This article considers ethnographic data collected during undergraduate students' transition to higher education. Drawing on communities of practice theory, the research focuses on the psychological process of identity as a trajectory, considering how reconciliation and negotiation of identities across and between communities influence transition.…

This article suggests that traditional, liberal values that comprise the broad value consensus of most western democracies may be at risk of erosion, especially in further and higher education settings. The factors that may be contributing to their devaluation include: the down-grading of belief in unique individualism and common humanity in…

This article presents an overview of the findings of a recently completed study exploring the potentially transformative impact upon learners of recognition of prior informal learning (RPL). The specific transformative dimension being reported is learner identity. In addition to providing a starting point for an evidence base within Scotland, the…

Through a textual analysis of four episodes comprising the ITV 1 psychological thriller "Cheat," this paper explores depictions of the English Higher Education [HE] landscape and of the lived experiences of being an academic in the television drama. We achieve this through a focus on the fictional HE institution where the drama is set --…

Foundation year provision provides access to Higher Education by developing the skills and subject-specific knowledge required to undertake an undergraduate degree course. This article explores the experiences of students during transition onto an Integrated Foundation Year in Art and Design Year (IFYAD) at one UK Higher Education Institution. The…