In contemporary higher education systems, the processes of assessment and feedback are often seen as coexisting activities. As a result, they have become entangled in both policy and practice, resulting in a conceptual and practical blurring of their unique purposes. In this paper, we present a critical examination of the issues created by the…

Universities might aspire to teaching excellence, but do they enable academic teachers to make good teaching decisions? Using a critical realist perspective, a qualitative interview study in England and Australia explored academics' experiences of teaching decisions and their responses to strategic, institutional and departmental teaching policy…

The increasing prominence of neoliberal agendas in international higher education has led to greater weight being ascribed to student satisfaction, and the national surveys through which students evaluate courses of study. In this article, we focus on the evaluation of feedback processes. Rather than the transmission of information from teacher to…

Despite feedback being considered important to learning, its potential is rarely fully realised. Promoting learning through feedback in open-ended written tasks (e.g. essays and reports) is a complex endeavour that requires students who are motivated to identify and utilise appropriate information. We set out to understand the mechanisms that…

How did the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic impact student learning in higher education? Everywhere, Sars-CoV-2 struck hardest in the most disadvantaged communities. This paper asks whether the virus's disproportionate effect on more vulnerable groups is replicated among college and university students. Data come from approximately 3800 students…

Universities have responded to the expansion of higher education and restructuring of the labour market by redesigning curriculum to better emphasise transferable skills and embed pedagogies that contribute to graduate employability. However, the ways in which universities judge and share achievement still provides poor evidence of what students…

Assessment as a field of investigation has been influenced by a limited number of perspectives. These have focused assessment research in particular ways that have emphasised measurement, or student learning or institutional policies. The aim of this paper is to view the phenomenon of assessment from a practice perspective drawing upon ideas from…

This paper investigates the influence that undertaking a professional doctorate has on the practice of the graduate and their workplace or organisation. There is a growing literature on how undertaking such advanced development influences the individual graduate at the personal and professional level but there is little evidence of a wider impact…

Findings from interviews with mid-career academics in English and Australian universities elucidate how academics interpret and navigate complex institutional contexts in shaping academic jobs. The paper argues that how they do this is a function of what they notice and respond to as well as the mode of reflexivity they employ. Three core areas…

Research education has been dominated in recent years by policy-driven preoccupations with doctoral completions, funding and contributions to the economy. This has led universities to focus on enhanced institutional support for research degrees, with an emphasis on supervision, in particular the training of supervisors, and provision of a richer…

The professional development and accountability of new staff are discussed, and the University of New South Wales' department-based plan for new staff development is described. The program involves planning sessions and record keeping of responsibilities, achievements, needs for professional development, and the resources provided to assist staff.…

The need to change higher education to respond to the demands for continuing education is discussed, and the contributions of three groups to the facilitation of learning through learning-centered and problem-based curriculum design are examined. (MSE)

The ability to communicate in group situations is an important skill required by graduates. Discussed are the difficulty of assessing class participation fairly, the potentially negative effects of assessment on the learning environment, how to choose evaluation criteria, when and how to record class participation, and different types of…

Assessment of class participation can be used effectively in student evaluation, but it should not become subjective, impressionistic, and unreliable. It provides an opportunity for peer and self-evaluation, but refinements in techniques and criteria are needed. (MSE)

The difficulties of undertaking education development in higher education are explored, using the Educational Objectives in Applied Science project, conducted with the Scottish Universities of Strathclyde and Heriot-Watt to illustrate the problems. This project sought to replan engineering courses within an established system. (JMD)