scholarly journals Making connections and building resilience: Developing workshops with undergraduates

2017 ◽  
pp. 404-418
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Education Sector ◽  
High Achieving Students ◽  
Financial Pressure ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The University ◽  
Uk Higher Education

While defining resilience is recognised as complex with recent research highlighting the disparity of interpretations, there is however, a common appreciation of the wide range of contributory factors impacting on students’ resilience within the Higher Education sector. These can include but are not limited to, an increasingly competitive environment for graduate jobs, increased financial pressure from student tuition fees, alongside the more traditional concerns of moving away from home and transitioning towards greater independence. Building on previous research at the University of Surrey with high achieving students, this paper outlines the development and delivery of a student focused workshop designed to enable the participants to build their understanding of resilience using different but complementary pedagogic approaches: LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® and Concept Mapping. The case study included within this paper demonstrates one student’s reflection of the workshop and previous experiences which have contributed to their own resilience. What has become apparent at the University of Surrey, and more broadly within the UK Higher Education sector, is that universities have a vital role to play in fostering positive mindsets amongst students and developing strong and resilient independent learners.

Enabling conditions for communities and universities to work together: a journey of university public engagement

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Chang ◽  
Gemma Moore
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Education Sector ◽  
University Research ◽  
Research Practice ◽  
Case Evaluation ◽  
University College London ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The University ◽  
Uk Higher Education

This chapter provides a context for the evolution of the concept of public engagement within the UK higher education sector focusing on a specific initiative: the Beacons for Public Engagement programme at University College London. Moreover, the chapter exposes the enabling conditions for communities and universities to work together; it recommends the five conditions to generate effective engagement, particularly through nuanced evaluation and support. In this case, evaluation and support can be seen as a pathway — bridging the gaps between theory and reality of engagement, between strategy and practice, and between the communities and academia — to ensure communities and universities to work together to create an impact on the university, research practice, communities, and ultimately, society.

scholarly journals Examining the UK higher education sector through the network of institutional accounts on Twitter

First Monday ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katy Jordan
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Education Sector ◽  
University Rankings ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Network Metrics ◽  
Uk Higher Education ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Gaining Insight

Web link mining has been previously used as a way of gaining insight into how the Internet may be replicating or reshaping connections between institutions within the higher education sector. Institutions are increasingly active on social media platforms, and these connections have not been studied. This paper presents an exploratory analysis of the network of UK higher education institutional accounts on Twitter. All U.K. institutions have a presence. Standing in recent university rankings is found to be a significant predictor of several network metrics. In examining the communities present within the network, a combination of ranking and geolocation play a role. Analysis of a sample of tweets which mention more than one U.K. higher education institution provides an indication of why the topics of tweets would reinforce prestige and location in the network structure.

scholarly journals Unwaged Posts in UK Universities: Controversies and Campaigns

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 533-553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsten Forkert ◽  
Ana Lopes
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Creative Industries ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The University ◽  
Uk Higher Education

This article examines unwaged posts at UK universities, using recent examples of advertised job posts. While unpaid work is common in the UK higher education system, unwaged posts are not. The posts under scrutiny in this article differ from traditional honorary titles as they target early career academics, who are unlikely to have a paid position elsewhere, rather than established scholars. The article contextualizes the appearance of these posts in a climate of increasing marketization of higher education, entrenching managerialism in higher education institutions, and the casualization of academic work. We also discuss resistance to the posts, arguing that the controversy surrounding unpaid internships in the creative industries created a receptive environment for resisting unwaged posts in academia. We analyze the campaigns that were fought against the advertisement of the posts, mostly through social media and the University and College Union. We explore the tactics used and discuss the advantages and limitations of the use of social media, as well as the role of trade unions in the campaigns against these posts, and we reflect on what future campaigns can learn from these experiences.

scholarly journals Revisiting Dearing: Higher Education and the Construction of the ’Belabored’ Self

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 731-753
Author(s):  
Alan Apperley
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Lifelong Learning ◽  
Education Sector ◽  
The Self ◽  
National Committee ◽  
Learning Society ◽  
Oil Crisis ◽  
Post War ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Uk Higher Education

Several authors have identified a ’therapeutic turn’ in education in the UK, at all levels of the system. In this paper I focus on and develop this claim, specifically in relation to the Higher Education sector. I seek to do two things: First, I argue that the ‘self’ which is identified by commentators on the therapeutic turn needs to be reworked in the direction of McGee’s idea of the ’belabored’ self. This is because the therapeutic turn serves, I argue, a set of wider economic goals arising from the restructuring of capitalism which followed in the wake of the oil crisis of 1973 and the subsequent breakdown of the post-war (1939-1945) consensus around the purpose of public policy, of which education is an important part. Second, I revisit an important document in the history of the UK Higher Education sector: the National Committee of Inquiry Into Higher Education’s 1997 report Higher Education In The Learning Society (known popularly as the Dearing Report, after its chair, Sir Ron Dearing). I argue that that the committee’s ambition to bring about a learning society characterised by lifelong learning played an important and neglected part in bringing about the therapeutic turn in higher education in the UK. The project of creating a learning society characterised by lifelong learning, advocated by the Dearing Report, should properly be recognised as an exhortation to embark upon a lifetime of labouring upon the self.

Doing it yourself: Coventry University Library’s streaming project

2009 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 21-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Gibbs
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Short Discussion ◽  
New Era ◽  
Future Developments ◽  
Levels Of Use ◽  
Streaming Service ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Uk Higher Education ◽  
The Impact

This case study provides an overview of the logistical aspects of introducing a DIY streaming service, from original idea to implementation, at Coventry University. The study includes reflection on practical problems such as the structuring of file names and complying with the terms and conditions of the ERA licence. It concludes with a short discussion of the impact of the new ERA+ licence on levels of use, together with possible future developments in streaming in the UK Higher Education sector.

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