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2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shakiba Kazemian ◽  
Susan Barbara Grant

Purpose The paper aims to explore “content” factors influencing consumptive and contributive use of enterprise social networking within UK higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach The methodology uses genre analysis and grounded theory to analyse empirical data from posts obtained through Microsoft Yammer and a focus group. Findings The findings reveal the motivators-outcomes-strategies and the barriers-outcomes-strategies of users. Motivators (M) include feature value, Information value, organizational requirement and adequate organizational and technical support. Barriers (B) include six factors, including resisting engagement on the online platform, emotional anxiety, loss of knowledge, the lack of organizational pressure, lack of content quality and lack of time. An Outcomes (O) framework reveals benefits and dis-benefits and strategies (S) relating to improving user engagement. Practical implications The research method and resultant model may serve as guidelines to higher educational establishments interested in motivating their staff and scholars around the use of enterprise social network (ESN) systems, especially during face-to-face restrictions. Originality/value This research study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic which provides a unique setting to examine consumptive and contributive user behaviour of ESN’s. Furthermore, the study develops a greater understanding of “content” factors leading to the benefits or dis-benefits of ESN use, drawing on user motivators, barriers and strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic in UK education.


2022 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Adewumi ◽  
Laura R. Bailey ◽  
Emma Mires-Richards ◽  
Kathleen M. Quinlan ◽  
Evangeline Agyeman ◽  
...  

Increasingly across many UK higher education institutions staff and students are questioning and challenging systemic inequalities that affect racially minoritised groups in their learning and sense of belonging within the curriculum. Students are calling for inclusion of diverse sources of knowledge and perspectives, especially from scholars of colour and from the Global South, to enrich what is currently perceived to be a Eurocentric canon. One way to promote more culturally aligned pedagogy is through diversifying reading lists. This article presents findings from two pilot studies that explored the reading lists in one department in social sciences and one in the humanities at the University of Kent, UK. Applying critical race theory as a guiding framework, the first part of the article examines the ways in which a diverse curriculum must include the voices of the marginalised. It then describes the methods: a desk-based review of the reading lists, interviews with academics to inform the work, disseminate the findings, instigate further action and identify future needs, and student focus groups. Crucially, the project resulted from the collaboration between students and staff, and across departments and disciplines. We found that reading lists in both departments overwhelmingly comprised items by White male authors. Students and staff both reflected on the importance of not only curriculum diversification but also barriers to diversification and decolonisation. The article discusses the impact of this project, which has led to a Diversity Mark process, and the Diversity Mark Toolkit, which can be used in any discipline when putting together reading lists to create a more culturally competent curriculum. It concludes by considering other systemic changes needed, with particular attention to changes needed in library services and collections.


2022 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Aljosa Sestanovic ◽  
Fayyaz Hussain Qureshi ◽  
Sarwar Khawaja

This paper analyses the role and significance of the endowments for the UK higher education system. We have systematised the metrics commonly used to measure the performance of the academic endowments. To collect the data about universities and colleges, we exploited the data provided by the HESA (Higher Education Statistics Agency) that collect and disseminate UK higher education data and the data provided by the Charity Commission for England and Wales. The size of the university and colleges endowments is valued using their respective financial statements, using endowment reserve account of the balance sheet.The academic endowments linked with the UK universities and colleges are estimated to be worth £15.8 billion in 2020. According to the number of the endowments linked with universities and colleges endowments, they play a significant role in the UK higher education system. However, there is a notable difference concerning endowment size between the few most reputable academic institutions and other universities and colleges. For example, the two largest endowments (the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge with accompanied colleges endowments) in 2020 had a share of 75% measured by the size of the endowment assets. Moreover, this 75% has been stable during the last several years.In addition, the UK academic endowments are much smaller than their US counterparts and thus generally have lesser significance for the UK higher education system, while they may play a significant role for particular institutions. The endowment size per student has also been much smaller in the UK than in the US. Except for the six universities and colleges, the share of the income coming from endowments and donations in the total income has been relatively low, 2% or less. Considering the long history and tradition of the endowments in England, their role in the UK higher education system is deeply rooted. However, with their historical performance and significance for some higher education providers, there is an opportunity for a more prominent role in the future.


Author(s):  
Dr. Ernestine Gheyoh Ndzi ◽  
Dr. Anjali Raj Westwood

Gender equality is integral to a universities’ strategy and agenda. However, there is a gap when looking through the lens of shared parental leave (SPL) or breastfeeding. This research investigates the causal relationship between SPL, breastfeeding, and workplace support. A survey targeting women working in UK Higher Education Institutions was conducted between February and July 2021, and 49 completed responses were recorded. Women reported knowledge of SPL but not all workplaces were offering SPL, it wasn’t easily accessible and often too complex to understand. Breastfeeding policies and workplace resources were minimal. Lack of breastfeeding support on return to work affected women’s decision to take SPL. Recommendations include the creation of more accessible policies (SPL and breastfeeding), providing examples of parents who have utilized SPL, dissemination of information on SPL and breastfeeding when women announce their pregnancy and on return to work, and adequate resources in the workplace to support breastfeeding mothers.


Author(s):  
Emma Croft

Abstract This article explores visually impaired (vi) and blind students’ experiences of support as an undergraduate student in UK higher education (he) by focusing specifically on relationships and interactions between vi and blind students and support staff within Higher Education. Participants within this research show how their experiences highlight an uneven and often exclusionary Higher Education landscape. Constructions of disability and impairment show a complex relationship between support provision as it is offered and experienced. The findings overall suggest the experience of support is more than the placing together of student and support worker and concerns the management of this relationship, particularly around underlying assumptions about being vi. Support is not unnecessary or unwelcome, instead, the complexity of the relationship, the additional work associated with support experienced by these students, combine to shape academic experience.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Liz Cain ◽  
John E. Goldring ◽  
Julie Scott Jones

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to discuss the “Q-Step in the Community” programme, part of the Q-Step Centre based in the Sociology Department at Manchester Metropolitan University, designed to help address the skills gap in quantitative methods (QM) that is evident across parts of the UK higher-education sector. “Q-Step in the Community” is a data-driven work-based learning programme that works in partnership with local organisations to provide placement opportunities for final year undergraduates and postgraduates. Students conduct a quantitative research project, which is typically identified by the placement provider.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use quantitative and qualitative feedback from students and placement providers, along with our own reflections on the process to evaluate the placement programme. Data were collected through a focus group and email interviews with placement providers, along with a questionnaire, which was distributed to “Q-Step in the Community” alumni.FindingsData-driven work-based learning opportunities allow students to develop and demonstrate their quantitative skills and support networking opportunities whilst also developing valuable soft-skills experience of the workplace that develops their career-readiness. In addition, those opportunities provide valuable research for placement providers, which support their sustainability and enhance their service delivery.Research limitations/implicationsThe research focusses solely on one programme at one university offering quantitative data driven work-based learning opportunities at undergraduate and post-graduate level. It is not possible to make valid comparisons between those who do a placement with those who do not.Originality/valueViews of key stakeholders in the process have been sought for this research, which can be useful to consider for others considering developing similar programmes for their students.


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 9-36
Author(s):  
Joanna MacDonnell ◽  
Amandip Bisel

The University of Brighton commissioned a university-wide study to identify some of the factors contributing to the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic degree awarding gap at UK Higher Education Institutions from the perspective of the students that it impacts. An Action Research focus-group approach was used to inform the planning for the institutional 2020–2025 Access and Participation Plan and an application for the Advance HE Race Equality Charter. This project focused on students who were identified as British and/or qualified for home (UK-resident) tuition fees. This paper presents the positive and negative factors identified from the focus groups as having a potential impact on the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic student experience. Findings are separated into two categories, the academic student experience and the non-academic student experience, and the paper highlights those factors which were consistent across the institution's provision. The paper also discusses the multifaceted, whole-institution approach which has been taken in response to these findings and the principles underpinning the actions and interventions. Final remarks share reflections on the learning, both at an institutional and sector-level, and next steps that the University of Brighton intends to take to improve the student experience and address degree awarding gaps.


2021 ◽  
pp. 095001702110505
Author(s):  
Anastasios Hadjisolomou ◽  
Fotios Mitsakis ◽  
Steven Gary

This article discusses the story of Steven, a precarious academic worker, and his decision to work from home while being infected with Covid-19; a phenomenon called virtual presenteeism. As argued, Steven’s sickness presence is the outcome of the increasing precarity and job insecurity in the sector, as well as the outcome of a presenteeism culture in academia which is being facilitated by technology and the blended learning approach adopted during the pandemic. The article outlines precarious academic workers’ fear to go off sick, illustrating how Steven negotiates the precarity of his contract via virtual presenteeism to portray over-commitment to the institution and avoid the risk of job loss. As concluded, while blended learning becomes the new educational norm in higher education, virtual presenteeism risks becoming the new attendance norm. This article calls for more research to examine how the blended teaching approach will further impact on academic work, post-pandemic.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karolina Domesova ◽  
Shahzeb Hussain ◽  
Suyash Khaneja

This paper covers an insight on how EU students specifically ‘Czech students’ would behave after Brexit, i.e. how Brexit would affect their selection of the UK higher education. Further, this study also examines why Czech students would choose UK over other EU and English speaking countries. In particular, this study examines three objectives: (i) to examine why Czech students would choose the UK over other European countries, (ii) to examine what are the value-added features that UK higher education would provide to students from the Czech Republic, and (iii) to examine how Brexit would affect Czech students’ selection of the UK’s higher education. A qualitative study was conducted with students based in universities in North-East. The findings suggest that Czech students choose UK because of its language, global recognition, job prospects, work-based learning, innovative teaching methods, quality of teaching, less distance between UK and Czech Republic, culture, and international environment are some of the reasons to choose UK as destination. Further, they have suggested that coming UK was their and their families’ dream. They have also explained that after Brexit, UK would not be as attractive as the current time. They mentioned that limitations in students’ loans, financial help, internships, NHS facilities, increase in prices, racial abuses, and fees would be few of the reasons to stop them to choose UK for higher educations. Implications and limitations are discussed in the study.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0942/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pavel Prokopic

This article outlines an exploratory approach to the delivery of film practice education, as developed and tested with a second-year undergraduate module in cinematography. Students were provided with two existing creative sound pieces composed by a professional sound designer within the context of an AHRC-funded practice research project entitled Affective Cinema. These aspects of sound design inspired and informed the students’ work, while allowing them to focus upon the module’s key learning outcomes as related to camera and lighting skills. Above all, the approach allowed for aspects of the film theory synthesised through the preceding research – and pertinent to the nature and unique expressive potential of film – to be partially absorbed and learned by the students through practical experimentation, thus becoming an embodied, tacit practitioner knowledge. In this respect, I argue that such approaches help transcend the fraught divisions between film practice and film theory.


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