This article explores Foundation Year students' experiences of Higher Education learning. The research took place during the COVID-19 pandemic and provided a unique opportunity to formulate factors which contribute to the success of a Foundation Year programme. During the pandemic, the demand to study from home, created uncertainty as to whether…

The purpose of the study is to explore various facets of engagement in courses with Learning Assistant (LA) support. LA programmes frequently demonstrate positive effects on student learning and persistence, yet less is known about the nuances of the impact on student engagement. Data collected from students and LAs via online questionnaires are…

The literature on internationalisation of higher education usually focuses on the student perspective, with intercultural competence often featuring as a graduate attribute. However, given the high proportion of international teaching staff in UK higher education institutions, more attention needs to be paid to intercultural competence of…

The current literature on 'sense of belonging' spans a number of disciplines, with no apparent consensus on definition between these, complicated by the fact that sense of belonging is temporal and context-sensitive (such as during COVID-19). In particular, a closer look at how students define sense of belonging is needed from an up-to-date…

Kindness signifies a way of behaving towards other individuals. Kindness is a desirable and admired conduct of schoolteachers but is less expected in higher education. During the Covid-19 pandemic, on-campus learning shifted completely to online learning settings, requiring lecturers to adopt behaviours that may not have been part of their…

The concept of 'professional boundaries' -- widely used in sectors where professional relationships between adults are regulated -- has not commonly been drawn on in higher education (HE) to understand and denote appropriate relationships between faculty or staff and students. Nevertheless, in recent years the question of how to regulate sexual…

In exploring imposter feelings in early career academics, this article examines the impacts of adopting social constructivist pedagogies. It reveals the significance of reflective practice in a Post-Graduate Certificate in Academic Practice programme (PGCAP), supporting professional development in teaching, learning and assessment for new…

Student expectations are complex constructs that can influence adaptability, engagement, achievement, satisfaction and retention. A number of individual studies have been published on the expectations of students when starting university, however none that synthesise student expectations of teaching and learning. Therefore, the aim of this…

The seemingly relentless drive across Higher Education (HE) Institutions to integrate both face-to-face and online forms of delivery to create blended approaches to teaching and learning shows little sign of abating. Yet, as blended forms of delivery become increasingly prevalent, existing literature suggests that the perspectives and experiences…

This paper utilises a Teaching and Learning Regime (TLR) approach to analyse the student experience (SE) in the COVID-19 setting. Using mixed-methods methodology, the research uses interviews and survey responses from current students at a UK university to identify the multi-dimensional and immersive relationship with their institution. TLR…

Learner-teacher partnerships (L-TPs) increasingly feature in student engagement research in further and higher education (FHE). This flourishing literature raises important questions about such partnerships, for example, what is their purpose? what roles do partners play, who leads in a partnership and how? Various purposes and roles have been…

The alignment of student-supervisor expectations in doctoral research builds a foundation for strong supervisory relationships. While some expectations around research practice and outputs are clearly stated and regulated, the expectations concerning personal aspects of supervisory relationships are seldom voiced. To address this gap, this article…

Online learning was initially introduced to support face-to-face learning, but now represents a dominant pedagogical approach in Higher Education. The rapid shift from face-to-face learning to online platforms has left many academics feeling pedagogically unprepared. In this research, we initially sought to understand and enhance online student…

Black and minority ethnic (BME) students are less likely to achieve a first or upper-class second degree than White students. This evaluation investigated the experiences of BME Health and Social Care students at a London university of the hidden curriculum, thematically analysed through a critical race lens. Four overarching themes were…

Assessment and feedback have been intensively studied to promote effective learning. However, less attention is given on its role in self-directed learning (SDL) context. Despite being recognised as a powerful educational tool, critical examination of SDL and assessment and feedback literature reveals that these bodies of literature rarely…