UK Higher Education Research Articles

The Trickster archetype: education to stupefy

Abstract Contra the teleological paradigm of the Hero, this paper argues that incorporating an ethic of the Trickster archetype may facilitate greater critical thinking and metacognition within contemporary neoliberal Education Studies learning environments in UK Higher Education. Echoing Lewis’ call for an education to stupefy, as well as Bojesen’s argument for treating Education Studies as a labour of the negative, I present the Trickster archetype as a valuable mode of educational engagement (an endeavour which itself must be done in a paradoxical fashion, for the Trickster ethic cannot be neatly prescribed). In this manner, the ethos of Trickster practices is, I suggest, one of generativity and what Greene calls ‘releasing the imagination’. As opposed to fixing us to any supposed Archimedean standpoint, Trickster practices encourage us to consider radical alternative possibilities from within normative discourse through immanent critique. I argue that the Trickster ethic foregrounds contingency over apparent necessity. I also explore how the Trickster may, paradoxically, be given a concomitant atelic aspiration in association with both Perry’s linear stages of contextual reasoning and metacognition. I conclude by elucidating the ethical and practical problems that accompany attempts to instantiate a Trickster ethic, given that it threatens, and faces possible repudiation from, those with vested interest in upholding dominant mores.

Exploring the Experiences of Women Academics in England: The Combined Effects of Societal, Structural and Life‐Stage Factors

ABSTRACTThis study explored the experiences of women who are academics working in UK higher education (HE), using a feminist approach and narrative methods and analysis. The purpose of the research was to explore the experiences of women, with a view to highlighting potential shared experiences, informing the policies of universities and adding to the body of knowledge on women in HE. Findings include narrative themes around gender roles, male‐dominated academia and life‐stage impact on career. Concluding recommendations include meaningful recognition of pastoral roles and promotion tracks which value these skills and support for women's life stages, including maternity, motherhood, menopause and sandwich caring.

Markets, metrics, and modernisation: Higher Education strategy makers’ conceptualisations of digital empowerment

ABSTRACT Digital empowerment is a recurrent theme in the discourse of educational technology in post-pandemic Higher Education and a leitmotif of organisational strategy. Yet, despite its prevalence, digital empowerment is a poorly understood concept. As organisations reimagine themselves as the digital Universities of the future, attention must turn to strategy and its role in defining the digitally empowered student, teacher, and organisation, and how such definitions manifest through policy. This study combines a synthesis of institution-level digital strategies from UK Higher Education with the voices of the strategy-maker, including senior leaders. This study reveals that conceptualisations of digital empowerment are underpinned by an assemblage of neoliberal narratives, including those associated with marketisation, metrics, and modernisation. The findings of this study are illustrative of the role that strategy plays in the alignment of Higher Education with neoliberalism and why notions of digital empowerment therein are inherently problematic.

Less-widely Taught Languages in UK Higher Education

Less-widely Taught Languages in UK Higher Education

The Prevalence of Specific Learning Difficulties in Higher Education: A Study of UK Universities Across 12 Academic Years.

Specific learning and attention difficulties are often first identified in childhood, but they can cause lifelong academic and occupational challenges. We explored the prevalence of these difficulties and the representation of sex and ethnicity amongst all first-year students in UK higher education across 12 years-almost 5.7 million students-and compared course preferences and University destinations of those with and without difficulties. Students declaring learning/attention difficulties were more likely to be White or of Mixed ethnicity and least likely to be Asian. They were more likely to attend specialist HE institutions or newer universities, and more likely to study courses in creative arts and design, agriculture and architecture than law, languages, computer science, and mathematical sciences. The number of students declaring difficulties has increased year on year, in actual terms and as a proportion of the student body, suggesting that efforts to increase diversity and inclusion have been successful. However, differences remain between students with and without learning/attention difficulties in terms of ethnicity, subjects studied, and HE institutions attended, so more needs to be done to identify and address reasons for this. While this paper reports data from UK students, it addresses an international question and invites similar explorations of other national datasets.

Less-widely Taught Languages in UK Higher Education

Less-widely Taught Languages in UK Higher Education

Identifying challenges in implementing digital transformation in UK higher education

Purpose The purpose of this study is to systematically dissect strategies against the challenges stalling digital transformation (DT) in the UK higher education (HE) sector. It addresses the challenges impeding DT’s incorporation and offers a blueprint for fostering innovation and efficiency within academic institutions. Design/methodology/approach Using a systematic literature review, the research integrates a nuanced literature review with interpretive structural modelling (ISM). Through meticulous ISM analysis, including sensitivity analysis and level partitioning, a robust framework is developed to pinpoint and interrelate DT challenges. Findings This investigation delineates a spectrum of impediments to DT in HE, most notably the need for more digital understanding among educators, intensified by inadequate support and resources. The findings reveal that the effective integration of DT is hindered by factors such as insufficient educator digital skills, resistance to technology and the continuous evolution of digital infrastructure. Practical implications The study’s findings and the developed level partitioning diagram offer invaluable insight into how DT must be integrated into the curriculum to enhance HE. Additionally, it could further lead to research within digital infrastructure and how learning needs to be facilitated for students in HE. Originality/value This study breaks new ground by systematically illuminating the centrality of the educator skill gap. By contributing insights into the educator skill gap, it proposes a unique analytical model that underscores actionable pathways for advancing DT initiatives in HE institutions.

‘What’s so funny ‘bout peace, love and understanding?’ Inter-professional perspective-taking in UKHE

ABSTRACT Inter-professional perspective-taking (the ability to take the perspective of colleagues with whom one is working, but who work in a different context or role type) is an aspect of empathy, with substantial benefits in the workplace, including environments where inter-professional collaboration is required, such as clinicians and administrators. In this article, the focus is on the inter-professional UKHE context – academic and professional staff. Based on the available literature, I hypothesise that a greater understanding of the lived experience of another demographic, may be important in one's ability to take their perspective. A variety of factors or characteristics may influence the level of perspective-taking between academic and professional staff in UK Higher Education (UKHE). There is a dearth of literature on perspective-taking in the workplace (as noted in Sherf and Morrison (2020)) and this paper seeks to add to the literature available in the field. Keywords: The Interpersonal Reactivity Index (Davis 1983) is discussed as a tool for measuring perspective-taking in the workplace. A survey of 272 academic and professional staff currently or recently working in UKHE was conducted. In this study, my findings suggest that in UKHE, inter-professional staff who understand each others' lived experience better, are more likely to take the perspective of another when they get upset.

‘Helping academics shine’: An exploration into the relationships working-class professional services staff have with others in UK higher education

AbstractDrawing on research interviews with thirteen self-identifying working-class professional services employees in Russell Group institutions, this article attempts to develop a nuanced approach to understanding institutional cultures in UK universities, through the relationships within these establishments. Throughout the study, the tensions between working-class professional services or administrative staff and their counterparts working on academic trajectories became clear. Often highly qualified themselves, the participants in this study describe feelings relating to inadequacy and often negative attitudes proliferated towards them by academic staff. These relationships are framed within the perspective of three themes: academic hierarchies and superior academic value, treatment of staff, and language codes and patterns. In contrast, the participants in this sample often describe their relationships with their networks in professional services as highly positive, developmental, and enriching. This study focused on working-class professional services staff specifically. In the field of working-class research, professional services staff from working-class backgrounds have currently been largely omitted from research, which tends to focus on working-class students and working-class academics. Not all professional services staff identify as working-class, but due to this deficit of evidence in the research field, it is this group in particular that this paper focuses on. The findings in this paper suggest that the relationships these professional services staff have with academics are often fraught, difficult to manage, and at times, derogatory in their nature. This finding comes at the juxtaposition of the wider inclusion agenda UK universities pursue.

How do institutional gender regimes affect formal reporting processes for sexual harassment? A qualitative study of UK higher education

AbstractFormal complaints and disciplinary processes constitute a mandatory aspect of organizational responses for addressing sexual harassment in many jurisdictions. However, previous research has found that reporting parties are not well served by such processes. In particular, Ahmed (Complaint!; 2021) argues that the institutional climate that enables harassment or discrimination to occur—including its gendered dynamics—also shapes how complaints about harassment are handled. Building on Ahmed's work, this article analyses how gender “gets into” formal reporting processes for sexual harassment within organizations. It draws on interviews with 18 students and staff who went through a formal institutional reporting process for gender‐based violence or harassment in UK higher education between 2016 and 2021. Using Connell's theorization of “gender regimes,” we outline how “dimensions of gender” within organizations affected different stages of formal reporting processes, including how evidence was gathered during reporting processes, as well as how it was assessed. These findings demonstrate that gender regimes—via gender relations of power, gendered “attachments and investments,” and “gender‐neutral” processes—can override formal processes and affect outcomes of sexual harassment reporting. These findings explain how gender regimes contribute to the failure of sexual harassment complaints to be upheld within organizations.

The Impact of Language and Social Communication on the Sense of Belonging among International Students Using ScLINGO Application

The UK's Higher Education landscape embraces global diversity, with the country ranking second as a destination for international students. However, limited research attention has been given to understanding the challenges faced by these students, particularly regarding language proficiency and cultural adaptation, which affect their sense of belonging. This study aims to address these challenges by investigating the impact of ScLINGO, a web-based gaming platform, on enhancing language skills and fostering social integration among international students, including those studying to become health professionals. Drawing on existing literature, the study seeks to fill this gap and promote sociocultural adaptation through a digital gamified language-learning tool. ScLINGO offers personalized bingo cards and interactive language exercises to familiarize players with everyday phrases and enhance language proficiency, encouraging both independent learning and collaborative interaction. The study navigates through three phases of game development, informed by insights and feedback from practitioners, students, and technology developers. By promoting cross-cultural competence and communication, the study aims to create a more inclusive higher education environment. ScLINGO's pilot phase addresses the rationale behind the game, building-up phases, and stakeholder feedback, anticipating its role in addressing cross-cultural maladjustment and facilitating effective support mechanisms for international students. Ultimately, the findings aim to contribute to the development

Perceptions of the Student-Tutor Relationship with Chinese International Students at a UK University Self-Access Writing Centre

This paper discusses the findings of a study of the student-tutor relationship with reference to Chinese international students in a UK university self-access writing centre. The study collected semi-structured interview data from multiple cohorts, including Chinese students, writing tutors (professional English for Academic Purposes (EAP) teachers rather than student peer tutors) and the writing centre director. Three types of relationships (asymmetrical, symmetrical and quasi-symmetrical) are thereby identified and discussed. The most reported relationship found in this study was an equal/symmetrical relationship. This egalitarianism was interpreted from the perspectives of a) the learning atmosphere; b) responsibility distribution; and c) differences between the writing tutor and the degree programme lecturer (i.e., disciplinary faculty). The findings enhance the understanding of the student-tutor relationship between professional EAP writing tutors and international students in the UK higher education (HE) context, and pedagogical implications are duly put forward.

Data as asset, data as rent? Rentiership practices in EdTech startups

ABSTRACT The Covid pandemic highlighted the increasing deployment of digital technologies in educational institutions, defined as ‘edtech’. The most visible edtech was video conferencing software, but a swathe of edtech startups have sought to roll out their products and services to educational institutions. We focus specifically on the deployment of edtech in UK higher education by these startups. Much of this deployment happens behind the scenes with little public debate, raising concerns about the implications of the increasing digitalization of higher education. Of particular concern, edtech startups have significantly expanded their data collection capacities and analytics through the roll-out of edtech across universities. Data are being transformed into assets (i.e., capitalizable property) by these startups, promising to generate economic rents for them. Examining this data assetization in the edtech sector enables us to analyze what kinds of data rents are being created from what kinds of data assets.

Complicity and Conformity: perpetuating race and class hierarchies in UK higher education

ABSTRACT Drawing on tenets of Critical Race Theory such as Whiteness, interest convergence, intersectionality and White supremacy this paper examines how some academics of colour are able to accelerate their success in higher education by performing Whiteness by using their privileges and capitals as a means by which they are able to identify with their White colleagues which enables them to perform Whiteness (albeit as outsiders). At the same time, by allowing privileged academics of colour entrance into the White space of higher education, White groups are able to perform inclusion. Drawing on interviews with 34 academics of colour, this paper argues that by performing and enacting Whiteness, some academics of colour mirror successful White behaviours within White normative frameworks. As a result, they are rewarded and gain entrance into the White space of higher education, but the main beneficiaries from this process are White groups, leaving the structures and institutions of racism intact. Consequently, they are complicit in upholding White supremacy, and by doing so protect the interests of White groups.

International Students’ Perspectives on the Use of Summative Feedback in UK Higher Education

Feedback is a crucial element in higher education, essential for academic improvement. It can come from various sources such as teachers, peers, and personal experiences. The main goal of feedback is to correct mistakes, close gaps, and enhance knowledge and skills. The study focuses on international students at UK universities, identifying several factors that hinder their engagement with summative feedback. These include the timing of feedback release, often coinciding with exams or holidays, and the lack of detail in feedback content. The study suggests adjusting the timing and tone of feedback to make it more effective and encouraging.

Studying Religion Critically in Universities and Schools

In this article, Wanda Alberts tries to identify the place of the critical Study of Religion in universities and schools, comparing examples for different recent developments in Germany and Britain. One decisive issue in this respect is the question if the critical Study of Religion as a discipline or as (critical) education about Religion is visible at all and if the differences to other, often much better known (often religious) approaches are acknowledged or played down. The discussed examples (a judgement of the German Federal Constitutional Court on the religious limitation of the academic freedom of professors of theology, the BA report on Theology and Religious Studies Provision in UK Higher Education and the report of the Commission on Religious Education) high light some subtleties of a complex field where important facts and distinctions remain concealed to non-specialists. With respect to RE, the article argues that these dynamics fit the concept of “smalli-indoctrination”. Referring to Katharina Frank’s empirical research on the communication of knowledge about religion (Religionskunde) it spells out the important distinctions that need to be made explicit in order to make the characteristics of a critical (secular) approach better known. “If you don’t know the difference between theology and religious studies, then you are a theologian.” (Brian Bocking)

Motivating Chinese Students in UK Higher Education Through Constructivism to Help Improve Their Employability

Many studies have shown the enhancement of competitive advantage is one of the main reasons Chinese students study in the UK, but most of them do not have clear career goals, and the demand of the labour market have become stringent. In this context, Chinese students need to be helped to carefully assess and reflect on their employability during their studies. The Graduate Capital Model, which categorises the skills that graduates need to acquire into five capitals; Constructivism, a theory that promotes student autonomous learning and co-operative learning, has been effective in helping Chinese students to develop a sense of reflection and improved employability. This study explores the importance of employability and Constructivism through a literature review and research comparison; and discusses the combined application of Constructivism and the Graduate Capital Model in practice. To provide Chinese students and UK universities and educators with the opportunity to think more creatively about learning and teaching, rather than continually following previous experiences.

Three Decades of Transformation: The Evolving Landscape of UK Private Higher Education

The landscape of private higher education in the UK has undergone significant transformation over the past three decades, aimed at expanding access, increasing student choices, enhancing quality, shaped by evolving government policies and reforms. The higher education (HE) landscape in the United Kingdom has experienced significant transformations over the past few decades, aimed at expanding access, increasing student choices, enhancing quality, and fostering innovation. This paper investigates the complex dynamics of this evolution, focusing on key research questions that explore the influence of governmental policies since the 1990s, the initiatives and reforms introduced during this period, and the factors driving the proliferation of private higher education institutions (PrHEIs). During the second decade, PrHEIs rapidly expanded and recruited a large number of students, with many being labelled as bogus colleges. The study examines the measures implemented to ensure quality assurance and regulatory oversight in this rapidly growing sector, addressing educational standards and transparency concerns. In the 2010s, the government’s crackdown on non-compliant institutions led to the suspension or revocation of Tier 4 licenses, highlighting the tension between expansion and regulation. The sector has expanded from the singular existence of the University of Buckingham to encompass over ten reputable PrHEIs with awarding powers. The paper also explores the shift in business models, particularly the adoption of franchising, which aims to widen participation and access to higher education for non-traditional and mature students, moving away from a predominant focus on international students. Furthermore, the paper discusses emerging trends and potential future developments within the UK’s private higher education landscape, providing a comprehensive overview of the sector’s trajectory and its implications for the broader higher education ecosystem. This research offers valuable insights into the complexities and prospects of private higher education in the UK, contributing to a nuanced understanding of its past, present, and future. Keywords: UK Government, UK Higher Education (HE), Private Higher Education Institutions (PrHEIs), International Students, Growth and Transformation, Three decades

Variation of HE academics’ experiences of designing MOOCs

There has been abundant research studying academics’ conceptions of and approaches to teaching, learning and other academic related activities in higher education (HE). However, most of the research in this area is in the traditional classroom HE context and there is very limited research in online teaching and learning contexts. Furthermore, research tends to mainly focus on academics’ experiences in teaching and learning in general, and there is very little research studying academics’ course designs, in particular. MOOCs (massive open online courses) originally emerged as a new online teaching form linked to connectivism and large networks of learners, which attracted a lot of interest from HE providers and researchers. Although there is plenty of research literature studying learners’ MOOC experiences, there is a lack of research on academics’ experiences of MOOCs. With more and more HE institutions partnering with MOOC platforms, HE academics involved in designing MOOCs are asked to follow certain procedures and prescribed formats in the designing process. There is hardly any published research on academics’ experience of designing MOOCs to understand the possible variations in their understanding of and approaches to designing MOOCs and the possible links between their perceptions and networked learning theory. This research aims to fill this research gap through a phenomenographic study of the UK HE academics’ experience of designing MOOCs to gain understanding of the possible variation in their perceptions and discusses links with different dimensions of networked learning. The research results could inform course designers and MOOC development stakeholders as well as provide insights to researchers in this area. I (first author) interviewed 22 academics from different UK HE institutions who have experience of designing MOOCs. The initial data analysis based on 14 transcripts revealed 5 categories of HE academics’ perceptions of designing MOOCs. This short paper presents the preliminary analysis of the first stage and discusses the results through the lens of networked learning. The next step is to continue data analysis through consulting the remaining transcripts to refine and modify the emerged categories and constitute the structural relationship between the categories to form the final outcome space.

Intercultural knowledges and practices in postgraduate game design and making education: insights from a UK-based degree

ABSTRACT In this paper, I explore my experience around teaching a digital game design and making postgraduate course in an intercultural setting in the UK Higher Education. I focus on how locality and disciplinary aspects create and mediate hierarchies of knowledges and practices that shape this kind of course, and how the intercultural setting studied here affords critical interrogations about the supposed universal nature of game design, as a field and as a practice. In particular, I examine an educational approach adopted in this course centred on the critical pedagogy notion of ‘cultural work’ and on philosophy of technology, rejecting mechanistic approaches to game design and making in favour of thinking with and through tools and processes. Through interviews with former students around their expectations about learning game design and making and their (changing) perspectives during this course, I explore how such an approach can create educational experiences for both students and game educators to build different (i.e. more critical and diverse) knowledge and practice foundations for those who will be working in/with games in the future as well as developing new vistas for understanding game design and making not as universal but as practices heavily informed by specific contexts.