UK Higher Education Research Articles

“I Would Have Become Wallpaper Had Racism Had Its Way”: Black Female Professors, Racial Battle Fatigue, and Strategies for Surviving Higher Education

ABSTRACT In 2019, AdvanceHE reported that there were just 25 UK Black female full professors in British universities. Black women are less likely to occupy a role at this level than their male and White counterparts. Despite this, Black women remain relatively absent in institutional initiatives to advance gender equality, and there is little commitment amongst UK universities to explicitly address structural inequalities of race as they affect the experiences of academic staff. Black female academics remain under-represented and invisible in UK higher education. This article draws on the first known qualitative study into the career experiences and strategies of twenty of these Black female professors. Specifically, it engages Critical Race Theory and Bourdieu as principal theoretical frameworks to explore how their academic journeys, shaped as they are by an existence at the intersection of race and gender, result in racial battle fatigue, feelings of isolation, and disillusion with the academy. The article demonstrates how, despite these challenges, these women have been agentic in their efforts to navigate higher education. They have developed and continue to deploy sophisticated strategies of analysis, hyper-surveillance, self-care, and resilience in order to carve out a successful career in the academy and remain within it.

An investigation of the push–pull factors influencing student selection of higher education: The case of Arabian Gulf students in theUK

The internationalization of students in tertiary education has increased worldwide for the past 20 years. International students (IS) are considered consumers of Higher Education (HE) in host countries and are often a significant contributor to many countries' economies. This paper explores the push and pull factors that influence international Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) students to select Higher Education in the UK as a preferred destination of choice and the potential implications this may have for the wider international student body. The authors utilized face‐to‐face interviews and purposive sampling of 40 undergraduate students from a university in the UK North West. The sample was nationals from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. NVivo11 software was utilized by the researchers to facilitate data management and analysis. Analysis revealed six main push factors that led those sampled to depart their home country and pursue their university education in the UK. Alternatively, there were 10 pull factors that encouraged GCC students to pursue their university education in the UK. It is imperative that UK Higher Education institutions/universities are cognizant of the push/pull factors that boost GCC international students' intake at their institutions since there is an observable decline in international student numbers in recent years that can negatively impact the said universities and the wider UK economy.

Advance HE Fellowship Submission - tip of the iceberg

An infographic representing the activities and reflections underlying a professional recognition (HEA) claim for Advance HE fellowship in UK Higher Education.

The Death and Life of UK Universities and the Cultural Spaces They Consume

The shift in focus in UK higher education since Thatcherism from the production of knowledge for civic betterment to the production and consumption of knowledge by the university for revenue generation can be read through the social rearrangement of space in the university town or city. A key spatial reconfiguration emerging from the shift in economic conditions is the collapse of the modern university as a singular, ideological construct. Like ‘the city’ before it, the modern university has, at its interior, been reformed into a newly defined, fragmented public–private social space, and, at its exterior, into a devourer of the space of the local community. This article showcases excerpts from a film made by the authors entitled The Death and Life of UK Universities – a title inspired by Jane Jacobs’s critique of great American cities. Our film is a cinematic database survey of the changing space of all British universities which considers this systematic spatial reprogramming of space within the city. The two-year research project is an audio-visual critique of the way in which neoliberalism, corporatization and commercial interests have co-opted the space of the British university. Referencing the films of Charlie Chaplin and Gordon Matta-Clark and the writings of Henri Lefebvre, the film focuses on university cities, critically observing the rise of university marketing material and the consumption of the city and of local community life for university student accommodation. We ask: How are UK universities being spatially reconfigured and what are the consequences?

A randomized controlled trial of an app-delivered mindfulness program among university employees: effects on stress and work-related outcomes

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact on stress and work-related outcomes of an app-delivered mindfulness-based program (MBP; Headspace®) offered to employees in a UK higher education (HE) institution.Design/methodology/approachUsing a randomized waitlist control trial design, participants were randomly allocated to be offered a mindfulness-based program (MBP) immediately for 2 months or after a waiting list period of 2 months (WLC). Data were analyzed using Intention to Treat (ITT; MBP n = 62; WLC n = 63); with supplementary analysis restricting to those who completed all measures; (MBP n = 45; WLC n = 56) and then further restricting the MBP group to those who completed at least foundation level 1 of the app; (MBP n = 31; WLC n = 56).FindingsThe ITT analysis showed significant increases in several aspects of mindfulness and a significant reduction in perceived stress but no significant effects for work-related outcomes. Analysis restricted to MBP participants who completed the app foundation course showed a similar pattern but in addition showed significant increases in work-life balance and the emotional aspect of job engagement.Practical implicationsThe offer of the Headspace® app in the HE sector may result in reduced perceived stress. If improvements in work-related outcomes are also to be seen, then users need to be encouraged to complete a minimum level of practice.Originality/valueEffect size estimates for stress and work-related outcomes of an app-delivered MBP contribute to the evolving picture of MBPs in the workplace.

Students’ accounts of grooming and boundary-blurring behaviours by academic staff in UK higher education

ABSTRACT Drawing on data from qualitative interviews with students who had attempted to report staff sexual misconduct to their higher education institutions in the UK, the article analyses interviewees’ experiences of ‘grooming’ and boundary-blurring behaviours from academic staff where the possibility for consent was affected by the power imbalances between staff and students. The term ‘boundary-blurring’ is used to describe behaviours that transgress (often tacit) professional boundaries, and ‘grooming’ refers to a pattern of these behaviours over time between people in positions of unequal power. This article analyses the power imbalances interviewees described that created the context for these behaviours. These were constituted by social inequalities including gender, class, and age, as well as stemming from students’ position within their institutions. The article also explores how heterosexualised normativity allows such behaviours to be minimised and invisibilised.

Performance habitus: performance management and measurement in UK higher education

Purpose What academic and managerial elements are particularly influential regarding performance? This study aims to address these questions as part of a broader longitudinal study. The current paper focusses on the results relating to performance management and measurement, and how the sectorial developments impacted on individuals and institutions. Design/methodology/approach An interpretive research methodology was used, which illustrates the institutional performance management and measurement system. The first part of the interpretive study was a single case study, focussing on one “old” research-intensive university. The second part included five institutions, three UK top-tier universities, focussing on top-level research and education, and two “new” universities with a greater teaching than research portfolio. Findings The current paper focusses on the results relating to performance management and measurement, and how higher education (HE) developments impacted on individuals and institutions, reflected in the notion of performance habitus. The qualitative element of the study sought to gain insight into which factors influence performance management and measurement and what changing effect these have on academic members of staff. The findings illustrate how academic values and managerial control practices create an academia-specific performance management approach, measured by particular key performance indicators that are used for the institution as a whole and then applied to units and individuals within institutions. With regard to institutional performance, more established and institutionalised performance management and measurement practices are relied upon. Both elements are addressed in this study, and the authors conclude that the interplay of human capital and institutional structure creates the most successful performance-related outcome. Originality/value The current study adds additional insights on how the changing HE context affects academic members and how the future of the UK HE sector is perceived. Insights can be derived for other HE sectors, as the contextual factors of international competition, tightening of resources and nature of the academic sector transcend national borders. Thus, practices illustrated in the current study are useful for institutions and academic managers of other HE sectors as well.

What are the barriers and facilitators to success for female academics in UK HEIs? A narrative review

ABSTRACT Gender inequality prevails in academia; there is currently no review on the barriers and facilitators to success for female academics in UK Higher Education. We conducted a systematic search identifying 32 papers addressing this issue. Narrative review revealed six themes: networks (prohibiting the inclusion of women), home-work balance (where women are expected to make a binary decision between the two), everyday sexism (leading to compromised psychological wellbeing and reduced likelihood of application for career advancement), inclusion/hierarchy/power structure (the assignment of less valued roles), intersectionality, and facilitators (supportive partner and Athena SWAN). The manifest, overarching narrative was of continued biases, barriers, double-standards, and unsupportive work environments. Law and resulting institutional policy should, but does not appear to, address identified barriers; consideration should be given to processes employed to implement and culturally embed these. Findings suggest we must challenge institutional norms, attitudes and expectations through facilitating accessible networks, consciousness raising and mentorship.

‘Service quality’ and higher education: investigating Chinese international student and academic perspectives at a UK university

ABSTRACT For a large number of Higher Education institutions in the UK, the recruitment of international students remains vital for economic, political, cultural and educational benefits. Increasing competition within the international student market has encouraged many Higher Education institutions to pay closer attention to the quality of their educational offer, as well as the expectations and experiences of international students themselves. With an aim to present a more insightful picture of this position, this article examines the ‘service quality’ of UK Higher Education through the lens of one group of international students at a single Russell Group institution while also engaging the academic perspective in direct comparison. To achieve this, a mixed-methods research study was carried out at a location in the South East of England, with quantitative survey data collected from a convenience sample of 139 Chinese students and 27 academics, with 11 qualitative follow-up interviews. Results show both consistency and inconsistency between participant perceptions and where those consistencies and inconsistencies may exist. The findings suggest caution when assuming, as is currently prevalent in the context of highly marketised UK Higher Education, that ‘service quality’ of Higher Education can be comprehensively understood and efficiently improved from the student perspective alone.

Navigating the Contact Zone: postcolonial graduate teaching assistants’ experiences in a UK higher education institution

ABSTRACT International Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) have often been characterised as lacking training, skills, English language proficiency and knowledge of the ‘host’ education system. In this study, a group of 18 GTAs from postcolonial countries were interviewed, to explore their perceptions of transitioning into UK higher education teaching at one institution. I use the Contact Zone as a framework to understand these GTAs’ experiences. The Contact Zone lens shows that GTAs are actively bringing resources and experiences to teaching, rather than ‘lacking’. By focusing on a sub-group of GTAs from postcolonial countries, this research challenges the notion that international GTAs constitute a homogenous category.

Stop the pain: Black and minority ethnic scholars on diversity policy obfuscation in universities

PurposeThe author extends the work on diversity policy in UK higher education by centring the voices of Black and minority ethnic scholars and de-centring white comfort with the aim of a call to stop the pain that sanitised university diversity policies cause Black and minority ethnic scholars.Design/methodology/approachUsing in-depth qualitative and auto-ethographic research methods, this paper engages with both respondents' narratives as well as the author's experience of carrying out the research within the walls of predominately white universities.FindingsIn order for universities to move beyond hollow and sanitised diversity, they must centre the voices of Black and minority ethnic scholars. Respondents spoke of their experiences of pain, and feelings of “taking up” space in predominately white universities. The author also discusses respondents' feelings towards diversity and inclusion policies such as the Race Equality Charter Mark.Originality/valueThe research is built on previous work on diversity by decentring white comfort.

International students\u2019 linguistic transitions into disciplinary studies: a rhizomatic perspective

This paper offers a reconceptualisation of international students’ transitions into and through UK higher education. We present two case studies of students which explore their transitions in terms of their academic speaking skills from pre-sessional courses into their disciplinary studies. Students describe how the development of their confidence and performance in academic speaking was contingent on a number of factors and micro-moments, and how this progress into and within disciplinary studies often involved regression and discomfort. Nevertheless, they also talked of developing strategies to overcome challenges and the resultant learning. We argue that transitions to disciplinary studies in terms of academic speaking can be more helpfully understood as non-linear, fluid and rhizomatic. This study offers valuable insights for individuals and institutions to move away from a fixed student lifecycle perspective to consider instead how reciprocal, embedded and on-going support for international students may better reflect students’ experiences.

UK higher education after Brexit

This article explores the likely impact of Brexit on UK higher education. Because negotiations between the UK and the EU remain inconclusive at the time of writing, much remains uncertain. There is likely to be a fall in the number of EU students studying in the UK. The loss will be concentrated in a limited number of universities and the financial consequences could well be mitigated by increasing numbers of foreign students from outside the EU. It is hoped that the UK will retain some access to EU research funds by obtaining associate status in the new framework programme. After the Brexit vote there was great concern that the UK would lose large numbers of academic staff from EU countries. Now that there is greater clarity about a new immigration policy, these fears have lessened somewhat. Threats on all these fronts remain but what is certain is that a sector which has thrived on its internationalism will feel diminished as it ceases to be a participant in European decision making about higher education and instead a client.

Forced migrants in higher education: ‘sanctuary scholarships’ in a hostile environment

ABSTRACT This paper explores how the hostile environment manifests in UK higher education. Our findings highlight the specific challenges encountered by asylum seekers in negotiating access to, and participating fully in, higher education. This group are categorised as international students, rendering them ineligible for student finance to meet the cost of living and university tuition fees in addition to exclusion from mainstream benefits and the labour market. The empirical data generated through a survey of universities, students and support organisations is explored first through the concept of universities as sites of bordering and the original framing of the higher education border. Second, the data is used to picture the state of solidarity at this border, arguing that redistributive solidarity and solidarity as ‘standing up beside’ are needed, but both require further investment from HEIs. In conclusion, we argue that the hostile environment creates overlapping and intersecting restrictions on these students and that this, amplified by the complex relationship between HEIs and the state, causes a conflict of solidarity between, on the one hand, supporting students and, on the other, officiously complying with the Home Office.

Quality and qualifications: the value of centralised teaching courses for postgraduates who teach

ABSTRACT The focus of this research is the centralised provision of professional development opportunities for postgraduate teaching assistants (PGTAs) through accredited and non-accredited courses (ACs and NACs), and their perceived and actual benefits. Evidence on the impact of courses at the University of Birmingham (UK) is synthesised with evidence from the wider sector and discussed within the context of UK higher education. The outcomes point to the positive impact of ACs for institutions and students with regard to learning, employability, professional confidence, and gaining a qualification. The consensus is that courses lead to a noticeable enhancement of professional knowledge, ability, and confidence.

Prevent/Ing critical thinking? The pedagogical impacts of Prevent in UK higher education

ABSTRACT The Prevent counter terrorism strategy (‘Prevent’) – specifically the duty to report those deemed vulnerable to, or causing suspicions of, radicalisation – has been intensely criticised within UK higher education for its racialised and colonial agenda; its potential to curb academic freedom; and its reframing of the pedagogical dynamic as one of surveillance. A specific concern is that Prevent limits possibilities for critical teaching and learning which is predicated on notions of openness and mutual exchange. This paper responds to the claim that Prevent and the statuary duty it implies, prevents critical thinking using empirical data collection with 14 academic faculty teaching Politics across 4 English universities. These data reveal how Prevent’s effects are neither uniform nor straightforward but that its bureaucratic and legalistic framing produces significant and detrimental ‘critical closures’ with an urgent need for higher education institutions to approach future guises of Prevent both critically and pedagogically.

Two groups separated by a shared goal: how academic managers and lecturers have embraced the introduction of digital technologies in UK Higher Education

Digital technologies have been widely used in higher education (HE) for years, and the benefits have been recognised by both students and academics. Although many universities have developed their own digital technology strategies, many do not share either their vision or implementation strategies with staff. This research explores differences and similarities in the perception of digital technology by lecturers and academic managers. The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast motivations, barriers and support systems required for the use and adoption of digital strategies. Interviews were conducted with a group of 20 lecturers and academic managers in the HE sector. The results reveal that both groups shared a common view that the introduction of digital technology can have a clear set of benefits to students; however, their motivations for introducing new approaches differed significantly. Whilst it is important not to generalise too much given the lack of homogeneity in the two groups and also the crossover between managers and lecturers, managers tended to take a performance goal-based approach to its introduction whilst lecturers were more learning goal orientated. This difference can cause significant difficulties in the implementation of new approaches to learning.

From Alienation to Solidarity: Educational Perspectives and Possibilities in Brazil and the UK

Abstract In this paper, we examine how alienation plays out in conditions of advanced neoliberalisation in education. We discuss two examples which exemplify the depth and extent of alienation. First the attacks on critical thinking in education that have been spearheaded by the ‘School without [political] parties’ [‘Escola sem Partido’] project in Brazil. Second, the mental health crisis that is rampant among staff and students in the UK higher education. Drawing on Freire, we explore how ‘the organization of alienation’ can fuel acts of resistance and praxis which can help us reclaim education and society from the forces of the market. The examples we draw on in relation to Brazil and the UK have not yet become mainstream strategies, especially internationally, that can sustain a resistance movement in education, but they form successful local, in some cases national even, strategies that seem to be able to open new possibilities which can eventually help us find creative and effective ways to make the organisation of alienation the project for Being More that Freire envisaged.

Experiences of Visually Impaired and Blind Students in UK Higher Education: An Exploration of Access and Participation

Drawing on a small scale doctoral research project that engaged a critical disability studies (CDS) lens and is rooted in a Grounded Theory methodological approach, this paper explores the experiences of visually impaired and blind students regarding their access and negotiation of inclusion within UK higher education (HE). The emergent research findings, which here focus on the process and practical application of Disabled Student’s Allowance, accommodation within student living and, more broadly, social interactions within HE, reveal a liminal and bounded participation contrary to the ongoing processes and practices, within HE, which purport equity and inclusion. By foregrounding the voices of these visually impaired students, whilst expanding upon existing understanding of the experiences of disabled students, the important discussions of day-to-day social interactions and identity as a visually impaired person and student reveal an important juxtaposition between the rhetoric of inclusion and individual experience.

The Prevent Duty in UK higher education: Insights from freedom of information requests

Drawing upon 157 responses to Freedom of Information Requests sent to Higher Education Institutions across England, Scotland and Wales, this article explores how the Prevent Duty has been enacted within UK higher education. The article shows how the duty has seen considerable repositioning and restructuring across the sector, conflated counterterrorism with safeguarding and introduced further bureaucracy. The article also explores the low number of Channel referrals, the justifications provided for these and the several instances in which institutions refused to disclose this information. We argue that these disproportionate developments have brought harmful depoliticising effects while also enhancing the mechanisms of surveillance and governance. Furthermore, we argue that our findings demonstrate the value in Freedom of Information Requests as a means of approach and suggest a continued need for critical researchers to explore the specific functioning of the duty to complement the broader critiques that are levelled at the policy as a whole.