Search

This paper examines the question of how the high non-completion rates found amongst ethnic minority students in UK higher education should be interpreted. US studies examining the nexus between academic performance, ethnicity and social background have concluded that ethnicity-related performance differences are not just the by-product of social class. This study examines the nature of these linkages in the UK where the composition of the ethnicity mix and the nature of the socioeconomic environment are both markedly different from the US. The paper is based on a detailed case study of a cohort from a UK university that recruits a high proportion of its students from ethnic minority backgrounds. Prima facie evidence is found which questions the assumption that the under-performance of minorities should be treated predominantly as an ethnicity issue. It is found that after controlling for socioeconomic background, minority student non-completion rates are found to be very similar to those of their White peers. Further evidence is also uncovered which suggests that in practice there are considerable complexities in the ways in which ethnic differences impact on non-completion rates. From an educational policy perspective, it is argued that more effective results might be obtained if student support initiatives aimed at reducing the non-completion rates among minority student place a greater emphasis on issues relating to their socioeconomic background. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores conceptions of curricular and extracurricular in UK higher education. Reporting on a case study of staff understandings of the extracurricular we argue that our data highlight the lack of debate about curricular matters. We found that there was considerable blurring of boundaries in conceptions of the curricular and extracurricular and argue that this is related to the lack of any stable or explicit conception of the curriculum in UK higher education. The paper highlights issues of recognition and non-recognition of the sorts of cultural capital which flow from traditional and other forms of extracurricular activities (ECA) and points to the continued gendering of caring and its valuing. Recognition of capital from within diverse communities and derived from activities which have not been traditionally conceptualised as ECA might contribute to graduate outcomes, but there are limitations to a politics of recognition. We argue that account also needs to be taken of the materiality of student lives and the constraints they face. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article questions the assumption that increasing competition among higher education institutions is the best method of achieving a strong higher education sector in developing countries. It notes that there has been increasing emphasis on the importance of higher education institutions for sustainable development, particularly because of their importance to the global knowledge economy. For the same reason, the appropriate management of the relationship between the state and higher education institutions is vital to a strong and dynamic future for these institutions. This paper proposes a menu of options for higher education governance, grouped around ‘state-centric’ and ‘neo-liberal’ models of development. The ‘state-centric’ model proposed is based on a variety of examples of high performing Asian economies, in particular, while the ‘neo-liberal’ model is based on emerging trends in higher education management in countries such as Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom. The paper suggests that despite pressure across the globe to encourage a market among universities, this may not always be the most efficient use of resources, or the best way to integrate universities in a country’s drive for economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ‘independent learner’ is a key construct within discourses of educational policy and practice in the UK. Government policy statements stress the importance of developing learner independence, and higher education pedagogical practices tend to rest on the assumption that students are independent learners. This paper draws on research with undergraduate students in a post-1992 university to offer a critical appraisal of the discourse of the independent learner. The paper examines students’ perceptions of independence in both their first year of undergraduate study, and in the later years of their degree courses. Support for learning and issues related to asking for help are discussed. Whilst students tend to both expect and want to be independent, it is suggested that dominant constructions of the independent learner are gendered and culturally specific, and as such are inappropriate for the majority of students in a mass higher education system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper scrutinises organisational change in Japanese and UK universities which are engaged in entrepreneurial activities. The study focuses on recent changes in governance, management, leadership, and funding in these universities. The paper argues there are convergent trends between Japanese and UK universities in terms of increasing entrepreneurial activities, a review of institutional strategies, a review of the organisation, the application of market-oriented institutional policy, links with the industrial sector, the notion of a public financial crisis and changing external environment, strong leadership of the university President or Vice-Chancellor, and the notion of the accountability of the university to society as a whole. However, the application of particular institutional strategies, entrepreneurial culture, and the way in which an institution relates itself to the private sector significantly differs among institutions. The paper suggests that those differences are related to different institutional history and characteristics – including those between national and private universities in Japan, and old and new universities in the UK – as well as different government policies between Japan and the UK. The paper first proposes a theoretical model for the five types of entrepreneurial culture of the institutions. It then examines the model by using case studies: Nottingham Trent University (UK), University of Surrey (UK), University of Tokyo (Japan), and Waseda University (Japan). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores the dynamics of competition in higher education. National competition and global competition are distinct, but feed into each other. Higher education produces ‘positional goods’ (Hirsch 1976) that provide access to social prestige and income-earning. Research universities aim to maximise their status as producers of positional goods. This status is a function of student selectivity plus research performance. At system-level competition bifurcates between exclusivist elite institutions that produce highly value positional goods, where demand always exceeds supply and expansion is constrained to maximise status; and mass institutions (profit and non-profit) characterised by place-filling and expansion. Intermediate universities are differentiated between these poles. In global competition, the networked open information environment has facilitated (1) the emergence of a world-wide positional market of elite US/UK universities; and (2) the rapid development of a commercial mass market led by UK and Australian universities. Global competition is vectored by research capacity. This is dominated by English language, especially US universities, contributing to the pattern of asymmetrical resources and one-way global flows. The paper uses Australia as its example of system segmentation and global/national interface. It closes by reflecting on a more balanced global distribution of capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Progress files, involving personal development planning (PDP), are becoming a feature of many higher education systems internationally. In the UK they will become mandatory for all undergraduate students from 2005. This presents a major implementation challenge, because while reflection has been a cornerstone of practice in some areas of higher education for a considerable time, its generalisation as national policy changes its discursive location. The paper presents findings from a case study of the implementation of PF in one UK Higher Education Institution (HEI). It reports on how staff in one institution understand PF in the context of national policy, and on how they interpret the challenges they face in facilitating reflection for all students. The paper argues that pedagogical innovations take on a different meaning when applied to the system as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New developments in e-learning and increasingly sophisticated learning technologies are beginning to make a major impact in U.K. universities. It is clear that universities need to change to accommodate the impact of technology on learning. Communication technologies that are free from time or place constraints provide new challenges to universities on how they should be organised. The paper reflects on the university's strategic planning process and outlines the development process of an e-learning initiative. Examples of the emergent change agenda are identified and finally possibilities for future development are explored. It is clear that the impact of e-learning will require universities to re-think fundamentally their thinking and therefore their strategies in a whole range of areas. There has been much focus on technological advancement but much less on how technology impacts on strategic planning. This paper addresses this gap in the literature by examining one university's strategic responses to this challenge of e-learning. The learning attached to this case study could be used to help other universities respond to the change agenda brought about by e-learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to provide insights into the process that has been adopted to enable faculty and support staff (course administrators and technicians) to identify and enhance the quality of educational provision in a large UK Business School. The concern to address this issue was motivated initially by the demands of external subject review. There was a realisation by senior managers within the School that what was required was the embedding and sharing of good practice and continuous improvement of the provision: in short, an application of the concept of a learning organisation. The paper may assist others engaged in the task of enhancing the quality of student learning in their faculties or schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports results of `insider research' at a UK college of higher education (NewColl). In drawing on a `ground-level' approach, and building on earlier work (Newton 1999a,b), it provides insights into `front-line' academics' views and perspectives on organisational change and the implementation of quality policy, and points to challenges for institutional leadership. The paper begins by considering the impact of the quality revolution on the academic community and its relationships, and then looks at how policy implementation, leadership, and the management of change can be conceptualised. The case study element consists of profiles of two academic departments which, in the main body of the research, displayed markedly more negative responses to organisational change and the implementation of revised quality assurance arrangements than other academic units. Drawing on interview data which provide `thick description' (Geertz 1973), a set of explanatory concepts is presented which help to explain why the two schools show themselves to be divergent in comparison with others. These concepts centre on issues around `psychological contracts' (Handy 1984, 1993); leadership, communication and the management of change; collegialism and professional accountability; and reciprocal accountability and mutual trust. The paper goes on to consider the importance of `the discretion debate' (Lipsky 1976, 1980; Prottas 1978) and proposes that, by stressing `ownership', `professional autonomy', and `self-assessment', quality assurance systems and quality management in higher education run the risk of exposing or exacerbating the `problem' of discretion for institutional managers and leaders. The paper concludes by identifying a number of lessons which can be drawn from the case study for quality managers and academic administrators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Demands for greater accountability, global competition, and concern about standards have all contributed to the increasing interest in evaluation in universities in the UK. At the same time, both pedagogic research and teacher development in higher education are gaining prominence. This paper describes the initial development of a programme of systematic curriculum evaluation research within a `new' university. The focus of the research is a new undergraduate curriculum which emphasises graduate outcomes and incorporates the development of core `capabilities' within the subject context. Our task has been to develop a longitudinal programme of research that will combine both a summative evaluation of educational outcomes with formative evaluation of learning processes to inform continued curriculum development. Questions of performance indicators, measurement, and educational outcomes all come under scrutiny in a context of multiple purposes and stakeholders, the micropolitics of the university and wider debates about the purpose and effectiveness of undergraduate education. This paper explores these issues and their implications for the development of a curriculum evaluation strategy, describing the initial stages of the multi-level longitudinal design that is emerging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a survey study exploring new lecturers' views on assessment design (using a questionnaire called the Assessment Design Inventory) with 586 newly qualified or still qualifying lecturers from UK universities. A factor analysis established two factors labelled 'desirable practice' and 'constraints'. Participants felt that their university teaching programmes had changed their views on assessment design and that assessment practices could be improved. Over 50 % agreed that there were practical restrictions on assessment design. Findings revealed a perception that there is little incentive to innovate in assessment and that students may not welcome such innovation in any case. Further statistical analysis specified the 'external' variables of institution and discipline to be important in shaping desirable practice and perception of constraints. 'Individual' variables of gender, length of teaching experience and qualification status showed a statistically significant effect. These analyses demonstrate some key influences on new lecturers' views of assessment design and suggest reasons why they do not always feel able to put what they learn about assessment into practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional political wisdom has it that educational expansion helps to reduce socioeconomic inequalities of access to education by increasing equality of educational opportunity. The counterarguments of Maximally Maintained Inequality (MMI) and Effectively Maintained Inequality (EMI), in contrast, contend that educational inequalities tend to persist despite expansion because those from more advantaged social class backgrounds are better placed to take up the new educational opportunities that expansion affords (MMI) and to secure for themselves qualitatively better kinds of education at any given level (EMI). This paper sets out to test the predictions of the MMI and EMI hypotheses against empirical data for the case of Britain where higher education expanded dramatically during the 1960s and again during the early 1990s. The results show that quantitative inequalities between social classes in the odds of higher education enrolment proved remarkably persistent for much of the period between 1960 and 1995, and began to decline only during the early 1990s, after the enrolment rate for the most advantaged social class had reached saturation point. Throughout this same 35 year period, qualitative inequalities between social classes in the odds of enrolment on more traditional and higher status degree programmes and at 'Old' universities remained fundamentally unchanged. In short, social class inequalities in British higher education have been both maximally and effectively maintained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

National mechanisms for comparing the research profiles of higher education institutions (HEIs) have become increasingly common. Probably the best known of these is the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) conducted in the United Kingdom, and used as the basis for the allocation of research funding. Such exercises are expensive. They would have additional value if the data could be used by HEIs to inform the development of their research strategies. In this paper we use publicly available RAE outcome data to demonstrate this potential. We contrast the two units’ research profiles with other units of assessment within the HEI, with other like-units nationally, and finally we examine the relative performance of all the HEI’s units of assessment against their national counter-parts. Finally we discuss the kinds of insights these data may offer in the development of research strategy at the level of the institution, and at the level of the School or Department. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper builds on earlier work by the author to explore the international dimensions of a study of the changing roles and identities of professional staff in higher education (Whitchurch , ). It further develops the concept of the blended professional, characterising individuals with identities drawn from both professional and academic domains, and examines the institutional spaces, knowledges, relationships and legitimacies that they construct. Comparisons between the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States are used to provide indicators of possible futures for this group of staff, including their positioning in the university community, the challenges they face, and the potentials that they offer to their institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While not the only title used by UK university leaders, the term Vice Chancellor will be used throughout this paper to include the other titles used (including Rector, Provost, Principal and President). According to data obtained pre-1997, UK Vice Chancellors (VCs) were predominantly scientists, largely former professors, Pro-VCs or deputy directors in universities, with only a few recruited from industry or the civil service. There have been changes in the fundamental demands being placed on UK universities in the recent past and the aim of our study was to explore if there had been changes in the socio-demographic characteristics of UK VCs since 1996. Our analysis of data available in the public domain on VCs appointed between 1997 and 2006 established that several changes had occurred. Most interestingly, we report an increase in the numbers of women and social scientists, and an increase in the age at which appointments are made. We also report an increase in appointments to universities established post-1992 of academics previously working in institutions established pre-1992. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global expansion of access to higher education has increased demand for information on academic quality and has led to the development of university ranking systems or league tables in many countries of the world. A recent UNESCO/CEPES conference on higher education indicators concluded that cross-national research on these ranking systems could make an important contribution to improving the international market for higher education. The comparison and analysis of national university ranking systems can help address a number of important policy questions. First, is there an emerging international consensus on the measurement of academic quality as reflected in these ranking systems? Second, what impact are the different ranking systems having on university and academic behavior in their respective countries? Finally, are there important public interests that are thus far not reflected in these rankings? If so, is there a needed and appropriate role for public policy in the development and distribution of university ranking systems and what might that role be? This paper explores these questions through a comparative analysis of university rankings in Australia, Canada, the UK, and the US. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study builds upon the concept of alignment within the curriculum (due to Biggs) and suggests, in the context of two current examples, an integrated methodology for effectively aligned development activities within universities. Higher Education institutions face important challenges. Firstly, quality enhancement of the curriculum is now an institutional concern, if not a priority, in the face of governmental pressure and in a competitive environment. It is no longer a matter of individual endeavour. Secondly, we now have a basic pedagogy for adult learning, and should put that into practice systematically. And thirdly, staff are now faced with the demand to commit themselves to professional development, and to determine what that means in terms of their particular profession. This paper considers these challenges, and relates them to the argument for an integrated methodology for institutional, staff and curriculum development, which aligns these activities rather more effectively than hitherto. At the same time, it advocates a logical model for curriculum development, as a complementary tool of alignment for student-centred curriculum development. The argument is illustrated by recent work in the Open University in the UK and in the Universidade de Aveiro in Portugal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This report extends and updates a 1996 paper on departmental planning of workload for academics in UK universities. Categories of workload planning system can be discerned by introducing a set of differentiating dimensions. Using this taxonomy the situation in departments in a (pre-1992) UK university is explored via case study and survey. The study finds a high degree of variety and limited reliance on formal workload planning systems. The question of whether these systems are effective is considered and leads on to identifying key criteria for effective systems. Increased environmental pressures are driving departments to confront workload planning in a more rigorous and effective manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The older clients of the British higher education system are both extremely numerous and extremely diverse. In this paper we draw upon the results of a national survey of graduates to show how this diversity in terms of age and mode of study, and by implication in terms of motivation, gender and subject of study, directly impacts upon the types of outcome measurements that are appropriate and upon the levels of outcome that are achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the UK, there is currently considerable interest in the nature and extent of full-time undergraduates' term-time working. This interest stems from at least two perspectives. First that as the system of student financing in the UK has changed, so has the extent to which students need to boost their income through employment. The second perspective is that, in addition to financial benefits, students may be able to derive learning benefits from term-time working: hence, institutions have developed processes by which students might be helped to recognise in an explicit way learning derived from experiences of working. Behind such institutional responses to students' term-time working may well lie questions of equity and access: are certain groups of students more or less likely to undertake paid employment during term-time. And with such questions comes an interest in the impact of term-time working on the student experience and on academic performance. The paper looks at recent research findings in the area and considers to what the extent UK institutions' own activities are a pragmatic response to the realities facing the current generation of undergraduates, and to what extent they may be damaging the overall student experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much qualitative research on student learning in higher education has focused on a key distinction between surface reproduction of `knowledge' and a deeper understanding of it. This distinction has also been found in research on student practice and understanding of essay and discursive writing. This paper reports on results from a study of 40 interviews conducted with students taking creative writing courses at three different higher education institutions in the United Kingdom. Interviews were conducted with students of various levels of experience and expertise in creative writing and included students taking a single undergraduate module in creative writing and students enrolled in a highly selective Masters program in Creative Writing. The interviews focused on the students' conceptions and practice of creative writing while taking their respective courses. The analysis of the interview transcripts revealed an underlying subjectivist epistemology in the students' general assumptions and perception of the nature of Creative Writing vis-à-vis other forms of academic writing. Linked to this epistemology, the analysis disclosed a typology of four differing conceptions of student understanding and practice of creative writing within two overall transcribing and composing categories of conception. These categories closely resemble student's conceptions of writing practices in other disciplines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the United Kingdom the topic of the comparability of academic qualifications features prominently on the agenda in higher education. The paper summarises the debate and highlights key issues. It offers specific reflections on the experience of one university as it seeks to address the topic of postgraduate qualifications, disentangle the many strands of a complex and multi-faceted set of questions and further strengthen internal quality processes in order to meet the growing demands by external bodies and interest groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has indicated that women are avoiding the `hard' end of computer studies on courses in higher education. In this paper we challenge some of the descriptions of computing and suggest that computing is best understood as a concrete science characterised by the acquisition of artistry. We report findings from a case study of men and women on IT courses in one higher education institution in the UK. Students followed common first-year modules involving the use of workbooks aimed at encouraging independent learning. Our methodology involved observations of the coaching styles of male and female tutors in computer laboratories. Thirty-four one-and-a-half-hour sessions were observed. Attendance was higher for the sessions led by female tutors, but male students had higher attendance rates overall. We found that the male tutors had more short interactions with female students and intervened more directly manipulating the keyboard or mouse, but that both male and female tutors spent longer with men in the class. However, women students we observed appeared confident, were more vocal and were sought out by their peers as advice givers. Women tutors adopted a more active coaching style, which encouraged collaboration between students and greater peer interaction. We conclude that we should use case studies to re-describe women's presence within computing and render it more visible. From our observations of women in computer laboratories it is clear that computing is not just for men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on the data from HEFCE (Higher Education Funding Council) sponsored project `Responding Effectively to the Mental Health Needs of Students,' this article describes the difficulties academic staff experience when responding to students with mental health problems. The views of academic staff are also recorded concerning what was helpful to them when considering these needs. This data is linked to research on working cross culturally with international students and set within a national framework. Research data is also accessed from focus groups which centred on the mental health needs of international and home students. Identical questions were posed to both groups students and similarities and differences recorded. International students voiced experience of a range of economic, social and academic pressures which appear to be different in degree and often in kind from those experienced by `home' students. These factors in extreme cases may trigger and/or exacerbate mental health problems. Whilst these findings are mainly qualitative, they have a resonance with and help illustrate existing research. Finally this paper considers the potential of academic staff, student groups and the policies of the institution of higher education to contribute to improvements of the welfare of international students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]