used with confidence in research and pedagogy to help students improve their authorial identity.

With graduate employability being high on many universities' agendas, it becomes vital that a curriculum delivers not only subject knowledge but also the opportunity for students to develop and enhance industry-specific skills. This paper is concerned with how a work-based project can support skill development and considers the views of students and employers as to the application of these skills in the context of a sports undergraduate programme in a UK university. Using a mixed-method approach to data collection, 30 students and 5 project hosts took part in the study. The research findings reported a mismatch between the students' and hosts' viewpoints on whether skills were developed as a result of the project. Students appeared to have a lack of understanding how to apply the skills in the context of a sports organisation and were viewed by the employers as having an inflated opinion of their ability.