The Future of Higher Education Also available from Continuum Internationalizing the University, Yvonne Turner and Sue Robson Pedagogy and the University, Monica McLean Perspectives of Quality in Adult Learning, Peter Boshier Reflective Teaching in Further and Adult Education, 2nd Edition, Yvonne Hillier Rethinking Universities, Sally Baker and Brian J. Brown Teaching in Further Education 6th Edition, L.B. Curzon Teaching in Post-Compulsory Education 2nd Edition, Fred Fawbert The Future of Higher Education Policy, Pedagogy and the Student Experience Edited by Les Bell, Mike Neary and Howard Stevenson Continuum International Publishing Group The Tower Building 80 Maiden Lane, 11 York Road Suite 704 London SE1 7NX New York, NY 10038 www.continuumbooks.com © Les Bell, Mike Neary, Howard Stevenson and Contributors 2009 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. Les Bell, Mike Neary and Howard Stevenson have asserted their right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Authors of this work. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN: 978-1-8470-6472-1 (hardcover) 978-1-8470-6473-8 (paperback) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The future of higher education : policy, pedagogy and the student experience / edited by Mike Neary, Howard Stevenson and Les Bell. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-8470-6473-8 (pb) ISBN 978-1-8470-6472-1 (hb) 1. Education, Higher – Aims and objectives – Great Britain. 2. Higher education and state – Great Britain. 3. Education, Higher – Economic aspects – Great Britain. 4. Educational change – Great Britain. I. Neary, Mike, 1956– II. Stevenson, Howard, 1963– III. Bell, Les, 1942– IV. Title. LA637.F86 2009 378.41–dc22 2008039234 Typeset by Newgen Imaging Systems Pvt Ltd, Chennai, India Printed and bound in Great Britain by Contents Preface vii Notes on Contributors ix 1 Introduction – Universities in Transition: Themes in Higher Education Policy 1 Howard Stevenson and Les Bell Part One: THE POLICY CONTEXT Edited by Howard Stevenson 2 Academic Freedom: Essential Liberty or Extravagant Luxury? 17 Terence Karran 3 Learning Landscapes: Designing a Classroom of the Future 30 Mike Neary and Angela Thody 4 Learning and Teaching for Sustainable Development in Higher Education: Examining Dissonance and Instructional Strategy 42 Terfot Ngwana Part Two: PEDAGOGY AND THE INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT Edited by Les Bell 5 Educational Development Units: The Challenge of Quality Enhancement in a Changing Environment 57 Julian Beckton 6 Continuing Professional Development in Higher Education: Tensions and Debates in a Changing Environment 69 Karin Crawford vi Contents 7 Technology-Enhanced Learning: A New Digital Divide? 83 Sue Watling Part Three: THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE Edited by Mike Neary 8 The Stretched Academy: The Learning Experience of Mature Students from Under-represented Groups 99 Aileen Morris 9 Student Intelligence: Challenging Received Wisdom in Student Surveys 112 Andy Hagyard 10 The Student as Producer: Reinventing the Student Experience in Higher Education 126 Mike Neary and Joss Winn 11 Conclusion – The Learning Landscape: Views with Endless Possibilities 139 Pam Locker References 148 Index 167 Preface The purpose of this book is to explore policy, pedagogy and the student experience in higher education at a conceptual level, enabling university staff to place their own work within a wider theoretical framework and to develop their own understandings of some of the key controversies that sur- round teaching and learning in higher education. The introduction explores significant policy developments that have shaped the learning landscape of higher education. The book is then divided into three parts, the first of which analyses key issues in higher education: academic freedom, sustainability and the nature of the learning landscape and traces the impact that these policies have had on the extent and nature of higher education provision. The second part demonstrates how these emerging policies, and the need for higher edu- cation institutions to respond to them, have produced a radical re-evaluation of what higher education is and how it might best be delivered at an institu- tional level. The final part gives consideration to pedagogy and the student experience in contemporary higher education, focusing on the experiences of mature students, student involvement in quality assurance and the student as producer. This book is written by the staff of the Centre for Educational Research and Development (CERD) at the University of Lincoln. CERD is a new organ- ization, formed in 2007 by the amalgamation of the Teaching and Learning Development Office (TLDO) and the International Institute for Educational Leadership (IIEL). The TLDO was generally responsible for quality enhance- ment and the implementation of the University’s Teaching and Learning Strategy, including running professional development programmes for staff, administering the Teacher Fellow programme, and promoting the effective use of educational technology and virtual learning environments. IIEL pro- vided masters and doctoral level programmes and conducted research in educational leadership. The CERD remit combines an emphasis on learn- ing, teaching and research with the provision of higher degree programmes, focusing on the development of teaching and learning in higher education. Its approach is both academic and scholarly, aiming for the highest standards of academic professional practice through an application of the scholarship of teaching and learning. Although grounded in the academic tradition, CERD viii Preface is committed to experimentation and innovation in teaching and learning; the basic pedagogic principles for the Centre’s research and development activi- ties are derived from the most progressive and critical pedagogies applied to the contemporary teaching and learning situation. Although focused on teaching and learning in higher education, CERD is engaged with other areas of formal and informal educational provision. In the formal sector this includes working with schools and colleges; in the informal, working with the community and voluntary sector on the delivery of education programmes. In producing this volume we have been ably support by our adminis- trative colleagues Jill Hubbard and Beverley Potterton. We are grateful for the help and encouragement of Kirsty Schaper, Jo Allcock and all the staff at Continuum Books. We all owe a considerable debt of gratitude to Penny Brown of Good Impressions Academic Editing (www.good-impressions.net) for her insightful suggestions and thorough editing of the final manuscript. Les Bell Mike Neary Howard Stevenson University of Lincoln, August 2008 Notes on Contributors Julian Beckton is Teaching and Learning Co-ordinator. Before moving into the field of Educational Development he worked in academic libraries for a number of years. Julian has been involved in a number of projects including the integration of personal development planning into university curricula, the development and support of Virtual Learning Environments and the introduction of plagiarism management software. He is currently working on setting up a Learning Object Repository. Les Bell is Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Lincoln and Emeritus Professor of Educational Management at the University of Leicester. He taught in both primary and secondary schools before joining the Education Department at Coventry College of Education. He subse- quently became a member of the Education Department at the University of Warwick after the two institutions merged. In 1994 Les became Director of the School of Education and Community Studies at Liverpool John Moores University and was appointed to the Chair of Educational Management at Leicester in 1999. He has written extensively on educational management and leadership; his latest book, Perspectives on Educational Management and Leadership (2007) is published by Continuum. Karin Crawford is a Principal Teaching Fellow. Her research interests and publications include both pedagogy and Health and Social Care. Karin is principally interested in using qualitative, narrative approaches to further the understanding of lifelong learning and academic practice. She has writ- ten several books and articles on professional development and improving teaching and training in higher education. Her book Practice Education in Social Work: A Handbook for Practice Teachers, Assessors and Educators was co-authored with Janet Walker and Jonathan Parker, and was published by Learning Matters, Exeter, in 2008. Andy Hagyard joined the University of Lincoln in 1995 and for the last seven years has worked as a Learning and Teaching Co-ordinator. Part of this role is running institutional student satisfaction surveys; he is a member of the Higher Education Academy working group which explores effective use of National Student Survey data. He represents the University as a member of x Notes on Contributors the LearnHigher Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, and is on the steering group of the new Association for Learning Development in Higher Education. Terence Karran is Senior Academic