Digital technology constitutes a substantial presence in higher education and notions like 'digital natives' and '21st century digital skills' dominate educational discourse. However, within the last decade, scholars have started questioning the prevailing techno-optimism and practitioners have started debating whether and how to regulate the use…

This paper addresses Hong Kong Chinese undergraduate students' conceptions of teacher care informed by their experiences of teacher-student relationships within university context. Utilising the concept of teacher care from Nodding's (1984) ethics of care from a Confucian-Vygotskian perspective, this research considers emergent themes of teacher…

For many years, a key driver for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) has been ensuring that students are prepared for employment post-graduation. This has often resulted in HEIs providing specific modules of study focussing on employability and soft skills. The existing research literature presents a variety of strategies for embedding…

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…

In UK higher education, minority ethnic students are less likely to graduate with a good degree than their White British counterparts, even when prior attainment is considered. Until recently, concerns about this ethnicity degree awarding gap have not received the research attention it deserves. In this paper, we contribute to this gap in…

Successful retention of students through understanding their motivations and behaviours is a challenge to universities worldwide. Whilst the impact of withdrawals is an issue for all institutions, attrition for distance-learning providers is particularly problematic owing to higher non-completion rates, less physical visibility, and because…

It has been well established that psychological detachment from work (i.e., mentally separating oneself from work) during leisure time is critical in promoting employees' work performance and subjective wellbeing. This employee-focused literature presents an opportunity to extend the exploration of the salubrious experience of psychological…

Gratitude may help Universities to sustain relationships with alumni and stimulate valuable input into current students' learning experiences. This small-scale, qualitative study draws from the voices of alumni associated with a UK University. The study explores gratitude's role within alumni's reflections on Higher Education. We find that…

Across the Higher Education sector, there is growing interest regarding the 'value for money' of a university education, and in response to this, universities may need to consider how to evaluate the perceived learning of students alongside their actual learning. "Learning Gain" maybe helpful in this regard, but there is currently no…

The recent novel coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis has affected humanity and education worldwide as continued learning amidst massive school closures required the unprecedented decision to make a rapid transition from in-person learning to remote online learning. This abrupt and temporary shift to remote online learning due to crisis circumstances was…

It is well accepted that not only the ability but also the positive disposition of teachers towards implementing differentiated teaching for various student groups can be traced back to their initial education. Therefore, differentiated practices of future teachers for high-achieving students are worth exploring. Based on the above, the purpose of…

Poorer financial circumstances among undergraduate students predict worse academic outcomes, yet there is a lack of research examining mediators. Accordingly, the present research aimed to identify such mediating variables. In Study 1, cross-sectional data were collected from UK undergraduates (N = 516). Controlling for background variables, path…

Learning Management Systems (LMSs) have a strong effect on the teaching-learning process in higher education. However, specific research on the factors that affect students' satisfaction and their perceptions of learning outcomes derived from Moodle use is still scarce. Therefore, this study uses the theoretical underpinnings of the Technology…

Commitment and word-of-mouth communication are important relational ideas: commitment a central and defining aspect of relationships; word-of-mouth a key relational outcome. This research examines the relationship between commitment and word-of-mouth communication within the context of higher education. The study tests a new conceptual framework…

Often, student engagement in higher education (HE) is viewed from a structural perspective, which reduces the role of student agency. This mixed methods study thus focuses on investigating what engages students in HE through the lens of self-determination theory (SDT), in order to better understand the internal processes of engagement in…