Non-elite Universities Research Articles

Commentary: Study highlights ethical ambiguity in physics

Commentary: Study highlights ethical ambiguity in physics

Credentials, talent and cultural capital: a comparative study of educational elites in England and France

This article examines student accounts of credentials, talent and academic success, against a backdrop of the enduring liberal ideal of an education-based meritocracy. The article also examines Bourdieu’s account of academic qualifications as the dominant source of institutionalised cultural capital, and concludes that it does not adequately account for comparative differences in the social structure of competition and ideological shifts in class (re)production in different national contexts. This analysis is based on an empirical investigation of elite students at Oxford University and Sciences Po in Paris. We investigated how they understand the competition for a livelihood and whether they see themselves as more ‘talented’ than students from non-elite universities. This investigation revealed important similarities and differences between British and French students that have significant sociological implications for the (re)production and legitimation of educational and labour market inequalities.

Affirmative Action, Diversity, and Racial Justice: Reflections from a Diverse, Non-elite University

In this article, I argue (1) affirmative action diverts attention from more urgent needs of racial justice in education – better quality K-12 education, and better quality and more accessible public higher education; (2) the increasing wealth of students at affirmative action institutions is a sign of diminished quality of those students compared to those at less selective institutions, who are comparatively disproportionately black and Latino; and (3) aligning the standard rankings of colleges with the quality of student (and quality of instruction at the different kinds of institution) would benefit black and Latino students as a group much more than affirmative action does.

A methodology for Institution-Field ranking based on a bidimensional analysis: the IFQ 2 A index

The problem of comparing academic institutions in terms of their research production is nowadays a priority issue. This paper proposes a relative bidimensional index that takes into account both the net production and the quality of it, as an attempt to provide a comprehensive and objective way to compare the research output of different institutions in a specific field, using journal contributions and citations. The proposed index is then applied, as a case study, to rank the top Spanish universities in the fields of Chemistry and Computer Science in the period ranging from 2000 until 2009. A comparison with the top 50 universities in the ARWU rankings is also made, showing the proposed ranking is better suited to distinguish among non-elite universities.

Research commercialisation via spin-off: the case of a non-elite university

Recent trends in technology transfer show an intensification of spin-off creation as a modality of university research commercialisation. In this paper, we analyse the evolution, objectives, resources and activities of a specialised unit – Technological Trampoline (TT) – in charge of new venture creation at the University of Girona (Catalonia-Spain). Our main objective is to identify the predominant strategy of spinning-off new ventures among the typologies of incubation strategies found by Clarysse et al. (2005) in European research institutions. The results show that the predominant typology at the University of Girona is the supportive model, although elements of the three typologies were identified. These results have a series of implications and recommendations at both university and TT level.

Economic development via university-based technology transfer: strategies for non-elite universities

Economic development from technology transfer is welldocumented at the nation's elite universities. Non-elite universities can also stimulate local economic development through technology transfer – the key question this paper asks is how the process differs at less well-known campuses. First, we review how university technology transfer leads to economic development and consider the role that non-elite universities play in the technology transfer process. We then identify a number of critical factors for the success of technology transfer at non-elite universities, including proactive strategies, supportive conditions, effective partnerships and, most importantly, committed campus leadership. We conclude by outlining the steps that non-elite campuses can take in making the technology transfer process successful for economic development.

Uncovering First Year Students’ Language Learning Experiences, Attitudes and Motivations in a Context of Change at the Tertiary Level of Education

Demographic and supply-side changes are occurring in the tertiary educational sector in Japan. These changes have begun to diminish the importance of the highly competitive and influential university entrance examination system, as many students, particularly at the non-elite level, are able to gain university entrance without having to sit for an entrance examination. Given this evolving context, this study uncovers how incoming freshmen at a small non-elite university studied English in secondary school and examines the attitudes and motivations that they hold about language learning. The findings reveal that participants’ English language educational experiences at the secondary level remain little changed from the past; parents and teachers continue to emphasize the importance of studying English in order to prepare for entrance examinations. Most participants have a generally negative assessment of their secondary English language experiences. Student beliefs about both the general nature of language learning and learning and communication strategies continue to parallel many of the traditional practices of their secondary language experiences once they reach the tertiary level. The author concludes that university instructors of English must come to know their students’ language experiences and consequent attitudes and motivations in order to bridge possible cultural and pedagogical gaps. In this way, instructors may find ways to help their students find a purpose for increasing their language proficiency while they are studying at university.

?Time is not on our side?: Cultural vs. structural explanations of black American women students' achievement in the urban, nonelite university

Drawing primarily on 42 in-depth interviews with working-, lower-, and underclass black American women students at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH), this article challenges the cultural argument that credits black women students' lower educational achievement to their adherence to oppositionalcultural forms and a preindustrial time sense that inhibits success in higher educational contexts. It argues such an explanation gives too much autonomy to culture while failing to situate the everyday responses of working-class black women students within the complex of race, class, and gender forces that affect them. Documenting that urban, nonelite university black women students are bound up in that stratification complex such that they come to the university while attempting to cope with financial hardship and heavy employment loads, I suggest the individual costs they pay are much less time to devote to academic activities and, hence, lower academic achievement.