Getting it from the Web: why and how online resources are used by independent undergraduate learners

Undergraduate students access the Internet for a range of purposes, many unrelated to their studies. Increasingly, learners are using the Internet to find information and resources for coursework, whether or not this is promoted or endorsed by their teachers. This article reports an interview study that investigated why and how independent learners use Web-based resources, exploring not only the academic context of the courses studied, but also any relevant personal, domestic and employment-related circumstances. Factors were identified which enhanced or competed with study activities, acting as incentives or disincentives for learners. The findings suggest that it is not technologies per se, but a combination of various contextual factors that determine students’ use of Web resources for learning. Of the academic factors that emerged from the interviews, assessment requirements and pedagogic approach were particularly important

Competencies for food graduate careers: developing a language tool

Unlike many other graduate career pathways in the UK, the food industry does not have a cohesive competency framework to support employers, students and degree providers. Food sciences-based technical graduates are a significant proportion of the industry’s graduate intake; this study aims to provide such a framework. Initial work involving a sample of representative stakeholders has created a list of typical attributes and associated definitions that may be desirable in food sciences graduates. Material was gathered by semi-structured qualitative interviews and analysed by thematic analysis followed by a modified Delphi technique. The resulting framework is tailored to needs and terminology prevalent in food industry employment. The process employed could be utilised for building other vocational graduate competency frameworks. Further plans include using the framework to ascertain the important elements for typical graduate entry roles, better informing students about desirable qualities and supporting future competency-based curriculum review

Is Bologna working? Employer and graduate reflections of the quality, value and relevance of business and management education in four European Union countries

This article focuses on the relevance of undergraduate business and management higher education from the perspectives of recent graduates and graduate employers in four European countries. Drawing upon the findings of an empirical qualitative study in which data was collated and analysed using grounded theory research techniques, the paper draws attention to graduates' and employers' perceptions of the value of higher education in equipping students with discipline-specific skills and knowledge as well as softer 'generic' skills. It also highlights the importance of formal 'work-based' learning within undergraduate curricula in providing students with the skills and experiences required by employers operating within a global workplace

Problematising social mobility in relation to Higher Education policy

This paper problematises the concept of social mobility through an exploration of it in relation to Higher Education policy in England. Based upon a content analysis of a number of key policy documents from distinct eras, it identifies definitions and understandings of social mobility within them, exploring how such references have changed over time, and critiquing the differences between the imagined ideals of what policy rhetoric seeks to do and the reality of policy implementation. In particular, it considers the characterisation of social mobility as an individualised concern; it positions aspirations of improving social mobility within the market of Higher Education; and it ultimately asks whether Higher Education can solve the government's social mobility problem

The voice of the student as a ‘consumer’

Bunce discusses the impact of students being defined as ‘consumers’ of their higher education. The chapter first considers when and why students came to be defined as consumers in England and Wales, UK, and then reflects upon the advantages and disadvantages associated with treating students as consumers of their education. This discussion includes the perspectives of both students and academic staff, and reviews empirical evidence about the effects of students themselves identifying as consumers on their approaches to learning and academic performance. The chapter concludes with a summary of the challenges for universities when listening to the student as consumer voice and emphasises the importance of striking a balance between making students feel heard, while resisting the notion that ‘the customer is always right’

‘The Best and the Brightest’: Widening Participation and Social Justice in Contemporary English Social Work Education

Social work education in England has a long track record of success in widening participation to disadvantaged student populations. However, more recently these successes have instead been cast as a burden that is negatively impacting on the calibre of students entering the profession. Alongside this reconceptualisation, new fast-track models of education have been introduced, providing a quicker and more financially supported a route of entry to the profession. This article critically examines the changing nature of widening participation in social work education and how fast-track social work programmes are perpetuating the inequalities that are inherent at all levels of the English educational system. This discussion is shown to have implications for widening participation policy agenda beyond social work. The concerns that are raised should be of interest to any other jurisdictions considering the possibility of a fast-track approach to social work education. A social justice approach-based bringing students together is proposed as an alternative and preferable model of social work education

An Approach To The Effects Of Greek Regional Universities On The Development Of The Country Regions

Although the start of the debate on the contribution of universities to local and regional development dates back several decades, it is only in the past 25 years that it has been intensified and seen from a new perspective in terms of of investigation and consideration. It is therefore imperative that the 'higher education - development' relationship be reviewed and placed on a different basis. The causes for this are the major change in the content of 'development' and the concept of 'university' (mainly in terms of its role in society and the economy), new policies and socio-economic conditions globally, the contemporary weight attributed to new technologies and knowledge dissemination as a 'development factor', as well as the large number of unsuccessful attempts to use the universities as a 'means' for development. In the context of this general consideration at global level, this chapter seeks to investigate whether the Greek regional universities - as they have been established, allocated, organised and operated - have played, and may play, some part in the development of the broader areas (region, town). In other words, this chapter attempts to investigate whether the expansion of higher education institutions throughout Greece has contributed to the improvement in the quality standard of education and a resolution of the country's 'regional problem'. The implementation of the study was based on the investigation of the relevant international and Greek bibliography, and on a series of surveys focusing on: a) the Greek planning system for 'development', 'spatial', 'regional policies' and their association with 'higher education', and b) the entirety of regional universities and cities - prefecture capitals of Greece, placing special emphasis on the seventeen university cities