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Scholars assert that, worldwide, doctoral provision is increasingly characterised by accelerated scales of production, competitive funding, centralised administration, and interdisciplinary, cohortbased training. The situation in the UK appears to mirror this picture but scholars have long noted that national settings mediate the forms that broader trends take. We therefore examined the case of the UK’s social science doctorates, which have seen both marked growth and a range of policy changes, to explore the potential extent of alignment with these trends. Invoking institutional isomorphism, a conceptual framework which asserts how convergence can be driven by different factors, we interviewed senior staff at a range of UK HEIs to examine the activities and underlying rationales behind their social science doctoral provision. We were able to establish that, while there is a degree of isomorphism around their social science doctorates, this is a complex and uneven situation because different kinds of HEIs are subject to a varying combination of simultaneous and often conflicting forces. Our analysis highlights not only how the relationship between national policies and higher education culture can be fraught, but also how organisations’ individual positioning and history has implications for how they are able to act in policy contexts.

Employability has been viewed as a crucial issue in both industrialised and industrialising countries. However, it has not received much attention in the global South, especially the Arab World and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, including Egypt which faces a precarious market labour and a Higher Education system with numerous challenges. Egypt’s demographics aggravate the situation straining sectors such as housing, health, education, and employment. While the HE system is constantly and rapidly expanding adding new HE players to the landscape, the labour market does not seem to keep up with the huge number of graduates. In Egypt, while the majority of literature has focused on HE access, challenges, and reform, little literature has examined the perceptions of students of HE in relation to the labour market and none has looked at how both graduates and employers understand employability and how they develop it. Drawing on Bourdieu’s conceptual toolkit, forms of capital, habitus, and field, this study examines how graduates of different university types and employers in companies of different types understand employability. Forty-one semi-structured interviews were conducted to generate data in both Arabic and English which were then coded and analysed using themes drawn from Bourdieu’s notions. Data from both interviews sets were then compared to identify the matches and mismatches between the perspectives of both groups. A comparison was also drawn between the employability strategies graduates used and those valued by employers. It concludes that mismatches between two groups of stakeholders indicate the disconnect between the two key stakeholders and suggests that the Egyptian labour faces major barriers that hinder it from functioning effectively.

Assessment/feedback practices in higher education have been researched in a variety of contexts but the EAP (English for Academic Purposes) program has received little attention as the focus. This thesis seeks to trace the enactment of McArthur’s (2018) conceptual framework by analyzing data gained through insider-research on assessment/feedback practices within the Department of English Language and Literature in a Lebanese private higher education institution. Multiple collection methods, including two types of interviews, are used to explore teachers’ practices and students’ perceptions of assessment/feedback practices in the program. The analysis proceeds in 2 stages. Initially, we establish a theoretical grounding for the analysis of social justice embedding in an EAP program through assessment and feedback practices. We utilize McArthur’s (2018) framework to map how fairness is articulated and aligned, via the locally produced teachers’ assessment and feedback practices. Second, following Trowler and Cooper’s (2002) concept of Teaching and Learning Regimes (TLRs), we argue that there are limitations to the application of an ideal model of just assessment/feedback practices within the program. Findings reveal that McArthur’s framework (five understandings of trust, honesty, responsibility, forgiveness and responsiveness) can be interpreted in different ways, probably partially, and in order to realize assessment for social justice fully, each category needs to be filled out, not understood partially. This thesis contributes to literature as it discusses the practices that underpin socially-just changes within EAP programs through the examination of a case study of a higher education institution in Lebanon. The thesis also has a broader contribution and is of value to EAP and EAL (English as an additional language) using a richer framework around social justice and assessment. The findings potentially add to the understanding of McArthur’s (2018) work, particula

As the sector seeks recruitment opportunities in Africa, Latin America and Asia, Sunita Abraham, Jordan Blanchard-Lafayette, Nafisa Baba-Ahmed, and Richard Budd make the case for decolonising university admissions processes.

This research engages with history curriculum in the Social and Modern Studies (SMS) school textbooks in Mauritius as part of the Nine Year Continuous Basic Education (NYCBE) reform that was introduced in January 2017. I will examine the inclusion of an alternative narrative moving away from a colonial-centric education as a structured attempt (Sternhouse,1975) to investigate how history is (re)presented in the Social and Modern Studies (SMS) textbooks. This research situates the dominant discourses in the teaching of history within a postcolonial and decolonial dialogue (Bhambra 2014) in juxtaposition with critical literacy. This theoretical commitment and philosophical assumption engage with history as they challenge the inheritances of the imperial institution. I argue how we think and engage with the history is marked by our colonial past (Mazama 2003; Wane 2008) that continues to have an impact on present-day practices. I examine how history teaching ought to disrupt the process of coloniality (Maldonado Torres 2016) by confronting stories of tragedy and oppression, of imperialism and colonisation, to reconstruct alternative stories of strength and resilience. Drawing of these theoretical intersections, history is explored conceptually and reflected empirically with Fairclough’s (1992) three-dimensional model of critical discourse analysis. By using a critical discourse analysis as a method of analysis to critically engage with the meaning systems embedded within the text, this research recognizes the subaltern voices and reinstates the possibilities for recognition (Fukuyama 2018). This thesis advocates a liberating perspective (Wa Thiong’O 1986) to decolonise historical knowledge and imagine alternative possibilities in an era of global interconnectedness. The findings indicate how the new historical narrative nurtures specific dispositions as part of a neoliberal agenda that affirms a colonial subtext. I offer an alternative way of reading history with strat

We acknowledge that there is no single factor that will close the awarding gap, but the toolkit provides a range of student and research-informed ideas, initiatives and examples that can be used in a variety of contexts across Lancaster university to reduce the awarding gap in a phased, responsive and flexible manner. The toolkit recommendations speak to the wider institutional concerns of acknowledging intersecting forms of marginalisation (particularly in relation to gender, race, disabilities and sexualities) and the need to respond to the concerns of increasingly diverse student bodies. We expect that the findings of this report will serve to initiate a more comprehensive study that will enable LU to provide relevant and wide-ranging institutional support to enable the closing of the awarding gap. We also hope that these recommendations would form the basis for further dialogue, reflection and research into additional ways in which LU could close the awarding and experience gaps.

This chapter represents an early attempt to engage and think with the ethos that underpins the Manifesto for a Post-Critical Pedagogy (Hodgson et al. 2017), specifically from a sociology of education perspective. The Manifesto is an exhortation to move beyond the critical by also celebrating what we may love and therefore wish to preserve in education. With this in mind, the author undertakes a re-examination of the literature on the university student experience in the UK. They argue that, outside pedagogical research on students, there are three overlapping but somewhat distinct literatures, each of which focuses primarily on social inequalities, aspects of marketization, or geographies, in relation to higher education. It appears that there are gaps in each of these bodies of scholarship, with some dimensions of identity underrepresented in the first, surprisingly little empirical work in the second, while the third has attracted minimal attention to date. Furthermore, it seems that there is little to love in our current understanding of the student experience as the overwhelming focus is on dysfunctions in and around UK higher education. Applying the tenets of a Post-Critical Pedagogy does suggest that widening our scope would allow for an extension of the literature and a more positive appreciation of the UK student experience. At the same time, though, there may be some aspects of the Manifesto that require minor revisions.

There seems to be relatively little scholarship on the use of vignettes in qualitative research, despite their long-time application in these approaches. They appear to be a helpful tool for framing complex or sensitive topics, but there is also some disagreement as to what vignettes are and what they can/should be used for. In this article, we briefly review the literature on vignettes, identifying issues in what are often overly specific definitions and prescriptions for their use. Much of the literature focuses on the use of vignettes prior to data collection, or on the findings obtained in projects utilizing them. There is little to no consideration of how they are chosen/designed or the kind/s of data they help to produce. We will therefore focus on the choice, application, and participant responses to two vignettes from separate research projects that were undertaken to explore, in different ways, reality and values with young people.

This paper is situated in relation to a critical mass of largely censorious commentary around global policy trends purportedly undermining, or even realigning, universities’ ‘traditional’ ethos, but where the student perspective on this appears to have been largely ignored. Drawing on interviews with German and English undergraduates, it applies the neo-institutional theory of organizational fields supported by regulative, cognitive, and normative pillars (Scott 1995. Institutions and Organizations. Thousand Oaks: Sage). The latter pillar, representing a sector’s values, methods, and goals, is of particular interest here, and it will be argued that this and an ethos may correspond. The findings show that a sense of the participants’ understanding of a university ethos/normative pillar could be discerned, with significant convergence between the two groups. However at the same time there was also divergence both within and between them, and this raises a number of novel empirical and theoretical questions.

Observers of policy have long been aware that policies are solutions to a problem, but they are rarely perfectly formed and often have unexpected consequences. As this report shows, this is also the case with the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Doctoral Training Centre (DTC) initiative, launched in 2009. Of particular note is that the timing of this policy - during a tight fiscal climate - meant that the initial intentions and subsequent implementation varied considerably in terms of scale. On paper, DTCs had the potential to offer a number of benefits, such as fostering doctoral and academic collaboration across academic and institutional boundaries, improving the quality of doctoral training through innovative training models, and developing a viable, interdisciplinary cadre of social scientists. They are not, however, without their challenges: literature preceding this study had already highlighted that, among other things, they were difficult to establish and run, and excluded a significant proportion of universities - and potentially, poorer students - from accessing ESRC doctoral funding. The rationale for investigating this policy was firstly underpinned by a curiosity as to how the introduction of DTCs might have broader impact across the sector. The literature on DTCs to date tends to take the view from those universities inside the funding circle, and we know little about the experiences of other universities or, crucially, doctoral students. The ESRC only funds around 12% of all social science doctorates in the UK at any given time, and there might be a question as to how much impact they have on the sector as a whole. They are, though, the UK’s most visible domestic social science funder, and we were interested to explore the extent to which the policy may have been felt by institutions excluded from ESRC doctoral funding as much as to gain further insights into life within the DTC community. The creation of the DTCs was part of a proces

Observers of policy have long been aware that policies are solutions to a problem, but they are rarely perfectly formed and often have unexpected consequences. As this report shows, this is also the case with the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Doctoral Training Centre (DTC) initiative, launched in 2009. Of particular note is that the timing of this policy - during a tight fiscal climate - meant that the initial intentions and subsequent implementation varied considerably in terms of scale. On paper, DTCs had the potential to offer a number of benefits, such as fostering doctoral and academic collaboration across academic and institutional boundaries, improving the quality of doctoral training through innovative training models, and developing a viable, interdisciplinary cadre of social scientists. They are not, however, without their challenges: literature preceding this study had already highlighted that, among other things, they were difficult to establish and run, and excluded a significant proportion of universities - and potentially, poorer students - from accessing ESRC doctoral funding. The rationale for investigating this policy was firstly underpinned by a curiosity as to how the introduction of DTCs might have broader impact across the sector. The literature on DTCs to date tends to take the view from those universities inside the funding circle, and we know little about the experiences of other universities or, crucially, doctoral students. The ESRC only funds around 12% of all social science doctorates in the UK at any given time, and there might be a question as to how much impact they have on the sector as a whole. They are, though, the UK’s most visible domestic social science funder, and we were interested to explore the extent to which the policy may have been felt by institutions excluded from ESRC doctoral funding as much as to gain further insights into life within the DTC community. The creation of the DTCs was part of a proces

There is no shortage of literature addressing the range of reasons why more disadvantaged groups are underrepresented in higher education – and particularly elite universities – in the UK, and it is clear that this has little to do with any real deficiency in terms of ability. This paper begins with an overview of this issue but then extends the argument beyond widening participation (WP) at the point of access. It raises concerns emerging from two relatively underresearched areas in the literature which indicate that ‘WP’ students are faced with greater inequalities than their more affluent peers both during their undergraduate degrees as well as beyond them. Although the focus here is on the UK, this topic and many of its themes will be familiar to educationalists and HE practitioners in other countries.