89 research outputs found
The rural university campus and support for rural innovation
This paper examines the potential for engagement in local innovation activities of six rural university campus developments in the UK. A number of common narratives emerged around the tension between local educational interests, and the needs of local industry. The paper examines both the strategies of the campuses and the expectations of local partners. Whilst these new campuses have been able to add to the regional innovation systems of rural areas, they struggle with economies of scale and scope. Where disciplinary specialisation has been pursued, potential exists for engagement with niche clusters, although a long development period is required. Where campuses have focused on broad educational equity issues, engagement with business has been difficult to achieve. Overall policies to enhance rural innovation through new university campuses must be seen to be very long term strategies and not necessarily congruent with strategies to increase HE participation and equity of opportunity
Improving performance through HEIāindustry engagements in the built environment
The poor performance and inefficiencies of the construction industry are well recognized and documented. Through a variety of combined industry and government initiatives there has been a continual expression in the UK over the last decade of the urgent need to address the fragmented nature of the industry to improve its performance. A major challenge is for education and industry stakeholders to create closer and more effective relationships with each other to facilitate greater mutual understanding. āAccelerating Change in Built Environment Educationā (ACBEE) is a sponsored initiative designed to encourage the closer working together of industry, education and professional bodies to provide more relevant training and education. This paper introduces ACBEE, along with an evaluation framework for measuring the performance of engagements at various levels. This is followed by an analysis of the application of this performance measurement framework through case studies of industryāeducation engagement. A number of case studies were identified as operating at the grades of āstrategic allianceā and āpartnershipā (as classified in the ACBEE evaluation framework). The analysis of these cases focuses on the drivers behind and the purpose of the engagement, and how these are aligned with the business strategy of the collaborating organizations and measurement of the activity. Evidence of meeting the explicit business needs and strategic objectives and the contribution to good practice knowledge are also discussed
Constructing a national higher education brand for the UK: positional competition and promised capitals
This article examines national branding of UK higher education, a strategic intent and action to collectively brand UK higher education with the aim to attract prospective international students, using a Bourdieusian approach to understanding promises of capitals. We trace its development between 1999 and 2014 through a sociological study, one of the first of its kind, from the 'Education UK' and subsumed under the broader 'Britain is GREAT' campaign of the Coalition Government. The findings reveal how a national higher education brand is construed by connecting particular representations of the nation with those of prospective international students and the higher education sector, which combine in the brand with promises of capitals to convert into positional advantage in a competitive environment. The conceptual framework proposed here seeks to connect national higher education branding to the concept of the competitive state, branded as a nation and committed to the knowledge economy
Children's understandings of obesity, a thematic analysis
Childhood obesity is a major concern in todayās society. Research suggests the inclusion of the views and understandings of a target group facilitates strategies that have better efficacy. The objective of this study was to explore the concepts and themes that make up childrenās understandings of the causes and consequences of obesity. Participants were selected from Reception (4-5 years old) and Year 6 (10-11 years old), and attended a school in an area of Sunderland, in North East England. Participants were separated according to age and gender, resulting in four focus groups, run across two sessions. A thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) identified overarching themes evident across all groups, suggesting the key concepts that contribute to childrenās understandings of obesity are āāKnowledge through Education,āā āāRole Models,āā āāFat is Bad,āā and āāMixed Messages.āā The implications of these findings and considerations of the methodology are discussed in full
Evaluating the impact of career management skills module and internship programme within a university business school
This study evaluates the impact of an intervention on business school graduatesā employability comprising of a curriculum-based career management skills (CMS) module and an industrial placement year. The study uses data from the destinations of leavers of higher education survey to examine the employability of different groups within the cohort (no intervention, CMS module only and CMS module plus structured work experience). It finds that structured work experience has clear, positive effects on the ability of graduates to secure employment in āgraduate levelā jobs within six months of graduation. Furthermore, participation in the CMS module also has a clear, positive effect upon the ability of participants to secure employment
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Online support system for students in higher education: Proof-of-concept study
Background: Providing support to the increasing numbers of students facing mental health difficulties in higher education (HE) can be difficult due to stigma or lack of resources. Alternative and/or complementary sources of support are needed, such as online interventions that are recognised for their therapeutic value and cost-effectiveness.
Objectives: We aim to provide evidence supporting the conceptual and practical value of a newly developed online multimedia intervention system for HE students who face mild to moderate symptoms of anxiety and depression and study-skills difficulties.
Methods: Students from five universities were invited to participate in a cross-sectional proof-of-concept study. Students were invited through the universities' internal communication channels. Following demonstration of each part of the system, students completed a survey with quantitative and qualitative questions.
Results: Response was largely positive. Positive responses on the features of the questionnaire ranged between 65% and 86%; on the features of the workshops ranged between 57% and 91%; on 'My place' ranged between 65% and 79%; on the animated videos ranged between 79% and 92%; and on the overall system ranged between 78% and 89%. Participants indicated areas for improvement and ways in which such improvement could be accomplished; these then guided the development of the system.
Conclusions: The results confirm the need for such a system. It can complement student support services (SSS) by dealing with cases with mild to moderate difficulties, hence allowing SSS to prioritise and effectively address more severe cases. Potentially this method can provide a meaningful alternative to SSS; this is worth investigating further
Internationalisation and religious inclusion in United Kingdom higher education
Although not new, the concept of internationalisation, the inclusion of intercultural perspectives and the development of cross-cultural understanding, has gained particular currency and support across the United Kingdom (UK) higher education sector over the last decade. However, within the academic literature, as well as within institutional policy and practice, there has been little disaggregation of the concept of ācultureā; rather there appears to be a tacit belief that all aspects of studentsā cultures should be valued and ācelebratedā on campus. Through the stories told by fifteen Sikh, Muslim, Jewish and Christian students studying at a UK post-1992 university the paper highlights the ways in which religion, a fundamental aspect of the cultural identity, values and practices of many students, is rarely recognised or valorised on campus. This lack of recognition can act to āotherā, marginalise and isolate students and thus undermine the aims of internationalisation, in particular cross-cultural understanding. The paper concludes by arguing that religion should be considered within debates around internationalisation so that all students are represented within a multicultural institutional ethos and to ensure meaningful cross-cultural engagement for all students
āTalent-spottingā or āsocial magicā? Inequality, cultural sorting and constructions of the ideal graduate in elite professions
Graduate outcomes ā including rates of employment and earnings ā are marked by persistent
inequalities related to social class, as well as gender, ethnicity and institution. Despite national
policy agendas related to social mobility and āfair access to the professionsā, high-status occupations
are disproportionately composed of those from socially privileged backgrounds, and evidence
suggests that in recent decades many professions have become less socially representative.
This article makes an original contribution to sociological studies of inequalities in graduate
transitions and elite reproduction through a distinct focus on the āpre-hiringā practices of graduate
employers. It does this through a critical analysis of the graduate recruitment material of two
popular graduate employers. It shows how, despite espousing commitments to diversity and
inclusion, constructions of the āidealā graduate privilege individuals who can mobilise and embody
certain valued capitals. Using Bourdieusian concepts of āsocial magicā and āinstitutional habitusā, the
article argues that more attention must be paid to how graduate employersā practices constitute
tacit processes of social exclusion and thus militate against the achievement of more equitable
graduate outcomes and fair access to the ātop jobs
Communication, Collaboration and Enhancing the Learning Experience: Developing a Collaborative Virtual Enquiry Service in University Libraries in the North of England
This paper uses the case study of developing a collaborative āout of hoursā virtual enquiry service by members of the Northern Collaboration Group of academic libraries in the north of England to explore the importance of communication and collaboration between academic library services in enhancing student learning. Set within the context of a rapidly changing UK higher education sector the paper considers the benefits and challenges of collaboration and the contribution of library services to the student experience. The project demonstrated clear benefits to student learning and evidence of value for money to individual institutions as well as showing commitment to national shared services agendas. Effective communication with students, with colleagues and stakeholders in our own and other Northern Collaboration member institutions, and with OCLC, our partner organisation, was a critical success factor in the development, promotion and uptake of the new service
Individual and Social Influences on Studentsā Attitudes to Debt: a Cross-National Path Analysis Using Data from England and New Zealand
Ā© 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This study examines the construction of debt attitudes among 439 first-year undergraduates in England and New Zealand. It works from a conceptual model that predicts that attitudes will be partly determined by a range of social factors, mediated through personality and āfinancial literacyā. Path analysis is used to explore this model. The proposed model was found to be basically sound, with some notable negative findings. Socio-economic status was found to have a negligible role in determining debt attitudes, while the role of financial literacy was limited to reducing the likelihood of seeing debt as useful for lifestyle expenditure. Debt anxiety was found to be higher among students with a general predisposition to anxiety and inversely related to viewing student debt as a form of educational investment. It is concluded that student debt attitudes are multidimensional and individualised, challenging simplistic ideas of debt aversion in earlier literature
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