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.

The Faces of Institutionalized Discrimination and Systemic Oppression in Higher Education: Uncovering the Lived Experience of Bias and Procedural Inequity

2021 ◽  
pp. 107780042110268
Author(s):  
Yvonna S. Lincoln ◽  
Christine A. Stanley
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Personal Experience ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Faculty Of Color ◽  
Minority Faculty ◽  
Institutional Policies ◽  
Systemic Oppression

With seven cases drawn from both personal experience and informal interviews with colleagues from other research-intensive universities, we attempt to demonstrate the forms institutionalized discrimination and systemic oppression can take and if it is supported by policies or procedures encoded into an institution’s rules and regulations. We suggest heuristics for reexamining such procedures to more fully address such inherent biases. We proffer a qualitative methodological approach not only to explore the lived experiences of faculty of color but also to explore the latent as well as manifest meanings of these experiences for the faculty involved, which are frequently neither obvious nor transparent to both non-minority faculty and those responsible for carrying out institutional policies and regulations. Finally, we offer some criticisms of qualitative research in this arena to which organizational researchers must attend.

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.

scholarly journals The King Abdulaziz University (KAU) Pandemic Framework: A Methodological Approach to Leverage Social Media for the Sustainable Management of Higher Education in Crisis

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 4367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdulrahman Obaid AI-Youbi ◽  
Abdulmonem Al-Hayani ◽  
Hisham J. Bardesi ◽  
Mohammed Basheri ◽  
Miltiadis D. Lytras ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Strategic Decision ◽  
Methodological Framework ◽  
King Abdulaziz University ◽  
Comprehensive Framework

The recent pandemic has raised significant challenges worldwide. In higher education, the necessity to adopt efficient strategies to sustain education during the crisis is mobilizing diverse, complementary, and integrative action in response. In this research article, we rise to the challenge of designing and implementing a transparent strategy for social media awareness at King Abdulaziz University (KAU). We introduce a framework for social media impact, termed the KAU Pandemic Framework. This includes the factors with the most important role in enhancing the deployment of social media in crisis in order to minimize the negative impact on education’s sustainability. We used a mixed-methods approach, integrating quantitative statistical analyses of social media data and online surveys and qualitative interviews in such a way as to construct a comprehensive framework. The results show that a methodological framework can be justified and that Twitter contributes significantly to six areas: administrative resilience; education sustainability; community responsibility; positive sentiment; community bonds; and delivery of promised value. The components of our proposed methodological framework integrate five pillars of the strategic adoption of social media: social media governance; social media resilience; social media utilization; decision-making capability; and institutional strategy. Finally, we show that the KAU Pandemic Framework can be used as strategic decision-making tool for the analysis of the gaps and inefficiencies in any social media plan that is deployed and the management challenges arising from the pandemic.

scholarly journals Development and Validation of a Shared Governance Feasibility Instrument in Nursing Schools in Iran

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryam Sattarzadeh-Pashabeig ◽  
Foroozan Atashzadeh –Shoorideh ◽  
Mohammad-Mehdi Sadoughi ◽  
Alice Khachian ◽  
Mansoureh Zagheri-Tafreshi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Shared Governance ◽  
High Reliability ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Nursing Schools ◽  
Psychometric Validation ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Higher Education Centers

Abstract To develop and validate a shared governance feasibility instrument in schools of nursing in Iran with respect to the nature of the profession and the sociocultural context of the Iranian community. Background: Nursing schools are liable to the application of shared governance due to the presence of various expert educational groups within the school that necessitates reciprocal cooperation. Since the concept of shared governance is culture-based and given that no full-fledged study has been conducted on shared governance in Iran, the development of a suitable shared governance feasibility instrument is rendered as mandatory. Methods: This sequential exploratory mixed method study consisted of two qualitative and quantitative parts was accomplished 2016-2019. First, the primary items were extracted through extensive review of literature and qualitative interviews and underwent psychometric validation using a methodological approach. Face, content, construct validity, reliability of the instrument was established were done. Results: 150 items were distilled from the first stage of the study, was reduced to 70 after establishing face and content validity, and primary reliability. Exploratory factor analysis resulted in 52 items covering the two factors “shared atmosphere and culture” and “infrastructural prerequisites”. These two factors accounted for 78.6% of the total variance of the questionnaire. In calculating the final reliability coefficient of the instrument, Cronbach’s alpha and Omega were 0.981 and 0.805, respectively. The results showed an ICC of 0.91 indicating high reliability of the developed instrument with standard error of measurement (SEM) of 10.43. Finally, the items underwent weighting via scoring by considering item weights due to differences between the two methods. Conclusion: “Shared governance feasibility instrument” can provide a new insight to organizational performance for all policy-makers and beneficiaries of higher education. This not only leads to the use of intelligence and capabilities of the beneficiaries, but also aids in faster movement toward achieving organizational goals. Implications for Nursing Management: This study and the developed instrument may serve as guide for the feasibility of implementing shared governance to assess management styles and performance in higher education centers.

scholarly journals Beyond listening: the value of co-research in the co-construction of narratives

2021 ◽  
pp. 146879412199960
Author(s):  
Sandra Lyndon ◽  
Becky Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Listening Guide ◽  
Working Together ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Over Time

In this article, we discuss how co-research – two researchers working together at each stage of the research process – can be used to analyse narratives created from qualitative interviews (drawing on Brown and Gilligan’s Listening Guide). We argue that co-research affords a richness and depth of analysis and propagates multiple, layered interpretations through a process of co-reflection. To illustrate our approach, we present an analysis of two case studies from the ‘From Adversity to University’ project, a longitudinal qualitative study evaluating the effectiveness of a bridging module as a way into higher education for students who have been affected by homelessness in England. We co-reflect on how our participants, our relationship with our participants and our relationship with each other as researchers has changed over time. We conclude that a co-researcher approach to analysing narratives is textually and emotionally enriching, as the co-constructed multiple interpretations transform not just the analysis of the text but also the relationship between researchers and their participants in new and unexpected ways.

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 Development and Validation of a Shared Governance Feasibility Instrument in Nursing Schools in Iran

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryam Sattarzadeh-Pashabeig ◽  
Foroozan Atashzadeh –Shoorideh ◽  
Mohammad-Mehdi Sadoughi ◽  
Alice Khachian ◽  
Mansoureh Zagheri-Tafreshi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Shared Governance ◽  
High Reliability ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Nursing Schools ◽  
Psychometric Validation ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Higher Education Centers

Abstract To develop and validate a shared governance feasibility instrument in schools of nursing in Iran with respect to the nature of the profession and the sociocultural context of the Iranian community. Background: Nursing schools are liable to the application of shared governance due to the presence of various expert educational groups within the school that necessitates reciprocal cooperation. Since the concept of shared governance is culture-based and given that no full-fledged study has been conducted on shared governance in Iran, the development of a suitable shared governance feasibility instrument is rendered as mandatory. Methods: This sequential exploratory mixed method study consisted of two qualitative and quantitative parts was accomplished 2016-2019. First, the primary items were extracted through extensive review of literature and qualitative interviews and underwent psychometric validation using a methodological approach. Face, content, construct validity, reliability of the instrument was established were done. Results: 150 items were distilled from the first stage of the study, was reduced to 70 after establishing face and content validity, and primary reliability. Exploratory factor analysis resulted in 52 items covering the two factors “shared atmosphere and culture” and “infrastructural prerequisites”. These two factors accounted for 78.6% of the total variance of the questionnaire. In calculating the final reliability coefficient of the instrument, Cronbach’s alpha and Omega were 0.981 and 0.805, respectively. The results showed an ICC of 0.91 indicating high reliability of the developed instrument with standard error of measurement (SEM) of 10.43. Finally, the items underwent weighting via scoring by considering item weights due to differences between the two methods. Conclusion: “Shared governance feasibility instrument” can provide a new insight to organizational performance for all policy-makers and beneficiaries of higher education. This not only leads to the use of intelligence and capabilities of the beneficiaries, but also aids in faster movement toward achieving organizational goals. Implications for Nursing Management : This study and the developed instrument may serve as guide for the feasibility of implementing shared governance to assess management styles and performance in higher education centers.

scholarly journals Development and Validation of a Shared Governance Feasibility Instrument in Nursing Schools in Iran

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryam Sattarzadeh-Pashabeig ◽  
Foroozan Atashzadeh –Shoorideh ◽  
Mohammad-Mehdi Sadoughi ◽  
Alice Khachian ◽  
Mansoureh Zagheri-Tafreshi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Nursing Education ◽  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Shared Governance ◽  
High Reliability ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Nursing Schools ◽  
Psychometric Validation ◽  
Two Factors

Abstract Aim: To develop and validate a shared governance feasibility instrument in schools of nursing in Iran with respect to the nature of the profession and the sociocultural context of the Iranian community. Background: Nursing schools are liable to the application of shared governance due to the presence of various expert educational groups within the school that necessitates reciprocal cooperation. Since the concept of shared governance is culture-based and given that no full-fledged study has been conducted on shared governance in Iran, the development of a suitable shared governance feasibility instrument is rendered as mandatory. Methods: This sequential exploratory mixed method study consisted of two qualitative and quantitative parts was accomplished 2016-2019. First, the primary items were extracted through extensive review of literature and qualitative interviews and underwent psychometric validation using a methodological approach. Face, content, construct validity, reliability of the instrument was established were done. Results: 150 items were distilled from the first stage of the study, was reduced to 70 after establishing face and content validity, and primary reliability. Exploratory factor analysis resulted in 52 items covering the two factors “shared atmosphere and culture” and “infrastructural prerequisites”. These two factors accounted for 78.6% of the total variance of the questionnaire. In calculating the final reliability coefficient of the instrument, Cronbach’s alpha and Omega were 0.981 and 0.805, respectively. The results showed an ICC of 0.91 indicating high reliability of the developed instrument with standard error of measurement (SEM) of 10.43. Finally, the items underwent weighting via scoring by considering item weights due to differences between the two methods. Conclusion: “Shared governance feasibility instrument” can provide a new insight to organizational performance for all policy-makers and beneficiaries of higher education. This not only leads to the use of intelligence and capabilities of the beneficiaries, but also aids in faster movement toward achieving organizational goals. Implications for Nursing Management : This study and the developed instrument may serve as guide for the feasibility of implementing shared governance to assess management styles and performance in higher education centers. Key Words: Nursing education, Nursing schools, Psychometrics, Shared governance

scholarly journals Work-Related Accident Prevention in Norwegian Road and Maritime Transport: Examining the Influence of Different Sector Rules

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 72
Author(s):  
Tor-Olav Nævestad ◽  
Beate Elvebakk ◽  
Karen Ranestad
Keyword(s):  
Safety Management ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Road Transport ◽  
Accident Prevention ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Maritime Transport ◽  
The Road ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Safety Regulations ◽  
Framework Conditions

About 36% of fatal road accidents in Norway involve at least one driver who is “at work”. It has been argued that the implementation of rules clearly defining the responsibility of road transport companies to prevent work related accidents, by implementing safety management systems (SMS), could lead to increased safety. In the present study we tested the validity of this suggestion, by examining the influence of different sector rules on work-related accident prevention in Norwegian road and maritime transport. In contrast to the road sector, the maritime sector has had rules requiring SMS for over 20 years, clearly defining the shipping companies responsibility for prevention of work-related accidents. The aims of the study were to: (1) examine how the different sector rules influence perceptions of whether the responsibility to prevent work-related accidents is clearly defined in each sector; and (2) compare respondents’ perceptions of the quality of their sectors’ efforts to prevent work-related accidents, and factors influencing this. The study was based on a small-scale survey (N = 112) and qualitative interviews with sector experts (N = 17) from companies, authorities, and NGOs in the road and the maritime sectors. Results indicate that respondents in the maritime sector perceive the responsibility to prevent work-related accidents as far more clearly defined, and they rate their sector’s efforts to prevent accidents as higher than respondents in road. Multivariate analyses indicate that this is related to the scope of safety regulations in the sectors studied, controlled for several important framework conditions. Based on the results, we conclude that the implementation of SMS rules focused on transport companies’ responsibility to prevent work-related accidents could improve safety in the road sector. However, due to barriers to SMS implementation in the road sector, we suggest starting with a simplified version of SMS.

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