Space Of Higher Education Research Articles

How dignity matters for life and lifelong learning: insights from participatory story-telling by university students in South Africa

ABSTRACT The claim made is that dignity matters in both legal and recognitional aspects for flourishing and lifelong learning opportunities for young adults. Dignity is understood here as a foundational capability and functioning to be and to do in ways which matter to a person, requiring the material and non-material conditions which enable and secure equal dignity for each person. The claim is first explored drawing on both the capability approach and conceptualisations of dignity, especially the inflorescent form. Then, to empirically animate the claim, the article draws on a participatory story-telling project undertaken in a South African university in 2020 with graduate students, in which they were co-creators of knowledge. Participants were supported pedagogically in producing their own individual and collective digital stories, focusing on their lived experiences of social justice and specifically of human dignity. The project shows that dignity is an especially important capability for young people’s present and future wellbeing and their aspirations. Dignity is formed in and sustained relationally in collective spaces. Further, dignity enables repair of the injustices of the colonial and apartheid past. If dignity is not fostered in and through education in adult and higher education spaces, education will always fall short of social justice aspirations and lifelong learning conditions.

Illuminating Meshworks of Pre-Service Teachers’ Curated Co-Living Learning Spaces

Learning spaces in higher education are fraught with colonial barriers such as teacher-centered, front facing, stark, feelingless, and unwelcoming classrooms that diminish students’ feelings of well-being. For pre-service teachers, these are also the types of classrooms that they often inherit as they foray into the profession. Three Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) assistant professors investigate how pre-service teachers’ well-being shifted when collectively (re)imagining and (re)envisioning a colonial university classroom space in a faculty building that is over 100 years old. They then share the findings of their a/r/tography, action research inquiry that captured the co-living, metabolic experiences and relational meshworks of both participants (n=11) and researchers documented through reflexive journaling, artistic artifacts, interviews (n=3), and contemplation. The researchers embody decolonizing praxes through intentional interpretation and writing scholarship as they weave their storied inquiry. They conclude with transformative urgencies for how B.Ed programs can recalibrate their physical learning spaces to better support and sustain teachers’ well-being in their future profession.

Carving to excise, carving to create: Conversations on creating and sustaining safe spaces in higher education

AbstractIn this piece, we grapple with the conditions of creating and sustaining liberatory, healing spaces connected to higher education, delivering our analysis through a fictive podcast format. We present three different scenes authored by undergraduates, tied together by common, intersecting threads of both struggle and resistance, community in/as healing amidst layered crises and traumas, and deep desires for universities to fulfill their potential as learning spaces of safety, structural critique and connection. We consider our individual and collective roles as faculty and program directors in these institutional settings, and the conditions that help and hinder opportunities for students to co‐construct or live into liberatory spaces. We also consider the threats to the sustainability and viability of these initiatives, as well as the disproportionate impact on minoritized students, staff, and faculty. These learnings are in line with research that highlights the importance of students' sense of safety and belonging, the role of student agency, and perspectives that position educators through the lens of accompaniment.

Faculty perceptions of the impact of professional development on online teaching practices

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a global shift toward online education, underscoring the need for quality faculty professional development to support educators in designing and delivering effective online courses. This study explores the impact of professional development utilizing the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework on faculty’s pedagogical practices in online learning environments. The Online Teaching Fellows Program, a 14-week professional development series, engaged 20 graduate and undergraduate university faculty members from diverse disciplines (Engineering, Education, Law, Occupational Therapy, Nursing, Humanities, Social Science, Business, and Criminal Justice) in a collaborative exploration of UDL principles to create authentic and equitable learning experiences. Qualitative data collection included interviews, exit tickets, faculty professional development artifacts (CANVAS course sites), and researcher notes. Faculty were introduced to diverse teaching strategies, including effective online information presentation, collaboration facilitation, and online assessment enhancement. The study underscores the potential of UDL principles to promote equitable educational opportunities and create transformative spaces in higher education globally.

The Third Space in Higher Education: A Scoping Review

The Third Space in Higher Education: A Scoping Review

Path modeling of factors that predict self-regulated learning

Students can encounter significant challenges when transitioning from high school to university. Students must possess the necessary skills to adjust to the self-directed learning atmosphere of the university, however frequently lack the ability to take responsibility for their own learning. This study employs path-modeling techniques to investigate and analyze the multifaceted relationships between various factors, that can predict self-regulated learning as they impact learners' academic achievements in higher education settings, as informed by an extensive review of existing literature. The population for this study were university undergraduates using a researcher-designed questionnaire for data collection. The data collected was modelled reflectively using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Results show that the measurement model assessment showed strong reliability and convergent validity of the latent constructs. However, only technology significantly predicted self-regulated learning as contributing to students' academic success in higher education. The findings from this study contribute significantly to understanding the nuanced pathways through which various learning indicators interact to predict students' self-regulation as influencing students' academic performance in the higher education space. Insights gained from the analysis offer valuable implications for relevant stakeholders aimed at fostering properly tailored conduct that enhances students' academic success in higher education.

Listen and Learn: Six higher ed marketing podcasts to queue up

Podcasts for professional development certainly aren’t new, but there's been an incredible surge of new options within the higher education space, from policy and PR to student support and faculty development.

Characteristics and challenges of teaching and learning in sustainability-oriented Living Labs within higher education: a literature review

PurposeThis study aims to bring together the available scattered knowledge about teaching and learning in Living Labs within higher education, and to explore their potential for supporting students’ sustainability-oriented transformative learning.Design/methodology/approachA literature review was conducted, applying a realist approach. A sample of 35 articles was analyzed qualitatively, mapping the data according to the realist constructs “context,” “intervention,” “mechanism” and “outcome” and using the constant comparison method for data analysis.FindingsThis study identified multiple characteristics of teaching and learning in sustainability-oriented Living Labs, namely, two socio-physical teaching and learning contexts, two pedagogical approaches as interventions therein, four learning processes as (potential) mechanisms and six sustainability-related learning outcomes. Two main challenges were also identified.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that brings together the scattered results from previous studies into a comprehensive description of characteristics and challenges of teaching and learning in Living Labs as sustainability-oriented learning spaces in higher education. The findings can support educators in making scientifically grounded informed choices for teaching and learning in Living Labs and inform future empirical studies to examine when, how and why certain characteristics of teaching and learning in Living Labs, as identified in this study, can support sustainability-oriented transformative learning in higher education.

Listen and Learn: Six higher ed marketing podcasts to queue up

Podcasts for professional development certainly aren’t new, but there's been an incredible surge of new options within the higher education space, from policy and PR to student support and faculty development.

The third space, student and staff co-creation of gamified informal learning: an emerging model of co-design

This article draws from the authors’ exploration of an innovative third space approach to engaging students with informal learning through the use of co-design and co-creation, which sits outside traditional subject delivery spaces. The third space project, the Digital Citizenship Programme, centres on the transformative experience and dialogic encounter for participants. The third space in this context was constituted by co-design and co-production involving students, alumni, academics and professional service staff. The project evaluated third space activity in terms of co-design, through its development process and in what is achieved by participants’ engagement with it. The aims were to analyse the mutuality and relational aspects of the innovative pedagogic intervention; the development of transferable skills and agentic development in the third space; and the dialogic experience for participants. The research data were collected over a period of three years, using focus groups, co-creation workshop observations and field notes. This project builds on the body of research that focuses on partnerships with students that fall under the umbrella of the third space. The article underlines the importance of co-creation approaches in building the relational and dialogic dynamic in higher education spaces.

Playing supremacy: DEIA games in higher education

The 45th presidential administration of the United States created numerous sweeping pieces of legislation that drastically curtailed how Americans thought of diversity and where marginalized folks of colour fit in the grand scheme of things. This administration pushed back against notions of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) as they pertained to marginalized groups, particularly in spaces of higher education. To combat this, there were numerous institutions across the country that began to develop or revamp their diversity programmes as a way to ‘show’ those who had been targeted – both faculty and students of colour – still had played a significant role in higher education. Unfortunately, these diversity programmes did little to nothing to help support faculty and students who relied on these programmes, but instead made them feel like this was meant to be ‘played’, like the latest video game. This article seeks to demonstrate how DEIA programmes function as a method of pay, while doing little to provide the necessary support for the folks that need it. Additionally, it shows how institutions of white supremacy are being perpetuated within these programmes, as they are merely used as a way to show others that the programmes exist, while both not actually serving the individuals these programmes were designed to benefit. It will also illustrate in a succinct fashion what DEIA programmes are meant to do and what they are not meant to do while using experiences of marginalized individuals to focus on the problems that exist within DEIA programmes. Finally, the article will provide a potential rubric, or call to action, that could help these programmes to function as an actual form of support as opposed to a system of ‘play’, because they do serve a vital purpose, but not in their current iterations.

Listen and Learn: Six Higher Ed Marketing Podcasts to Queue Up This Spring

Podcasts for professional development certainly aren’t new, but there's been an incredible surge of new options within the higher education space, from policy and PR to student support and faculty development.

Leading with well-being: Introducing a model for well-being informed leadership.

Higher education brings a catalog of peaks and valleys for students, staff, and faculty. These are heightened by global crises, challenging legislation, and exclusionary practices. These kinds of adversities influence how we show up in higher education spaces and impact both our leadership and well-being. As leadership reciprocally affects, and is affected by, one's well-being, the responsibility to cultivate both within higher education continuously increases. To consistently support and uplift our students and understand the intricate challenges higher education continues to face, we introduce the well-being & leadership transformation (WBLT) model. Informed by leadership and well-being frameworks, the WBLT model integrates leadership and well-being in an intentional and holistic way. This piece establishes the elements of the model and demonstrates the WBLT model in action through various examples.

Transformation of Challenge-based Learning Spaces in Higher Education

Transformation of Challenge-based Learning Spaces in Higher Education

Корпоративная социальная ответственность высших учебных заведений в условиях конкуренции

The article substantiates the relevance of forming an idea of corporate social responsibility of Russian universities as a condition for effective interaction of stakeholders in the higher education space. The research conducted within the framework of the article is aimed at determining the relationship between responsibility, social responsibility and corporate social responsibility of a university in a competitive environment. It is substantiated that in the field of higher education there is such a phenomenon as corporate social responsibility. The nature of corporate social responsibility of universities in the higher education space is determined by the position of the parties to mutual responsibility and the conditions that determine its nature. The article is the first to analyze the elements of corporate social responsibility of universities to stakeholders, such as students, teachers, employers, and the state. It has been revealed that the responsible fulfillment by the university of its direct responsibilities to stakeholders who meet mutual obligations to the university leads to mutually beneficial cooperation. The article proves that corporate social responsibility acts as one of the factors of university competitiveness.

Pedagogical Translanguaging as a Socially Just Strategy for Multilingual Students in Occupational Therapy

Multilingual speakers’ languaging practices are undervalued and problematised in formal teaching and learning spaces in higher education. The environment has legitimised monolingualism as the only acceptable practice, hence students often lack the confidence to recruit their full linguistic repertoires. In the third and fourth years of their Occupational Therapy studies, many African students faced challenges due to socio-historic-political factors that put them at risk of failure. These challenges were addressed in academic support tutorial spaces using pedagogical translanguaging. The aim of the paper is to demonstrate the use of translanguaging as a socially just strategy, its affordances, and its challenges. This paper utilises data from a case study within a larger project aiming to describe the use of translanguaging in multilingual teaching and learning settings at a historically White university in South Africa. The case study comprised of eight African students. Linguistic ethnography and Moment analysis were employed. Pedagogical translanguaging and humour were used to create a space conducive to collaborative learning and co-construction of knowledge that granted epistemic access to occupational therapy discourse. Respect and dignity were fundamental in fostering cohesion, improving confidence, enacting speaking rights, and creating a sense of belonging among students who often felt alienated.

Pláticas on challenges and possibilities of teaching migration/mobility and displacement otherwise

ABSTRACT In this article we seek to delve into our teaching experiences as educators in a higher education space within the settler colonial context of Australia. We critically and pedagogically self-reflect our pedagogical roles of transforming educational practices in our classroom with the focus of positionality, self-reflexivity and embracing other ways of creating knowledge. By using pláticas as a method, we propose a humanize-sensing/thinking pedagogy, which praxis recognizes the historical differences and the specificity of cultural oppressions by un/learning, when we are teaching. As sentipensantes educators, in this article platicamos our fears, discomfort, un/learning of our teaching, attitudes, embodiment, and we ask: how our lessons might recognize and teach different colonial histories, geographical, ethnic, local/global, cultural, and epistemic frameworks? What does it look and feel like in practice in our classroom? We confirm that teaching in-between many worlds with a de/colonial lens provides a space for possibilities as well as limitations.

Well-Being Literacy in the Academic Landscape: Trioethnographic Inquiry Into Scholarly Writing

Writing well and being well as academic writers is rarely spoken about, often hidden, and at times evaded. We believe that developing, maintaining, and growing well-being literacy not only engages the act but also allows awareness, reflection, and metacognitive thinking that enable mindful writing for well-being. Well-being literacy, the capacity to understand and employ well-being language for personal, collective, and global well-being, intrigues us. It encompasses nurturing, sustaining, and safeguarding well-being for individuals, groups, and systems to thrive. As scholars delving into well-being literacy, we, a diverse collective from across higher education career trajectories, investigate its role in scholarly writing and our academic realities. Our focus lies in unraveling the paradoxes inherent in higher education, particularly as researchers and writers. In this paper, we examine our own stories as a trioethnography and the impact of our writing practices on our own professional and personal lives. By doing so, we reveal the place of vulnerability, relationships, and meaning in who we are and are becoming as academic scholars. Guiding principles are shared with peers and colleagues in how they might cultivate writing practices while valuing and embodying well-being in the higher education space.

ICT Tools for Open Educational Resources Used in an Open Distance E-learning Institution in the Fourth Industrial Revolution Era

Open educational resources (OER) are gaining popularity in higher education spaces and more attention in open distance e-learning (ODeL) institutions as they are gradually substituting printed prescribed textbooks in the teaching and learning space. The adoption and development of OER have been researched; however, the roles of knowledge management tools in storing and disseminating the resources are not well articulated. This research explores the use of knowledge management tools in an ODeL learning context. ODeL institutions use knowledge management tools and a host of other information and communication technologies (ICT) to deliver and facilitate synchronous and asynchronous learning and bridge transactional distance. Therefore, this study employed a qualitative approach to investigate ways in which lecturers use knowledge management tools to embrace and create OER. A case study approach was used at one ODeL institution. The knowledge management cycle (KMC) was chosen as the theoretical framework of the study. The key finding demonstrates that lecturers utilised a wide range of ICT tools for the storage, collection, and dissemination of OER as part of knowledge production. The study proposes the extension of the KMC from three cycles to four where “system” is added. There is a significant need for policy, impact, and the matrix to be covered under the system cycle. The study recommends that scholars who are investigating any IT artefact opt for an extended KMC where impact and user metrics will be evaluated, as this will enhance academic support.

CRToP: toward a critical race theory of power in higher education

ABSTRACT Critical Race Theory (CRT) is one of the most common forms of racial analysis in educational research, and it is largely responsible for introducing racial power into higher education scholarship. Frequently, scholars in this area make mention of power, yet explicit definitions within this work remain elusive. The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, it offers Lukes’ (2005/2021) three dimensions of power as a way of operationalizing Foucault’s theories of power/knowledge and domination in relation to CRT, and it explores how centering this power analysis potentially expands higher education racial analyses. It then takes insights generated CRT scholarship on student activism and the power dynamics around knowledge creation/dissemination to challenge some of the White normativity within Lukes’ theorizing. Ultimately, the synthesis generates the underlying concept, Critical Race Theory of Power (CRToP), which offers CRT a more nuanced understanding of how power is enacted in higher education space while also problematizing Lukes’ (2005/2021) contention that all power involves domination.