European higher education students:contested constructions

There are currently over 35 million students within Europe and yet, to date, we have no clear understanding of the extent to which understandings of ‘the student’ are shared across the continent. Thus, a central aim of this article is to investigate how the contemporary higher education student understands their own role, and the extent to which this differs both within nation-states and across them. This is significant in terms of implicit (and sometimes explicit) assumptions that are made about common understandings of ‘the student’ across Europe – underpinning, for example, initiatives to increase cross-border educational mobility and the wider development of a European Higher Education Area. Drawing on data from students across Europe – and particularly plasticine models participants made to represent their understanding of themselves as students – we argue that, in many cases, there is an important disconnect between the ways in which students are constructed within policy, and how they understand themselves. The models produced by participants typically foregrounded learning and hard work rather than more instrumental concerns commonly emphasised within policy. This brings into question assertions made in the academic literature that recent reforms have had a direct effect on the subjectivities of students, encouraging them to be more consumerist in their outlook. Nevertheless, we have also shown that student conceptualisations differ, to some extent, by nation-state, evident particularly in Spain and Poland, and by institution – most notably in England and Spain, which have the most vertically differentiated higher education systems. These differences suggest that, despite the ‘policy convergence’ manifest in the creation of a European Higher Education Area, understandings of what it means to be a student in Europe today remain contested

Schooling inequality: aspirations, institutional practices and social class reproduction

Despite a mass expansion of the higher education sector in the UK since the 1960s, young people from disadvantaged backgrounds remain less likely to enter university (and in particular elite institutions) than their advantaged counterparts. Governmental approaches to narrowing this gap have tended to revolve around the provision of greater information and a raising of aspirations. This thesis contributes to sociological knowledge through exploring young people’s aspirations and opportunities in light of this context, paying close attention to how these are shaped through interactions with the institution of education. It does so through a focus on three schools in one city in England. Grand Hill Grammar (an independent fee paying school), Einstein High (a state-maintained school in a wealthy area) and Eagles Academy (a state-maintained school in a disadvantaged area). The fieldwork included a survey of over 800 pupils in years 7, 9 and 11 in each school, semi-structured interviews with 6-8 pupils per year per school and one careers advisor per school (n=60). Overall, whilst there were notable differences in the expression of occupational and educational aspirations across the three schools, my findings question a direct causal relationship between social class and aspiration. I found many young people in all schools aspiring to attend university and get a ‘good job’. Nevertheless, this thesis highlights the everyday institutional structures and practices at play which were powerfully rendering young people more or less able to pursue a desired pathway. This was largely manifest in the differential structures of GCSE and A Level options alongside variations in the practices of careers advisors in each school. In this thesis I offer a critique of the dominant political conception of ‘aspiration’, offering instead a Bourdieusian account which considers the role of what I call institutional concerted cultivation in the reproduction of social class inequality

Higher education students as consumers? Evidence from England

It is now widely assumed in England – by academics and social commentators alike – that, as a result of the introduction of a wide range of market reforms over the past few decades, English students have become consumers of higher education (HE). In this chapter we draw on two sources of data to interrogate critically these assumptions in relation to both students’ choice-making processes and experiences of degree-level study. Firstly, we analyse the extent to which students are constructed as consumers in contemporary policy documents, including the white paper Success as a Knowledge Economy: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice (DBIS, 2016), which provides the basis for the Higher Education Bill which has recently passed through the UK parliament. Secondly, we consider the extent to which these constructions are shared by students themselves, using data from focus groups in a diverse sample of English higher education institutions (HEIs). We explore whether students contest these constructions and/or offer their own alternatives. The structure of our chapter is as follows: we first discuss the background to the research, by outlining key facets of the higher education system in England, and some of the main theoretical debates that are pertinent to our study. We then briefly describe our research methods before going on to present our findings in some detail – comparing the degree of congruence between policy constructions and student understandings. In our conclusion, we discuss some of the systemic challenges that emerge from our data

Students as political actors? Similarities and differences across six European nations

Drawing on data from students, higher education staff and policymakers from six European countries, this article argues that it remains a relatively common assumption that students should be politically engaged. However, while students articulated a strong interest in a wide range of political issues, those working in higher education and influencing higher education policy tended to believe that students were considerably less politically active than their predecessors. Moreover, while staff and policy influencers typically conceived of political engagement in terms of collective action, articulated through common reference to the absence of a ‘student movement’ or unified student voice, students’ narratives tended not to valorise ‘student movements’ in the same way and many categorised as ‘political’ action they had taken alone and/or with a small number of other students. Alongside these broad commonalities across Europe, the article also evidences some key differences between nation-states, institutions and disciplines. In this way, it contributes to the comparative literature on young people’s political engagement specifically, as well as wider debates about the ways in which higher education students are understood

The Paired Peers project report

Paired Peers is three-year qualitative longitudinal project following a cohort of students drawn from two universities in the same English city, the University of Bristol (UoB) and the University of the West of England (UWE), through three years of their undergraduate degree (2010-2013. The overall aims of the project were to discover:1. How the experiences of students were differentiated by class2. What kind of capitals students brought into university with them (economic, social and cultural) and what capitals they acquired during their university years3. In this way, to begin to explore in what ways university might promote, or not promote, social mobility

Temporal course of cognitive and behavioural changes in motor neuron diseases

Background Cognitive and behavioural dysfunction may occur in people with motor neuron disease (MND), with some studies suggesting an association with the C9ORF72 repeat expansion. Their onset and progression, however, is poorly understood. We explored how cognition and behaviour change over time, and whether demographic, clinical and genetic factors impact these changes. Methods Participants with MND were recruited through the Phenotype-Genotype-Biomarker study. Every 3–6 months, the Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioural ALS Screen (ECAS) was used to assess amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) specific (executive functioning, verbal fluency, language) and ALS non-specific (memory, visuospatial) functions. Informants reported on behaviour symptoms via semi-structured interview. Results Participants with neuropsychological data at ≥3 visits were included (n=237, mean age=59, 60% male), of which 18 (8%) were C9ORF72 positive. Baseline cognitive impairment was apparent in 18 (8%), typically in ALS specific domains, and associated with lower education, but not C9ORF72 status. Cognition, on average, remained stable over time, with two exceptions: (1) C9ORF72 carriers declined in all ECAS domains, (2) 8%–9% of participants with baseline cognitive impairment further declined, primarily in the ALS non-specific domain, which was associated with less education. Behavioural symptoms were uncommon. Conclusions In this study, cognitive dysfunction was less common than previously reported and remained stable over time for most. However, cognition declines longitudinally in a small subset, which is not entirely related to C9ORF72 status. Our findings raise questions about the timing of cognitive impairment in MND, and whether it arises during early clinically manifest disease or even prior to motor manifestations

Addressing an HIV cure in LMIC

HIV-1 persists in infected individuals despite years of antiretroviral therapy (ART), due to the formation of a stable and long-lived latent viral reservoir. Early ART can reduce the latent reservoir and is associated with post-treatment control in people living with HIV (PLWH). However, even in post-treatment controllers, ART cessation after a period of time inevitably results in rebound of plasma viraemia, thus lifelong treatment for viral suppression is indicated. Due to the difficulties of sustained life-long treatment in the millions of PLWH worldwide, a cure is undeniably necessary. This requires an in-depth understanding of reservoir formation and dynamics. Differences exist in treatment guidelines and accessibility to treatment as well as social stigma between low- and-middle income countries (LMICs) and high-income countries. In addition, demographic differences exist in PLWH from different geographical regions such as infecting viral subtype and host genetics, which can contribute to differences in the viral reservoir between different populations. Here, we review topics relevant to HIV-1 cure research in LMICs, with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa, the region of the world bearing the greatest burden of HIV-1. We present a summary of ART in LMICs, highlighting challenges that may be experienced in implementing a HIV-1 cure therapeutic. Furthermore, we discuss current research on the HIV-1 latent reservoir in different populations, highlighting research in LMIC and gaps in the research that may facilitate a global cure. Finally, we discuss current experimental cure strategies in the context of their potential application in LMICs