Projects per year
Organisation profile
This research area focuses on the relationships between the internal dynamics of higher education systems and their societal environments.
The area has attracted an increasing number of research students in recent years and brings together various disciplinary perspectives and expertise, including sociology, anthropology, philosophy, psychology and pedagogy.
RESEARCH THEMES
Researchers in this area follow two interrelated strands of enquiry. The first interrogates strategies of policy and community engagement, including conceptualisations of ‘engagement' and ‘community' amongst academics and universities.
The second theme explores patterns of participation and experiences in higher education as a consequence of the expansion and internationalisation of the sector, including access to higher education, transitions from further to higher education and international student experience.
Our researchers collaborate within the area on the elaboration of research proposals, in support of research students, and more broadly in a forum where ideas and findings about higher education transformation are debated.
AREAS OF EXPERTISE AND INTERESTS OF AREA MEMBERS
- The academic profession: Issues of initial training and professional development, The internationalisation of the academic workforce in the UK, trends in the international circulation of academics and consequences on national HE systems, as well as the implications of changing student identities and experience on academic practice.
- The transformative impact of technology: Technology and pedagogical practice, the digital student experience on and off campus, issues of quality, access and equity in distance and open learning.
- Globalisation and internationalisation of higher education: Forms of cooperation and dependencies in post-colonial higher education. Trends in international student mobility and implications for pedagogy. The "Bologna process" in Europe and beyond.
- Higher education in society: Discourses and practice of community engagement. Universities in the local economy, issues related to the studentification of cities. Comparative perspectives on barriers to, participation in, and access routes to higher education. The public roles of higher education: universities and their constituencies in contexts of conflicts and transitions.
- Student identities and learning cultures: Subject identities in mass higher education, HE funding and impacts on student experience and engagement. Learning environments and learning processes. Transitions in HE and between FE and HE. Student protests.
ACTIVITIES
Drawing on the existing networks of its members, the area is developing collaborative research projects and dissemination events. The resulting increase in visibility of this research strength of EDU is already an impact on the recruitment of research students, and on the relations with researchers in other schools and institutions (HE research is by nature an interdisciplinary field attracting interest from throughout the social and management sciences).
CONTACT
For further information about the area's activities, please contact Yann Lebeau (convenor):
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Profiles
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Anne-Florence Dujardin
- School of Education & Lifelong Learning - Lecturer in Academic Practice
- Critical Cultural Studies In Education
- Research in Higher Education and Society - Member
Person: Degree of Doctor of Education, Research Group Member, Academic, Teaching & Scholarship, Research Group Member
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John Elliott
- School of Education & Lifelong Learning - Emeritus Professor
- Research in Higher Education and Society - Member
Person: Honorary, Research Group Member
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LIT Educational Hub: Enhancing the student experience of the digital university in the UK, China and BRI countries
Viana, V., Dyer, H., Hyland, K., Jin, T. & Russell, K.
1/04/21 → 31/03/26
Project: Research
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Rediscovering the Social Meaning of Work in a Democratic Society – A Philosophical Reconstruction
Hinchliffe, G., Aug 2023, In: BWP@ - Berufs und Wirtschaftspädagogik (Vocational and business education) . 19, 01, 21 p., 8.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Citizenship and the Joy of Work
Hinchliffe, G., Jun 2022, In: Journal of Philosophy of Education. 56, 3, p. 479-489 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Citation (Scopus)3 Downloads (Pure) -
Colonialisms and Class
Themelis, S., 2022, Encyclopaedia of Marxism and Education. Maisuria, A. (ed.). Brill, p. 81-94 14 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
Activities
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'What’ is an activist? Learning and enacting emergent youth civic engagements - paper presented at BERA 2023
Harry Dyer (Speaker), Esther Priyadharshini (Contributor), Lauren Bouttell (Contributor), Chris Millora (Contributor), Natasha Rennolds (Contributor) & Spyros Themelis (Contributor)
12 Sep 2023 → 14 Sep 2023Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Participation in conference
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Inaugural lecture: Opportunities and Inequalities on the Way to ‘Universal Higher Education'
Yann Lebeau (Keynote/plenary speaker)
21 Nov 2022Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Public lecture/debate/seminar
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Norwich and Ipswich Opportunity Areas - Seminar
James Craske (Organiser), Spyros Themelis (Organiser) & Anna Blackett (Organiser)
27 Jun 2022Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Participation in workshop or seminar
Press/Media
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Student number caps on 'rip-off degrees' overlook their potential benefits for social mobility
Matthew Aldrich & Helena Gillespie
20/07/23
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Press / Media
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The government's academic catch-up strategy is failing children in England (Apr 2022)
15/03/22
2 items of Media coverage
Press/Media: Press / Media
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Will homeschooling spell disaster for a generation? (Apr 2020)
20/04/20 → 26/04/20
8 items of Media coverage
Press/Media: Press / Media