To generate a better understanding of students' experiences of studying A-levels, 136 A-level students in England were asked to provide three words or phrases to describe their experience of sixth form, and their reasons for choosing these terms, via an online survey. Data were analysed using content analysis and reflexive thematic analysis. The…

Increasing pressure and demands on students in higher education to perform and succeed has contributed to unprecedented levels of student stress, leading to poor academic performance and mental health. Universities are positioned to take proactive measures by creating environments that support student learning and minimise anxiety, such as…

The article demonstrates a successful approach to providing Youth and Community Work students in higher education (HE) with a learning experience that embraces the transformative agenda of their chosen profession. It adds to our understanding of the opportunities and limitations in crafting a learning environment and embedding a discursive…

Studying in a foreign country, where one becomes a cultural outsider and where one lacks knowledge of and access to dominant cultural practices, can be a perfect context for challenging students' values, beliefs, and attitudes, particularly when these experiences are coupled with coursework on diversity. This study explored international students'…

The academic support system that is available online for distance students can prove quite beneficial to them before and especially during their course/programme of study. Potter posited that the goal of a programme's academic learner support services for distance learners must be to meet their needs by linking them with fellow students, faculty…

One way that universities assess teaching effectiveness is by eliciting student feedback. However, what standards do students themselves use to judge whether a lecturer is a 'good' teacher? As part of a study carried out at a Hong Kong university, students were interviewed about their first-year learning experience and asked what they felt…

The following article presents a small-scale qualitative study in which the student learning experiences from service user and carer (SUAC) involvement in social work, mental health nursing and social welfare courses at an English university were evaluated for any effects on student perceptions, knowledge, skills and practice. Using focus group…

In November 2012, Queensland University of Technology in Australia launched a giant interactive learning environment known as "The Cube". This article reports a phenomenographic investigation into visitors' different experiences of learning in The Cube. At present very little is known about people's learning experience in spaces…

This article presents a "knowledge ecosystem" model of how early career academics experience using information to learn while building their social networks for developmental purposes. Developed using grounded theory methodology, the model offers a way of conceptualising how to empower early career academics through (1) agency…

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…

This article examines the claim that a fully immersive English language learning experience can be ensured by universities engaged in transnational education through offshore campuses. Taking as a case study one South East Asian offshore campus of a Western university, the inquiry was designed to discover the extent to which students did, in…

The foundation degree is an intermediate-level qualification designed to widen participation in higher education while providing work-related skills and knowledge. It has a vocational focus and a pedagogic approach that integrates academic and work-based learning. Research into opportunities and the process of learning within foundation degrees is…

Various initiatives at national and faculty levels are carried out to improve teaching quality at Malaysian universities. Measures such as auditing and accrediting university programs and obtaining certification for quality management help improve program management and standardize students' learning experiences. However, these do not guarantee…

By 2008 a total of 87,339 students were studying on foundation degrees in the UK (Foundation Degree Forward 2009). This article reports on the views of selected students and academic tutors regarding ICTs (Information Communication Technologies) associated with the Early Years Sector Endorsed Foundation Degree (EYSEFD) in England. The students…

The following research delivered a web-based module about plagiarism and paraphrasing to avoid plagiarism in both a blended method, with live instruction paired with web presentation for 105 students, and a separate web-only method for 22 other students. Participants were graduates and undergraduates preparing to become teachers, the majority of…