scholarly journals The insider view: tackling disabling practices in higher education institutions

2019 ◽  
Vol 80 (2) ◽  
pp. 273-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Merchant ◽  
Stuart Read ◽  
Stephen D’Evelyn ◽  
Caroline Miles ◽  
Val Williams
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Practice ◽  
Medical Problem ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Global Context ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Disabled Employees ◽  
Practice Approach ◽  
Auto Ethnography ◽  
The Ideal

AbstractThis paper reports on research about the experiences of disabled staff members in UK universities, drawing on eleven semi-structured interviews with disabled staff in one university, alongside a group auto ethnography conducted by the first four authors, all of whom identified as disabled academics. Disability is generally considered to be predominantly an issue for students, both in practice and in the literature. By contrast, taking a social practice approach, we focused on the barriers faced by disabled employees, both overt and hidden. We found that disability was still viewed as a medical problem, and that disabled members of staff faced considerable extra labour in organising their own supports. We were often made to feel that we were unwanted and that we were ‘misfits’ in the institution. This paper contributes to theory by showing how social practices can become exclusionary, and how interconnections between practices matter. We discuss ways in which ableism, based on the ideal of ‘individual’ excellence, creates barriers for disabled staff. In the global context of Higher Education, the increasing marketization of universities in higher income countries creates a difficult climate for the values of inclusion.

scholarly journals Language Policy and Power in Out-of-Classroom EFL Contexts: The Case of English Departments in Saudi Arabian Higher Education Institutions

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 136
Author(s):  
Mohammad Almoaily
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Language Policy ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
English Language ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Language Policies ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
The Impact

Most of the research on language policies in educational institutions has hitherto focused on the creation, interpretation, or appropriation of language policies that govern language use in the classroom. Language policies, however, can be instantiated or implemented in out-of-classroom settings. Hence, the current study examines the impact of language policies, in terms of both beliefs and practices, as mechanisms of power in communication between staff members in official meetings taking place at higher education institutions in Saudi Arabia. An online survey taken by 208 members, in addition to semi-structured interviews with eight department chairpersons, revealed that the implementation of monolingual English language policies can minimize the proportion of engagement of staff members, who are less competent in English, in department council meetings, committee meetings, and other official meetings. The data also suggested that the majority of participants in the study believe that multilingual language policies (allowing the use of both Arabic and English) should be avoided in order to not exclude non-Arabic speaking staff members from participation in official dialogue. The study concludes with implications for language policy creation and implementation for out-of-classroom English use in EFL educational institutions.

scholarly journals Management perceptions of a higher educational brand for the attraction of talented academic staf

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Musa Saurombe ◽  
E. Nicolene Barkhuizen ◽  
Nico E. Schutte
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Educational Institution ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Higher Education Management ◽  
Education Management ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Higher Educational

Orientation: Academic staff members have a crucial role in the success of higher education institutions (HEIs). Therefore, it is imperative to cultivate an appealing organisational brand that will attract them to HEIs as an employer of choice.Research purpose: The main objective of this study was to explore management perceptions on a higher educational institution as a brand for the attraction of talented academic staff.Motivation for the study: Although a substantial amount of research has been conducted on organisational branding, not much has emphasised the higher educational sector.Research approach, design and method: A qualitative research approach was adopted, using semi-structured interviews to collect data from management (N = 12) of a merged South African HEI.Main findings: The findings revealed six themes that should form the core of a higher educational brand for academic staff: reputation and image, organisational culture and identity, strategic vision, corporate social responsibility and work and surrounding environment.Practical/managerial implications: The findings of the study will assist higher education management to create a compelling organisational brand and work environment to attract and retain talented academic staff members.Contribution/value-add: This research makes a valuable contribution towards creating new knowledge in the key that should form part of an appealing higher education brand that will attract and retain current and future talent.

scholarly journals Bearing witness: A grounded theory of the experiences of staff at two United Kingdom Higher Education Institutions following a student death by suicide

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. e0251369
Author(s):  
Hilary Causer ◽  
Eleanor Bradley ◽  
Kate Muse ◽  
Jo Smith
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Grounded Theory ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Bearing Witness ◽  
Student Death ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
The Impact

Wider networks of people are affected by a suicide death than originally thought, including those whose job-role brings them into contact with a death by suicide of another person. The impact of student suicide within United Kingdom (UK) Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) is unexplored and the experiences of staff members remain unknown. It is not known whether staff members have specific postvention needs following a student death by suicide. Any postvention support currently offered to staff members within UK HEIs lacks a context-specific evidence base. This study asked ‘How is a student suicide experienced by staff members within a UK HEI and what are the features of that experience?’ Staff members from diverse job-roles in two UK HEIs responded to a qualitative survey (n = 19) and participated in semi-structured interviews (n = 10). Data were transcribed and subjected to a constructivist grounded theory analysis. Participants’ experiences informed the development of a core category: ’Bearing witness’, which encompassed six further categories: ’Responding to a student suicide’; ’Experiencing a student suicide’; ’Needs and fears’; ’Experiences of support’; ’Human stories’; and ’Cultural stories’. The resulting grounded theory demonstrates how participants’ perceptions of impact are informed by their experiences of undertaking tasks following a student suicide within the community of their HEI. Processes of constructing perceptions of closeness to the student who died are evident amongst participants who did not know the student prior to their death. Tailored postvention support is required to respond to the range and complexity of HEI staff needs following a student death by suicide.

Creating conditions for sustainable degree apprenticeships in England

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 701-714
Author(s):  
Stan Lester
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Social Mobility ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
High Level ◽  
Funding Environment

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report on a study funded by the Edge Foundation, an independent educational charity, to investigate what is needed in order for English higher education to operate degree apprenticeships (DAs) on a sustainable basis.Design/methodology/approachThe study, conducted in 2019–2020, took the form of a literature review, semi-structured interviews with employers, institutional staff members and apprentices in three fields, and an open online survey.FindingsThis study illustrates a high level of support for DAs amongst those who are involved in them, whether as educators, employers or apprentices. Degree Apprenticeships aid public-sector recruitment, support progression routes and social mobility within the existing workforce, and contribute to recruitment and productivity in public services and economically critical industries. Practices in the organisation and delivery of apprenticeships are variable, but a clear need is illustrated for strong institution–employer partnerships, integration between on- and off-the-job learning, expansive workplace learning environments, and co-ordination of assessment and quality assurance. There is also a need for external bodies to provide a consistent policy and funding environment.Practical implicationsThe findings illustrate the need for strong partnerships, for programmes that are designed from the ground up as apprenticeships, and for effective integration of apprentices into the organisation's working environment.Originality/valueThis study updates and adds to the literature on DAs and work-integrated higher education. It emphasises three aspects that have hitherto been given little attention: the value of DAs for public-sector recruitment and for creating social mobility within the existing workforce, and the importance of ensuring apprenticeships are aligned with organisational objectives.

scholarly journals Strategy as Practice: An Organizational Culture Approach in a Higher Education Institution in Kosovo

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 37-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hajdin Berisha ◽  
Saxhide Mustafa ◽  
Yusof Ismail
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Organizational Culture ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Top Management ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Strategy As Practice ◽  
Strategy Making

Abstract Organizational members perceive top management as the sole authority for strategy making. Whilst this has been true for a number of years, the last decade has provided a shift to this traditional strategy practice in some sectors in the society. This paper attempts to address two major questions: firstly, whether the classical view of strategy as a property of organizations and the sole responsibility of top management in strategy making holds true in one of the higher education institutions in Kosovo as a member of western Balkan and eastern European countries. Secondly, how top management influences strategy practices of sense-making and sense-giving through organizational culture. The research analyses organizational culture and its effect on strategy as practice before and after a shift of institution’s top management based on its six strategy dimensions. The study employs multiple sources of data to address the research questions: secondary sources, semi-structured interviews, informal discussions with institution’s staff members, two-week of shadowing, observations and viewing artefacts of the institution. Results reveal three threads: organizational culture plays an important role on strategy as practice; top management is perceived to primarily provide sense through face-to-face interaction and procedural measures of strategy practices; and staff members are mostly involved in implementation. Moreover, clan and hierarchical types of organizational culture are identified to shape strategy practices of the institution. The study suggests that while the strategy making practice should be at the core of institution, a pleasant and non-confronting organizational culture is crucial to attract new students and retain elite staff.

scholarly journals Creating information literacy partnerships in Higher Education

2012 ◽  
Vol 35 (111) ◽  
pp. 59-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clare Joanne McCluskey
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Academic Support ◽  
Subject Area ◽  
Academic Librarians ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Initial Interviews

This piece of research focuses upon the area of information literacy and its effective embedding within the curriculum in Higher Education. In particular, it investigates the promotion of partnerships between academic librarians and faculty staff members, with a view to improving information literacy. Using the work of Wenger (1998) in relation to communities of practice as a theoretical influence, and an action research methodology, the views of academics within one subject area at York St John University have been canvassed via semi-structured interviews, followed up with questionnaires after interventions from the Academic Support Librarian. The initial interviews showed that the view of the librarian was varied across the participants, but that, in the main, it was viewed as a support post (rather than reactive or a partner). The questionnaires suggested that the group approach was more effective in promoting partnership, but that both group and one-to-one interventions had some positive effects in this.

Students' Independent Professional Activity in Pedagogical Practice

2010 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 38-58
Author(s):  
Aina Strode
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Empirical Study ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Professional Activity ◽  
Pedagogical Practice ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Criteria And Indicators ◽  
Study Process

Students' Independent Professional Activity in Pedagogical PracticeThe topicality of the research is determined by the need for changes in higher education concerned with implementing the principles of sustainable education. The article focuses on teacher training, highlighting the teacher's profession as an attractive choice of one's career that permits to ensure the development of general and professional skills and an opportunity for new specialists to align with the labour market. The empirical study of students' understanding of their professional activity and of the conditions for its formation is conducted by applying structured interviews (of practice supervisors, students, academic staff); students and experts' questionnaire. Comparative analysis of quantitative and qualitative data and triangulation were used in case studies. As a result, a framework of pedagogical practice organisation has been created in order to form students' independent professional activity. The criteria and indicators of independent professional activity have been formulated and suggestions for designers of study programmes and organisers of the study process have been provided.

WORK-BASED LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION: EXPERIENCE AND CHALLENGES OF LEARNERS, WORKPLACES AND INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Roosipõld ◽  
Krista Loogma ◽  
Mare Kurvits ◽  
Kristina Murtazin
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
University Education ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Constructivist Learning Theory ◽  
Education Experience ◽  
Restaurant Management ◽  
The Social ◽  
The University ◽  
Social Constructivist Learning

In recent years, providing higher education in the form of work-based learning has become more important in the higher education (HE) policy and practice almost in all EU countries. Work-based learning (WBL) in HE should support the development of competences of self-guided learners and adjust the university education better to the needs of the workplace. The study is based on two pilot projects of WBL in HE in Estonia: Tourism and Restaurant Management professional HE programme and the master’s programme in Business Information Technology. The model of integrative pedagogy, based on the social-constructivist learning theory, is taken as a theoretical foundation for the study. A qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews with the target groups. The data analysis used a horizontal analysis to find cross-cutting themes and identify patterns of actions and connections. It appears, that the challenge for HE is to create better cooperation among stakeholders; the challenge for workplaces is connected with better involvement of students; the challenge for students is to take more initiative and responsibility in communication with workplaces.

scholarly journals Characterizations of preschool technology education: analyses of seven individual preschool teachers’ and childcare attendants’ descriptions of their teaching

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pernilla Sundqvist
Keyword(s):  
Technology Education ◽  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Preschool Teachers ◽  
Learning Objective ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Children's Play ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Preschool Staff

AbstractIn recent decades the preschool has leaned more towards a learning-oriented pedagogy, where the subject of technology has been given a more prominent place. Still, studies on how individual preschool staff members perceive and teach technology is scarce. This study shows how seven preschool staff in Sweden describe their work with the subject of technology and how technology education is characterized in these descriptions. The data was produced by means of semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire and analyzed with narrative analysis. The results show very diverse practices of technology education, implying the learning possibilities for children in different preschools are not equal. Some of the staff describe a clear and conscious teaching of technology, while others describe teaching what can be viewed as a limited and/or shallow technology education, where technology is sometimes used as means for learning other subjects or contents rather than being the learning objective. Six ways to characterize technology education was found, namely: technology education (1) concerns technological objects and systems in children’s environment, (2) concerns learning to handle technological objects, (3) is doing experiments, (4) involves developing abilities, (5) is naturally included in children’s play and (6) departs from digital technology.

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