scholarly journals The LDHEN hive mind: Learning Development in UK higher education as a professional culture

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharine Stapleford
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Professional Identity ◽  
Social Identity Theory ◽  
Professional Culture ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Widening Participation ◽  
Job Descriptions ◽  
Employment Contracts ◽  
Learning Development ◽  
Education Network

The Learning Developer in higher education (HE) works with students to help them make sense of the language and practices of HE. It is a relatively new role and has grown in response to the Widening Participation agenda which has seen an increase in entry of 'non-traditional' students into HE. Learning developers' job descriptions, employment contracts and institutional location vary between institutions and the role is often misunderstood across academia. There has long been discussion and debate within the learning development community regarding the professionalisation of the role and what this might look like. The literature in this area is sparse and to date consists of small-scale surveys of learning development practitioners with inconclusive findings. This study aims to contribute to our understanding of learning developer professional identity by analysing six months of discourse from the Learning Development in Higher Education Network (LDHEN) Listserv. This is explored through the lens of social identity theory and findings suggest that the learning development community functions as a professional culture based on collegiality, trust, shared values and a protected collective knowledge base. This attitudinal perspective of professional identity as professional culture is proposed as a more productive approach to the debate than more traditional interpretations of professionalism based on qualifications and formal training.

From adversity to university - the transformational power of a bespoke bridging module to support those affected by homelessness into higher education

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 102-122
Author(s):  
Becky Edwards ◽  
Sandra Lyndon
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Drug Addiction ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Widening Participation ◽  
Listening Guide ◽  
Academic Confidence ◽  
Mental Health Support

This paper reports the findings of a small-scale project which examines how a bespoke bridging module supported those affected by homelessness into higher education. The module was developed on the premise that a successful widening participation project needs to base learning on the lived experience of the individuals. It aimed to support individuals by valuing their personal experiences and developing academic confidence through shared ownership of learning. The findings draw on qualitative interviews with six participants who took part in the bridging module. All had been affected by homelessness and many were recovering from alcohol and/or drug addiction. A narrative methodological approach was used, drawing on Brown and Gilligan's Listening Guide (1991), to explore how participants changed throughout the course of the module. Out of the six who took part, five were accepted onto higher education courses. In addition, all experienced multiple personal benefits, including increased confidence, raised aspirations, improvements in mental health, support with recovery from alcohol/and or drug addiction, and new and renewed relationships. It is concluded that a bespoke bridging module can be both powerful and transformational for those who have been affected by homelessness.

scholarly journals Driving learning development professionalism forward from within

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Paul Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Professional Identity ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Professional Association ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
Job Roles ◽  
Precise Sense ◽  
Learning Development

Current conceptions view professions as negotiable, transient territories which are shaped by the discourses that describe them. The voices which influence how a profession evolves arise from both within and outside it. Theories on professionalism have been rigorously applied to teaching and academia. Learning Development exists within both spheres, yet its complex growth patterns have resulted in a fragmented and less theorised sense of professional identity. The rationales which create and fund Learning Development roles lean towards a model of fixing ‘deficits’ in students and their work; meanwhile, Learning Development’s professional association, ALDinHE, rejects those same deficit premises. In this article, using a theoretical framework and terminology from Evans (2008; 2011), I analyse the differences between those states of professionalism ‘demanded of’ and ‘enacted by’ Learning Developers. By coding various external and internal documents which frame job roles, I deduce how the two ‘professionalisms’ interact to resolve their inherent tensions; I identify a point of coalescence around Learning Development as a niche for mediation and demystification. I also explore how Learning Developers believe their profession can best evolve and sustain, via community-internal voices in literature and a survey of 14 ALDinHE members. Findings suggest that Learning Development remains a unique and valued activity, to which professional identity is attached. However, a precise sense among the ALDinHE community of what ‘equals’ a professional Learning Developer remains debated. More coherent is the community’s wish to see its values (Learning Development) permeate across the wider higher education landscape.

An institutional case study of a transformative approach to access and engagement for widening participation in higher education

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 132-145
Author(s):  
Anthony Aylmer
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Cultural Capital ◽  
Virtual Learning Environment ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Widening Participation ◽  
Diverse Backgrounds ◽  
Transformative Approach ◽  
Participation In Higher Education ◽  
Method Analysis

The recognition that increased numbers of students from diverse backgrounds accessing higher education (HE) is juxtaposed with increased numbers of students withdrawing from their studies (Pope, Ladwa and Hayes, 2017), has highlighted an increased need to explore specific support strategies post enrolment. Such ambition has more recently been reaffirmed by the Office for Students (OfS), who have emphasised the need for new approaches pertaining to access, participation and success since being established in 2018. This paper presents an institutional case study focusing on a transformative approach to access and engagement for students in HE. The initial part of this paper provides an outline of the specific approaches adopted by the case study institution, set against a theoretical backdrop of habitus and cultural capital. The second part of this paper discusses the findings from a small-scale research project emanating from a framework method analysis on student forum records over a five year period. Results illuminated the importance of varied and engaging teaching practices, tutor accessibility and the important role that the virtual learning environment can have on supporting students and enhancing habitus and cultural capital.

Agency and Advocacy: Disabled Students in Higher Education in Ghana and Tanzania

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 383-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Morley ◽  
Alison Croft
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
International Development ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Widening Participation ◽  
Disabled People ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Higher Education Access ◽  
Education Access ◽  
Education In Ghana

Between 10% and 15% of the world's population are thought to be disabled. The 2006 United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is an example of emerging global policy architecture for human rights for disabled people. Article 24 states that disabled people should receive the support required to facilitate their effective education. In research, links between higher education access, equalities and disability are being explored by scholars of the sociology of higher education. However, with the exception of some small-scale studies from Zimbabwe, South Africa, Rwanda, Namibia, Uganda and Pakistan, literature tends to come from the global North. Yet there is a toxic correlation between disability and poverty – especially in the global South. This article is based on a review of the global literature on disability in higher education and interview findings from the project ‘Widening Participation in Higher Education in Ghana and Tanzania: developing an Equity Scorecard’, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and the Department for International Development. A central finding was that while disability was associated with constraints, misrecognition, frustration, exclusion and even danger, students' agency, advocacy and achievement in higher education offered opportunities for transforming spoiled identities.

scholarly journals Developing Learning Together - Learning Development Networks and LearnHigher

1969 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Keenan
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Learning Development ◽  
Education Network ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Learning Together

This article reflects on the potential of communities and networks, and on the relationship between the Learning Development in Higher Education Network (LDHEN), the Association for Learning Development in Higher Education (ALDinHE) and the LearnHigher CETL.

FACULTY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS: THE FREQUENCY AND VARIETY OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS AVAILABLE TO ONLINE INSTRUCTORS

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Heather Herman
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Faculty Development ◽  
Online Instruction ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
Online Instructors ◽  
Learning Development ◽  
Printed Materials

Online education is no longer a peripheral phenomenon in higher education: over one-third of faculty have taught or developed an online course. As institutions of higher education expand their online education offerings, administrators need to recognize that supporting faculty through the use of incentives and through effective faculty development programs for online instruction is important to the improvement of the quality of educational programs. This quantitative study used an online survey to investigate the types and frequency of faculty development programs for online instruction at institutions with an established teaching and learning development unit (TLDU). The average TLDU offered about fifteen different types of faculty development programs, the most common being websites, technical services, printed materials, and consultation with instructional design experts.

scholarly journals Running up a Down-Escalator in the Middle of a Class Structure Gone Pear-Shaped

2013 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 171-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Ainley ◽  
Martin Allen
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Middle Class ◽  
Widening Participation ◽  
Class Structure ◽  
Private Providers

Whilst widening participation to higher education was approaching New Labour's target of 50% of 18-30s (for women at least), it was presented as a professionalisation of the proletariat but in reality and in hindsight it can be seen to have disguised a proletarianisation of the professions - for which HE supposedly prepares its graduates - with many reduced to para-professions at best. It is argued therefore that education as a whole faces a credibility crunch. However, many have nowhere else to go since without qualifications they face falling into the so-called ‘underclass’ which was widely seen to have manifested itself in the riots of summer 2011. Like other commentators, we point out that the majority of youth did not riot and focus instead upon the children of the new working-middle class who are running up a down-escalator of devalued qualifications. This only intensifies national hysteria about education as the Coalition's reception of Browne's Review restricts competitive academic HE entry to those who can afford tripled fees, while relegating those who cannot to ‘Apprenticeships Without Jobs’ (cf. Finn 1987 ) in FE and private providers. With reference to Allen and Ainley (2011) , this paper speculates as to the likely outcome of this generational crisis.

‘I don’t want to go to a crummy little university’: social class, higher education choice and the paradox of widening participation

2009 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 209-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tina Byrom
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Class ◽  
Young People ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Summer School ◽  
Widening Participation ◽  
Education Choice ◽  
School Based ◽  
Institutional Habitus ◽  
Participation In Higher Education

Whilst there has been growing attention paid to the imbalance of Higher Education (HE) applications according to social class, insufficient attention has been paid to the successful minority of working-class young people who do secure places in some of the UK’s leading HE institutions. In particular, the influence and nature of pre-university interventions on such students’ choice of institution has been under-explored. Data from an ESRC-funded PhD study of 16 young people who participated in a Sutton Trust Summer School are used to illustrate how the effects of a school-based institutional habitus and directed intervention programmes can be instrumental in guiding student choices and decisions relating to participation in Higher Education.

Editorial

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Eva Cendon ◽  
John Butcher
Keyword(s):  
Further Education ◽  
University Education ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Widening Participation ◽  
The North ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
International Perspectives ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
International Sector ◽  
The Uk

This general edition of the journal provides insights and results of research employing a wide range of approaches and perspectives on widening participation and lifelong learning. Studies from across the UK and international sector utilise different methodological approaches, and as such are particularly interesting, with diverse methods and ways of analysis, including phenomenographic, narrative, and thematic analysis. Overall, the articles range from exploratory case studies and small-scale research to wider range and broad scale studies, highlighting different facets and perspectives. Furthermore, the articles in this volume cover a broad spectrum of institutions and places involved in widening participation, with an emphasis on the (higher) education sector in the UK balanced by international perspectives. The first seven empirical articles are based on research activities in a secondary school, a youth centre, in further education colleges (usually focusing on post-compulsory secondary or pre-university education), in so-called post-92 universities (new(er) universities, formerly Polytechnics and teacher training colleges), and last but not least in a research intensive Russell Group university. They reported challenges from the specific local contexts of different regions in England, from the South (Chichester) to London to the North (Carlisle), and can usefully be framed in the context of international discussions appearing later in the journal.

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