This paper explores the under-researched area of extracurricular activity undertaken by students through the lens of the possible selves literature, which has largely been developed in the North American context. In the UK the employability agenda assumes an orientation towards the future and employers are increasingly expecting students to…

This article focuses on the lived experience of practising academics as part of an inquiry into the vexed question of "academic identities". Identity is understood not as a fixed property, but as part of the lived complexity of a person's project. The article reports on data from a small study in one university. The data suggest that academic…

This article argues that we need richer conceptions of students as affective and embodied selves and a clearer theorisation of the role of emotion in educational encounters. These areas are currently under-researched and under-theorised in higher education. The first part of the article explores the literature on emotion. The second reports on a…

This article presents an analysis of case study data from a project evaluating Personal Development Planning (PDP) at a large post-1992 university in England. The study was undertaken as part of a strategy of encouraging schools to build on existing experience while at the same time ensuring consistency with new national guidelines for the…

This article explores the meanings involved in the development and implementation of learning and teaching policies in higher education through a single institution case study in an English university. It draws on interview data collected from middle manager-academics, located in Schools, who are charged with implementing learning and teaching…

Presents a case study about men and women on applied information technology courses using data from in-depth interviews. Finds that men and women were aware of gender in computing practice. Both sexes expressed intrinsic, as well as instrumental reasons, for studying and women were confident in their abilities. (CMK)