Using a bi-dimensional, fourfold model as a thinking tool to contemplate acculturation strategies we analyse the intercultural experience of international academic staff (IAS) in the United Kingdom higher education. The literature suggests that IAS feel undervalued as a professional group and that institutions do not capitalise on their diverse…

This article examines the evolution of assessment policy and practice in technician-level vocational education. Using the example of an advanced-level BTEC National programme in Engineering in one college in the UK, the article highlights how the origins of current assessment practice lie in genuine concerns since the late 1950s about the…

This article presents detailed findings from the qualitative or interpretive phase of a mixed-methods case study focusing on the professional identities and lived experiences of research among six lecturers working in different capacities across the field of education in a "teaching-led" higher education institution. Building upon the…

As state subsidies to higher education contract, the recruitment of international students is becoming a strategic priority for many UK universities. Academic roles are reconfigured as the commercialisation of higher education and the commodification of education services re-position the student as consumer, academic as entrepreneur, and…

Higher education is rapidly expanding and diversifying across all regions of the globe. Much of that growth has been absorbed by the expansion of the private and for-profit sector, a trend that is particularly prevalent in Asia. Higher education is not only expanding but is also becoming increasingly global, with a mix of different corporate,…

Interest in the potential benefits of providing tablet computers to students has grown in recent years, both in UK institutions, and across the world. Limited research studies have been reported in higher education (HE), and primary and secondary school settings, tentatively suggesting a range of positive impacts on learners, but little conclusive…

Feedback has been a major area of dissatisfaction according to the UK National Student Survey in recent years, despite general acceptance of its importance. A feedback strategy was implemented in October 2009 at a small specialised higher education institution (HEI). A case study was carried out to assess how satisfied staff and students are with…

Despite the Mental Health Foundation (2012) stating that each year, one in four people in the United Kingdom (UK) will have some kind of mental health difficulty, students from this group are underrepresented in further education (FE) colleges. In light of this, the purpose of this exploratory research, which was rooted in the phenomenological…

This article forms part of an exploration into the results of a single-case, embedded study that was conducted to explore how domestic part-time graduate business students in the United States experience group work for summative assessment. Multiple information collection methods were utilised, including open-ended and semi-structured interviews,…

This case study is the first to track the method used by an Israeli institution of higher education to assess and reward faculty members using a set of performance measures ("Excellence criteria"). The study profiles faculty members who received financial rewards for excellence during 2005-2007, based on the previous year's activities,…

This article reports on research initiated by the trade union for lecturers and researchers in the UK, the University and College Union (UCU), which examined the pressures, concerns and positive aspects of being a member of research staff at one UK university. The findings are presented from the premise that university researchers are caught…

This article presents findings arising from the first UK application of a revised 70-item lecturer self-efficacy questionnaire recently developed for use in the Australian higher education context. Intended to probe and systematically measure confidence in the core functions of research, teaching and other academic or service-related activities…

This article captures the different perspectives of those involved in a collaborative project which implemented an e-learning initiative with higher education and further education institutions in partnership. The initial part of the article provides context and considers some of the debates in the literature on collaboration. It reflects on what…

Independent learning and independent learning strategies are at present significant topics in educational research. The bulk of this research deals with independent learning in junior and higher education with little based upon the further education sector. The focus of this article is the interpretation of independent learning by 16- to…

This study was carried out with students and staff from a college of further education in south London. The college has a mix of male and female students from a range of ethnic groups, the largest of which is white British. A study undertaken by the college in 2003 indicated that there may be significant differences in achievement and completion…