Midwifery education and technology enhanced learning: Evaluating online story telling in preregistration midwifery education

Background A major issue regarding the implementation of blended learning for preregistration health programmes is the analysis of students' perceptions and attitudes towards their learning. It is the extent of the embedding of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) into the higher education curriculum that makes this analysis so vital. Objectives This paper reports on the quantitative results of a UK based study that was set up to respond to the apparent disconnect between technology enhanced education provision and reliable student evaluation of this mode of learning. Design Employing a mixed methods research design, the research described here was carried to develop a reliable and valid evaluation tool to measure acceptability of and satisfaction with a blended learning approach, specifically designed for a preregistration midwifery module offered at level 4. Methods Feasibility testing of 46 completed blended learning evaluation questionnaires - Student Midwife Evaluation of Online Learning Effectiveness (SMEOLE) - using descriptive statistics, reliability and internal consistency tests. Results Standard deviations and mean scores all followed predicted pattern. Results from the reliability and internal consistency testing confirm the feasibility of SMEOLE as an effective tool for measuring student satisfaction with a blended learning approach to preregistration learning. Conclusions The analysis presented in this paper suggests that we have been successful in our aim to produce an evaluation tool capable of assessing the quality of technology enhanced, University level learning in Midwifery. This work can provide future benchmarking against which midwifery, and other health, blended learning curriculum planning could be structured and evaluated

Community languages in higher education : towards realising the potential

This study, Community Languages in Higher Education: Towards Realising the Potential, forms part of the Routes into Languages initiative funded by the Higher Education Funding Council in England (HEFCE) and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). It sets out to map provision for community languages, defined as 'all languages in use in a society, other than the dominant, official or national language'. In England, where the dominant language is English, some 300 community languages are in use, the most widespread being Urdu, Cantonese, Punjabi, Bengali, Arabic, Turkish, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, Gujerati, Hindi and Polish. The research was jointly conducted by the Scottish Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research (Scottish CILT) at the University of Stirling, and the SOAS-UCL Centre for Excellence for Teaching and Learning 'Languages of the Wider World' (LWW CETL), between February 2007 and January 2008. The overall aim of this study was to map provision for community languages in higher education in England and to consider how it can be developed to meet emerging demand for more extensive provision

The retreat from widening participation? : the National Scholarship Programme and new access agreements in English higher education

This article critically analyses the impact of reforms to the student financial support system in English higher education. Comparative analysis of financial support mechanisms and patterns of outreach engagement with groups underrepresented in higher education show a marked deterioration in the levels of cash support available and an increasingly focus on the brightest poor students (in the form of merit aid) at the expense of the generality of poorer students since the new support programme came into place. This can be seen as part of a wider policy shift away from generic widening participation to the targeting of specific cohorts to raise the attainment level of intakes or to meet recruitment shortfalls. The findings are located in a context of a (near) trebling of tuition fees, stagnation in overall student numbers and the promotion of market mechanisms, all of which can be seen as a challenge to the notion of social justice through the higher education system

An exploration of important factors in the decision-making process undertaken by foundation degree students with respect to level 6 progression

Deciding what degree to study and where are very important decisions to make for a range of practical and economic reasons, and much research has been undertaken in this area. What has not been considered previously is the decision-making processes of students who have completed an associate degree, such as a Higher National Diploma or Foundation Degree, and are now considering where to complete their Bachelor education. Associate degrees are often provided by further education colleges (FECs) in partnership with universities, and the choices available to college-based higher education students are whether to continue at the college or move to university. A mixed-methods approach was adopted comprising of an online questionnaire and subsequent focus groups of students studying at HE at a southwest FEC. The findings showed that equal importance is placed on the practical issues of proximity and familiarity as on course suitability, with the only differences between those remaining at college and those moving to university being financially based

Raising aspirations: increasing the participation of students with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (Social Communication Difficulties) in Higher Education: report of the HEFCE strand two disability ASPIHE project

The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) funded a Social Communication and Understanding Project in Higher Education (ASPIHE) for a period of two years during 2000-2002. This was a strand two disability project, which aimed to promote and disseminate existing expertise and good practice across the higher education community. The focus was on support for students in higher education who have difficulties in social understanding and communication. This largely consists of students who may have a diagnosis of High Functioning Autism/Asperger Syndrome

Improving performance through HEI–industry 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. ‘Accelerating Change in Built Environment Education’ (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 industry–education engagement. A number of case studies were identified as operating at the grades of ‘strategic alliance’ and ‘partnership’ (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

Critical success factors for embedding carbon management in organizations: lessons from the UK higher education sector

Organizations are under increasing pressure from governments and stakeholders to reduce carbon emissions from their business operations for climate change mitigation. Universities are not exempt from this challenge and are operating in a complex external environment, not least responding to the UK government's Climate Change Act 2008 (80% carbon reductions by 2050 as per 1990 baseline). In 2012–2013, the UK Higher Education (HE) sector consumed 7.9 billion kWh of energy and produced 2.3 million tonnes of carbon emissions. This indicates the scale of the challenge and carbon management is central to reduce carbon emissions. However, effective processes for implementing and embedding carbon management in organizations in general, and universities in particular, have yet to be realized. This paper explores the critical success factors (CSFs) for embedding carbon management in universities and, more widely, in organizations. This exploratory study adopted a mixed-methods approach including the content analysis of universities' carbon management plans alongside semi-structured interviews in the UK HE sector. The paper identifies six key factors for successfully embedding carbon management that are pertinent not just for the HE sector, but to organizations broadly: senior management leadership; funding and resources; stakeholder engagement; planning; governance and management; and evaluation and reporting

Academic inventions outside the university: investigating patent ownership in the UK

This paper investigates the ownership of academic patents for a sample of UK academics and challenges the existing definition of the university invention ownership model. The first descriptive results show that 50% of patents are owned by industry, however, 37% of these firm-assigned patents are in fact owned by university spin-offs. We investigate how university policy and funding acquisition impacts industry vs. university ownership, and find that funding from large firms predicts involvement in patenting and, to a lesser extent, firm ownership. University ownership of academic patents is more likely the higher the amount of funding coming from SMEs, and at universities that outsource the filing of patents. Spin-off patents occupy an intermediate position showing strong similarities to both firm and university patents

Policy, Performativity and Partnership: an Ethical Leadership Perspective

This article identifies the need to think differently about educational partnerships in a changing and turbulent post compulsory policy environment in England. The policy and institutional contexts in which universities and colleges currently operate seem to be fuelling performativity at the expense of educational values. There appears to be a sharp interruption in the steady increase in educational partnerships as a vehicle for increasing and widening participation in higher education. We are witnessing a marked change in university / college relationships that appears to be a consequence of government calling a halt to increased participation in higher education, creating an increasingly competitive market for a more limited pool of student places. The implication that educational policy at the national level determines a particular pattern or mode of leadership decision making throughout an institution should however be resisted. Policy developments that challenge the moral precepts of education should not be allowed to determine how a leader acts, rather they should prompt actions that are truly educational, rooted in morality, and atached to identifiable educational values. Educational leaders have agency to resist restricted discourses in favour of ethical and principled change strategies that are a precondition for sustainable transformative partnerships in post compulsory education. University leaders in particular are called upon to use their considerable influence to resist narrow policy or managerial instrumentalism or performativity and embrace alternatives that are both educationally worthwhile and can enhance institutional resilience

By chance or by plan?: The academic success of nontraditional students in higher education

In the United Kingdom, a “good” undergraduate degree is understood to be a “first class” or an “upper second class,” which is achieved by three-quarters of students. The need to distinguish oneself from others is ever more important in an increasingly crowded graduate market, although a first-class degree is most likely achieved by privileged students. Informed by Bourdieu’s theory of habitus and capital, this study explores the educational experiences and trajectories of 30 final-year high-achieving nontraditional (HANT) students through in-depth interviews. These include working-class, minority ethnic, and/or mature students at university. We found that prior development in academic study skills and the desire to prove oneself, often in response to previous negative experiences, are key ingredients in academic success. Our HANT students also seem to find inspiration or support from significant others, an educational capital, although these resources are often by chance rather than by plan. Implications for policy and practice are suggested