The role of organisational culture in supporting organisational outcomes is well documented in the further education (FE) sector within the UK. The benefits of a strong and unifying culture are recognised as having a positive impact on staff and students. However, a cultural institutional dichotomy has been acknowledged between the business and…

Across the UK and internationally high rates of attrition among recently qualified teachers has focused attention on strengthening early career support. Policy attention has shifted from recruitment to the issue of sustainability. While the importance of induction is widely recognised, few studies investigate the components of early career support…

Inspiring learning and teaching are a matter of growing importance in today's marketised higher education sector. To date, much research in this area has a focus on reviewing literature or adopting a single-stakeholder perspective -- typically that of staff or students. This paper reports on the findings of a qualitative study adopting a…

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 --…

This paper explores the factors that influence attendance to taught sessions in higher education. Absenteeism is approached as a complex phenomenon that is problematic when considering how students, lecturers and universities relate to it. Our study is conducted as a case study based on a large post-92 university in England, focusing on the…

This article evaluates changes in teaching delivery during the first year of an undergraduate Tourism Management degree programme at a university in the North West of England. Moving from traditional semesterised mode, delivery was changed to shortened, time-intensive modules delivered one at a time, for two full days (six hours per day) over a…

Entering higher education (HE) is a critical moment for many students and one in which their educational experiences may change dramatically, but are students academically prepared? From a structured and supported environment, they enter a more autonomous and independent setting and little is known about their preparedness for this transition.…

Academic staff perceptions of the value and purpose of service user and carer (SUAC) involvement within a health and social work faculty in an English university were explored in this co-produced qualitative study. Relevant research findings over the past two decades were reviewed and two SUAC researchers, plus an academic member of staff,…

In the current higher education (HE) environment, indicators of 'teaching excellence' (TE) are increasingly under the spotlight. The literature offers a wide range of models and perspectives, but also highlights the need for greater (comparative) scrutiny of the perceptions of those at the centre -- staff teaching across the disciplines in…

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…

This article reports an investigation of trainee teachers' experience of reflection whilst undertaking a teaching qualification for the post-compulsory sector. The study used a sequential, mixed-methods design, employing a structured questionnaire and a semi-structured interview; 127 individuals completed the questionnaire about their experience…

IELTS scores are widely used in combination with academic results as a way of judging whether non-English background students should be admitted to degree-level courses in Anglophone contexts. However, successful study at university requires more than language competence and intellectual ability and international students often seem to start from…

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…

Researchers claim that a rise in the language of learning has led to education being seen as a commodity and the learner as a customer, leading to a market model in FE. To ascertain the impact the language of learning has had upon practitioners' understanding of education, their practice and their professional identities, semi-structured…

The evidence-based practice agenda in many healthcare professions has increased the importance of teaching research skills to students in these professions. However, concern exists that many healthcare educators may be reluctant to teach research. This study investigated potential barriers to their adoption of this role. A questionnaire was…