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Set within the context of an aspiring higher education hub in Southeast Asia, the thesis aims to discover the engagement of academics in the internationalisation of higher education at Malaysian public universities. Five sub-areas of academics' internationalisation form the basis of the inquiry: the conceptualisation of internationalisation, the forms of engagement, the rationale for engagement, the support and the impact of the engagement on the academics. The study adopted the qualitative research approach to explore these dimensions of the academics' engagement in internationalisation as part of their professional lives. Two qualitative data collection methods (individual in-depth interviews and an online focus group) were utilised to encourage the participants to articulate their views, accounts, practices, and needs. Seventeen academics employed at six Malaysian public universities were interviewed, and eleven also participated in the Facebook-based focus group. The analysis of the findings revealed six main categories in explaining the Malaysian academics' engagement in the internationalisation at public universities within the national higher education system. Regarding the conceptualisation of internationalisation, it was discovered that there are diverse interpretations of the internationalisation concept. Next, although there are similarities in their internationalisation activities or strategies, the rationales for internationalisation for their engagement in these activities are found to vary and sometimes conflicted with the state-level motivations. While the supports required by the academics in their internationalisation effort were funding, leadership and collegial, the findings on challenges hampering their internationalisation engagement revealed issues related to leadership, governance, financial management, and shortcomings stemming from research-publication and student management. Their engagement also was discovered to have impact on the academics' role and individual self. Framed within the literature on the internationalisation of higher education and the academic profession, the discussion on the findings led to a few emerging themes, including the agency of academics in the internationalisation of higher education, misalignment between academics and institutional engagement, and internalisation of neoliberalism through academics' internationalisation engagement. By exploring the academics' engagement in the internationalisation of higher education within the Malaysian higher education system, the study managed to capture the voice of academics who are indeed significant actors in universities. The implication of the study calls for further and meaningful reflection on how Malaysian public universities and the higher education system internationalise by taking account of academics' perspectives.

Professional military education (PME) is considered a key enabler in developing the military capabilities required for operating in the complex contemporary security environment. Despite the critical role played by PME in the Irish context, little is known about the PME field, how it is constructed, how it was formed and has evolved, and what influences it today. In addition, there is a dearth of research on army officer education and how PME impacts the professional habitus. This thesis aims to address these knowledge gaps by employing a Bourdieusian analysis to map the PME field in Ireland, and, by exploring how army officers perceive their experiences of PME. Bourdieu and Wacquant's (1992) three-level analytical approach is employed to analyse the field of PME to develop an understanding of the relationship between military and higher education institutions (HEI) and the policies that influence the delivery of accredited military education. Field mapping is informed by an analysis of policy documents, secondary resources, and semi-structured interviews with military instructors and civilian educators. The findings establish that in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the increased complexity of military operations, benchmarking, and quality assurance caused the Defence Forces to partner with HEI's for accreditation purposes. These drivers brought together both the military field and higher education field to form the new subfield of PME. The second part of this research explores how army officers perceive their experiences of PME and how military socialisation impacts their professional habitus. Bourdieu and Passeron's (1977) theory of symbolic violence is used as a lens to analyse military officers' experiences of PME to develop an understanding of how the military habitus is formed and evolves through career-long PME. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve serving army officers drawn from a cross-section of junior, mid, and senior ranks. Informed by Bourdieu and Passeron's theory, the findings indicate that initial military socialisation is achieved through symbolic violence. Also, a model is proposed for social reproduction and military habitus formation. The findings show that the habitus produced in the Cadet School is that of a focused, young leader who is physically and mentally resilient, and that embodies organisational values. These values guide behaviour and structure thinking, ensuring that the young officer conforms to the norms of the organisation. The military habitus evolves through subsequent PME to create a professionally capable officer with high problem-solving and critical thinking skills. This study contributes to understanding social reproduction and how hierarchical organisations such as the military successfully reproduce themselves. This research demonstrates the continued practical application of Bourdieu's concepts and theory of symbolic violence whilst extending Bourdieu's thinking tools in a novel and practical way that can be used to analyse other organisations. Such analysis may help understand organisations as social institutions and their place in the broader social space.

This research study examines the role of pedagogy in the reproduction of social inequalities within higher education (HE). This is examined in the context of student employability by focusing on a series of lectures that ran throughout the academic year 2018-19 at a Russell Group university in the United Kingdom, and semi structured one-to-one interviews with six first year undergraduate students studying business and management at that university. The study draws of Basil Bernstein's theory of pedagogic practice (Bernstein, 2000). Aided by his concepts of classification and framing, and horizontal and hierarchical knowledge structures, I explore the classed nature of pedagogic practices and how these may act as a barrier to student learning. Bernstein's theory of pedagogic practice was drawn upon to systematically analyse the pedagogic practices in relation to social class, and the data from the student interviews was analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Lecture observations and interview data were brought together to bring an understanding of how these practices might re-enforce inequalities through implicit class based assumptions that they carry. The findings of the study show how during students' transitionary period to university pedagogic practices can restrict students' ability to affirm their position and sense of fit within HE, and re-enforce feelings of anxiety and uncertainty through class based assumptions relating to what they know about HE. The findings also show how pedagogic practices can reproduce social inequalities through class based messages relating to the way that advice and instructions are given to students and also with respect to what they should already know about graduate employment. The findings highlight the need for Higher Education Institutions and the Government more broadly to recognise the classed nature of pedagogy.

This thesis investigates leadership among presidents in institutes of technology in Ireland. The research seeks to answer three important research questions: firstly, what is the profile of leaders in the technological higher education sector and how do the professional characteristics of presidents impact on leadership?; secondly, what are presidents' approaches to leadership within and beyond the organisation?; and thirdly, how are leadership practices influenced by contextual factors? The research is informed by the literature on higher education leadership and a review of the Irish higher education context, with particular focus on the position of institutes of technology within that system. The study involved a total sample of the 14 presidents of the institutes of technology in Ireland; this was important in gaining a full picture of leadership in this sector. The study is particularly timely in the context of Irish higher education, which is undergoing a period of significant change that will see the amalgamation of existing institutes to form technological universities. The study investigates the influence of professional characteristics on leadership; key findings relate to discipline, scholarship and gender. The study identifies practices associated with successful leadership, both within and beyond the higher education institutions; and the associated leadership dispositions and approaches of presidents. The study also reports on the impact of contextual factors on leadership. Based on these findings, an integrative model of higher education leadership is proposed. The proposed model includes five key elements: leadership practice; leadership dispositions; leadership approaches; individual factors; and, contextual factors. This conceptual model will make an important contribution to the understanding of leadership and to the field of higher education leadership research. This study will be of interest to scholars in the domains of educational research and leadership, in particular leadership in higher education. The research has implications for improving the practice of leadership among senior managers in higher education and for higher education policy.

This thesis is concerned with the interface between the system and institutional governance of Scottish universities. More specifically, the study aims to further understand the nature of the relationship between Scottish Government and the nation’s universities through an investigative focus upon the reform of Scottish higher education governance policy (2011 – 2017). The study focuses upon the insights of key higher education actors from government, universities, university bodies and trade unions involved in the reform process. Fifteen qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted remotely by telephone or Skype / video-technology between September and November 2018. The interview data was analysed using thematic analysis that drew upon two frameworks: Kingdon’s (1984) multiple streams approach and a framework devised by Raffe (2016) to explore the relationship between universities and governments of devolved administrations. Supplementary data was drawn from analysis of documentation such as official documents that contributed to the reform, interactional policy resources and unofficial sources. The study, firstly, highlights the influence of temporal, cultural and political contexts in the mobilisation of the reform. Secondly, the study presents a challenge to Scottish Government’s reputation for developing policy through a Scottish policy style, concluding that the reform, while consultative and largely participative, was non-consensual in character. Thirdly, an extension of Raffe’s (2016) framework, not only captures the fluidity of the relationship between Scottish Government and universities but identifies the factors currently at play in setting the equilibrium between institutional autonomy and central control. The research provides a snapshot of what appears to be a multi-factorial and evolving relationship between the sector and government and is well placed to inform policymakers as they consider possible future trajectories for the university system and its contribution to the nation’s educational, economic, social and cultural enrichment.

The 'impact agenda' for academic research denotes a set of policies which encourage and incentivise academic institutions and researchers to shift focus towards more societally and economically 'relevant' problems. This reflects how important an institution academia has become to addressing social, economic and global challenges. However, the impact agenda is perceived by some to represent a challenge to academia's autonomy and value. This has provoked analytical and normative debate about the extent to which 'academic boundaries' are being/should be loosened, weakened or re-shaped to be more responsive to non-academic objectives and interests. My study brings empirical evidence to bear on these debates. Drawing on sociologist Basil Bernstein, I use the 'boundary' metaphor as a lens through which to analyse the 'power' and 'control' over academic research. The sample is 19 bodies of research from ten departments across nine UK universities, covering a range of institutional contexts and a range of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM) disciplines. The analysis, based on 345 documentary sources supplemented by 10 interviews with key academics, focuses on the interaction between academic and non-academic 'power' and 'control' over research knowledge, and considers the implications for 'academic boundaries'. The analysis finds greater evidence of academic boundaries being maintained and reproduced than of their being weakened, and that this is largely because the non-academic 'impact' of academic research contributes to the perceived legitimacy of, and therefore strength of, academic 'boundaries'. However, the findings also demonstrate that 'power' and 'control' over academic research is unevenly distributed, both within and beyond academic 'boundaries', so that certain types of university, discipline, and non-academic actor exhibit greater 'power' and 'control' than others, such that there remains cause to be concerned about the future integrity of academic boundaries, and for academic researchers to resist and take ownership over the impact agenda.

The primary aim of this study was to develop an in-depth understanding of Transnational Higher Education (TNE) in Oman by investigating the implementation of TNE programmes hosted by two Omani private colleges. TNE in private Higher Education (HE) is the outcome of government policy requiring all private Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to establish collaborative partnerships with credible international universities; the latter being responsible for awarding the degrees. With the private HE sector in Oman currently accommodating about 50 percent of the new students entering the national HE system, it was important to examine issues around the nature of institutional partnerships; curriculum development; academic impact (teaching and learning, and quality of education) as well as problems or challenges faced in the delivery of TNE programmes by private local HE colleges. By recognising the dearth of research in this area, this qualitative study focused on the perceptions and experiences of academic staff regarding TNE in Oman. It also examined the policy drivers for TNE in Oman and its implications at the national and institutional levels, in order to understand the political and economic context in which these institutions were operating in. Data were generated primarily through the use of semi-structured interviews carried out with 27 academic staff from two selected private colleges. The data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis which enabled the identification of various key themes from the data. The study confirmed that the provision of TNE by private colleges is driven by government policy which seeks to accelerate the building of national capacity through the provision of good quality HE. The academic staff were generally satisfied with the provision of TNE programmes, however, the study highlighted that the implementation of TNE programmes was affected by a number of factors including,financial constraints; socio-cultural challenges; and ineffective communication among key stakeholders. The thesis further investigated participants‟ views regarding the ways in which the implementation of the existing TNE programmes could be improved. Participants identified that enhancing the role of the local colleges in the development of a quality culture and rethinking of the role of the foreign partner Universities and the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) in the development of TNE programmes were key areas for policy and academic action.

The education and training of social care workers (SCWs) takes place, predominantly, in the Institute of Technology (IOT) sector in Ireland. Both the state agency Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) and Ireland's multi-professional health regulator CORU stipulate a requirement for Personal Development (PD) in the higher education and training of SCWs. However, there is little evidence as to if, or how, this is delivered in the social care (SC) educational programmes in the IOT sector in Ireland. Those who claim its benefits point to the need for SCWs to acquire the capacity to become more self-aware, build healthy self-esteem and challenge sedimented prejudices before entering the profession. The challenging nature of the work, the extremely high rate of stress and burnout in the sector and the imminent professional statutory registration of SCWs is also noted. Little research has been undertaken in this area; hence this study seeks to explore the phenomenon of PD in the higher education and training of SCWs from the perspective of 14 SC educators in the 13 IOTS in Ireland. Underpinned by a social constructivist methodology and using a qualitative multiple case study approach, semi-structured interviews are employed to collect the data. The findings reveal that PD is embedded, but not explicit, in a variety of modules and module titles in the 13 IOTs investigated with only one stand-alone module, specifically designed for the facilitation of PD. The delivery of PD is open to interpretation and depends on the IOT in question, the (SC) programme(s), the module(s) and the influence of the theoretical orientation, background, and training of the SC educator. The findings reveal that students benefit from engaging in PD, especially in dealing with unresolved personal issues that may impede their work with clients. PD is considered necessary in training for professional best practice in social care, but concerns are raised that SC educators are not trained to undertake therapeutic work and find themselves walking a 'thin line' between PD and therapeutic practice.

The National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030 was commissioned by the Higher Education Authority and was published in 2011 under the chair of Colin Hunt. The National Strategy, along with policy implementation and review documents, makes some radical proposals for the reconfiguration of the HE landscape in Ireland with much of the focus on the restructuring of the non-university sector, particularly the fourteen Institutes of Technology (IoTs), while maintaining a "binary divide". The reform agenda has provided many challenges to the Institutes of Technology sector, and a policy trajectory approach to policy analysis is adopted to investigate the proposed changes to the Institutes of Technology sector. The tensions and shift in power dynamics are key elements to the process of reform in what is a contested space. These tensions are explored from the perspective of the Institutes of Technology sector through a process of critical discourse analysis conducted in the policy document and semi-structured interviews with key policy stakeholders. A historical policy review of the evolution of the non-university sector in Ireland, alternative models in the European Higher Education Area and alternative proposals to the Hunt Report are used as counterpoints to frame the analysis. The analysis revealed that while the Report was initially broadly welcomed, the proposals and their implementation are far more complex and contentious, and there is less cohesion, particularly in the Institutes of Technology, on how the sector can ensure parity of esteem with, and a distinctive mission from, the traditional university sector.

Gaining a more in-depth understanding of how research and knowledge can contribute to societal change is essential to the effective execution of any university's mission. At The University of the West Indies St. Augustine Campus in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T), the RDI Fund provides grants to promote research that addresses national and regional development issues. This research is expected to generate societal impact but the pathways and processes through which knowledge from these projects leads to impact have never before been investigated. This case study of the RDI Fund is complemented by embedded case studies of selected RDI Fund projects and delves into the operational dynamics of knowledge flows and processes. In so doing, it exposes the need for a conceptual framework which captures the enabling and oppositional forces that support or inhibit effective and efficient knowledge flows in research to societal impact processes. Expanding on Meagher, Lyall and Nutley's (2008) model, my conceptual framework confronts the range of factors and forces at the micro, meso and macro levels, which serve as countercurrents to anticipated flows of knowledge. This research study thus calls into question the appropriateness of research impact measurement in contexts with fragile research ecosystems and underdeveloped linkages between knowledge intermediaries, as is the case in T&T. Processes and mechanisms for knowledge utilization and knowledge brokerage are vital to achieve sustained societal impact and thus, need to be enhanced. Moreover, this research study contends that a focus on the 'micropolitcs of research' as well as renewed emphasis on the 'enlightenment effect' of knowledge are essential to navigate and mitigate the oppositional forces present in research communities. By generating more effective and efficient knowledge flows, UWI researchers can strengthen the various pathways through which university research can contribute to societal impact in the Caribbean.

Upward communication of employee voice concerning suggestions and ideas is essential for success and learning within contemporary organisations. Research has identified that implicit responses by employees stifle voice, including pro-organisational change ideas, resulting in the loss of valuable organisational knowledge. The post-2008 Irish recession created an unprecedented period of change in the Irish higher education system. A document commonly known as the “Hunt Report” was introduced as the blueprint for proposed policy changes. This and subsequent policy documents in 2011/12 proposed substantial reform, requesting lecturers in Irish Institutes of Technology (IOTs) to engage in dialogue within their institutions and suggest how to consolidate the sector in a time-bound manner. This thesis examines the extent to which the self-censorship of pro-organisational voice by IOT lecturers is a consequence of current lived experiences and context. This small-scale exploratory qualitative study interviewed eight lecturers in IOTs during the consultation phase utilising a semi-structured interview process. Data was analysed utilising a thematic analysis approach. It employed implicit voice theories (IVTs) as a conceptual framework and a time and context sensitive lens of enquiry designed to enhance understanding. Lecturers reported cautiousness and silence due to underlying perceptions of negative consequences relating to voicing. This outcome is broadly predicted by IVT, yet notably an anomaly concerning voice pertaining to student welfare is highlighted. Lecturer discourse emphasises a deficiency in trust between themselves and management in addition to reporting feelings of despondency, fear and distance from the change process. Findings reflect challenges for organisational learning, change transition and development in the IOT sector and recommend the reinforcement of mutual trust-building initiatives amongst lecturers and management. These research findings contribute contemporary insights and understanding concerning latent voice and silence in Irish IOT settings and provide enhanced knowledge and awareness to those wishing to bring about practitioner-informed change.

The purpose of this research was to explore how postdoctoral researchers and principal investigators (PIs) in scientific disciplines experience researcher development, following the implementation of the Roberts researcher development policies. This doctoral research used a qualitative methodology with a dual approach of “at-home ethnography” (Alvesson, 2009, p. 174) and semi-structured interviewing to explore the experiences of being and developing as a postdoctoral researcher, as well as being an academic employing postdoctoral researchers, within the structural context of a research- intensive institution. Data from 9 Postdoctoral researchers and 12 Principal investigators (academics) interviewed between 2013-14 is presented in this analysis. The Bourdieusian concepts of field, capital and habitus (Bourdieu & Wacquant, 1992) have been used to frame the analysis of researcher development, as a practice within the field of postdoctoral research. An ethnographic exploration permitted to narrate the institutional implementation of researcher development policies; it also allowed to identify objective structures contributing to shaping the Postdoc habitus and the positioning of researchers within the institutional context. From this small-scale explorative study emerged 6 domains of postdoctoral researcher positioning (projecting, grafting, hopping, stepping, resisting and bobbling) within the field of postdoctoral research. These domains were conceptualised on the basis of volumes and configuration of capital, particular habitus, modes of entry into the postdoctoral field and trajectory within the field. The study identifies instances of symbolic violence that pertain to the lack of capital afforded to postdoctoral researchers. An exploration of PIs’ habitus highlights particular stances in approaching researcher development, that point to a reproduction of the field doxa. The findings bring to the fore that researcher development policies have had limited impact in reconfiguring the postdoctoral field logic and challenge researcher developers in their role within the postdoctoral field.

This thesis examines the experiences of professional staff, other than academic staff, working within Irish higher education while pursuing a doctorate in education. The research question is “To what extent do the narratives of professional staff working in Irish higher education reveal their motivations for pursuing a doctorate in education?” The study employs narrative inquiry both as the methodology and the phenomenon under observation as it examines the data derived from the narratives of five higher educational professionals working in different Irish higher education institutions. The conceptual framework for the study was based on Connelly and Clandinin’s approach to narrative inquiry which in turn is grounded in a Deweyan theory of experience. The data was presented in two parts. The first part made visible different aspects of individual experience by presenting a storied account of each research participant using their own words as illustration. The second part presents six main themes and a further twenty-four sub-themes which emerged during the interviews and analysis of the life grid responses. The six main themes were: previous experiences of education; motivations for undertaking a doctoral qualification; relationships; identity; support networks; and after the doctorate. The reasons for doctoral study are complex and individuals choose it for multiple reasons. I would argue that all of the themes and sub-themes are relational in terms of motivations for undertaking doctoral research and that stories that people live and tell, matter.

Existing research has largely provided attention to the HE decision-making and choices of students embarking on their post-16 studies in sixth forms and 11-18 comprehensives, with relatively little attention paid to those in Further Education (FE). This doctoral thesis addresses knowledge gaps in our understanding of underrepresented FE students’ higher education (HE) decision-making and choices, paying particular attention to the reasons and influences informing these over the course of their post-16 studies. I question whether FE students approach their HE decisions and choices as individualised, or whether they are mediated by structural limitations, given the emphasis on students making the ‘right’ choices for themselves (BIS, 2011). To explore these research questions, I conducted a qualitative longitudinal narrative inquiry over a 16-18 month period with FE students in England, using a combination of paper and audio diaries, individual semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Applying Archer’s (2003, 2007, 2012) reflexive modalities, along with Bourdieu’s (1986) forms of capital to participants’ narratives facilitated the identification of enablements and constraints as well as different responses to structure, action and social mobility in their HE decision-making and choices. Numerous reasons and influences were identified, such as the influence of ‘known others’, biographical experiences, intrinsic interests, instrumental rationality, emotional investment in HEIs, attainment and competition, which varied in intensity for individual participants over time. This was also the case for structural constraints, namely an absence of economic capital, which students appeared to realise over time. Participants’ responses to reasons, influences and structural constraints were complex and influenced by their personal projects and reflexive modes. Where individualised approaches to choice-making were identified, these were thwarted by unnegotiable constraints, which were ‘masked’ by changes in reflexivity. WP programmes and initiatives acted as an enablement in aiding some participants to overcome constraints. Yet, only a minority of participants were involved in such programmes. These findings collectively convey that the majority of participants were unable to go where they preferred in their HE decisions, and, instead, had to decipher the ‘reasonable’ option when constraints related to economic capital were realised.

International students have had an increasingly significant presence in UK higher education since the 1980s. Government policy has intentionally encouraged their recruitment, from the Prime Minister’s Initiative in 1999 to the Coalition Government’s 2013 International Education Strategy. This study establishes how public policy discursively creates problems, solutions and representations of international students through textual analysis of over 90 documents. It uses Carol Bacchi’s (2009) ‘what is the problem represented to be’ framework to uncover problems, solutions, assumptions and silences in the policy discourses. The analysis revealed that policy justifies international student recruitment in terms of anticipated gains for the UK, namely: increased diplomatic influence, educational reputation, and income. In a field of global competition, these perceived benefits address the implicit problems of addressing the declining power and status of the nation. International student recruitment is undesirable when students are in ‘academic deficit’ and contribute to negative popular discourses around immigrants. Thus, rationales are made both in favour of and counter to their recruitment. In these rationales, students are discursively represented as immigrants, conduits for income, consumers, arbiters of quality, creators of international education, ambassadors, and fundamentally Other. They are valued for the benefits they bring to the UK and are not constructed as individuals with agency. These representations and rationales are important because they have the power to modify institutional and national practices, change individuals’ self-representations and relationships. This thesis contributes to an enhanced critical awareness of how national policies rationalise and represent international students, a necessary precursor to an ethical pedagogical engagement in international higher education.

This research explores practitioners’ professional learning, and revised career expectations, as a result of undertaking the EdD. It considers the nature of professionalism, and the institutional conditions that support its development. A new model for conceptual analysis Ecological Positioning Theory is developed, and used. This hybrid model draws on Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory (1979) and Harré and van Langenhove’s Positioning Theory (1999). Ecological Positioning is used to identify the various layers of engagement these EdD students experience in a working context, and articulate the subsequent, and movable, positions within these layers of discourse. Ecological Positioning was used as a framework to prompt semi-structured narratives relating to the macro/exo/meso, and micro-structures inhabited by the practitioners; to assist practitioners articulate their subsequent positions within them, and identify their emotional responses to this positioning. This qualitative data was then themed against the ecological systems identified by the respondents. What emerged in the findings was that for some the psychological contract with their employer (in terms of what is given and what is to be received) had changed, and that these changes were perceived to be impacting across the higher education sector. As a result, the terms of employment, subsequent professional identities of practitioners and ‘what it means to be a teacher and learner’ were also changing. Engagement with the EdD could be viewed as a response to what a higher education practitioner ‘should be’. This research has two main contributions to offer. The first is the presentation, and use, of Ecological Positioning to understand the experiential connections which link the personal, socio-historical and situational contexts in addition to considering the diversity and dynamics of academic life. The second is the time-bound snap shot of the experiences of a specific group of higher education teaching practitioners who, for various reasons, have undertaken an EdD.