Special Interest Group
The transition from elite to mass higher education systems is a significant global development that forms the broader context for educational research that seeks to understand the experiences of Higher Education students, academics, teaching teams, change agents, leaders, departments, subject disciplines, professional fields, and institutions. There is a need for perspectives and analyses that not only critique but also challenge current policy frameworks and evolving practices within and across Higher Education. Within the universalising tendencies of the neoliberal regime, contradictions exist within – and between – the increasing dominance of managerialist principles, the standardisation of learning and practice (under the banner of ‘quality assurance’), consumer-based practices and expectations. The aim of the Higher Education special interest group is to contribute towards and enhance critical debates and perspectives on higher education policy, pedagogy and practice. This is a broad remit that embraces interdisciplinary research with critical research methodologies, theories and philosophies.
Recent research papers and symposia presented by SIG members have included the following themes:
The SIG aims to create a supportive network of educational researchers through building symposia for the main conference, through smaller scale activity during the year, by supporting new and early career researchers, and by building links with other higher education research networks.
Senior Lecturer in Education at Liverpool John Moores University
Craig A. Hammond is Senior Lecturer in Education at Liverpool John Moores University; prior to moving to LJMU, Craig taught across further education and college based higher education (CBHE) for 18 years. From 2015 to 2017 Craig was the Research...
Research Fellow at University of Exeter
Sanja Djerasimovic is a research fellow at the University of Exeter, where she studies the broad but interconnected areas of higher education policy, academic identity and practice, particularly among early career academics, and citizenship. More...
Donald Clark (CEO at WildFire Learning) published a thoughtful blog post on 27 March: ‘I fear,’ he began, ‘that the UK University system has been myopic regarding online learning’ (Clark,...
Continue readingFoundation year programmes aim to prepare ‘widening participation’ students for university-level study, and focus on developing study skills and underpinning knowledge on their chosen subject...
Continue readingResearch Intelligence Issue 143 is on the theme of 'Widening participation in practice'.
The pandemic that has gripped the UK has meant that uncertainty becoming central to our way of life. With borders closed, migration curtailed and social distancing policies in place, this...
Continue readingJames Derounian of the Association of National Teaching Fellows offers tips on delivering quality distance-learning for quarantined students.
Continue readingIf we assume that necessity really is the mother of invention, then the problems of delivery that arose when the Covid-19 virus crisis hit UK higher education represented a golden opportunity for...
Continue readingThe British government’s introduction of degree apprenticeships (DAs) in 2015 marked a turning point in the delivery of both higher and vocational education in England. When announcing the...
Continue readingIn large lectures, it is quite hard to involve and engage students, and if the teacher poses questions during the lecture, many students will refrain from raising their hands out of fear of being...
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