Higher books

In light of a new wave of globalisation, cultural mobility, and criticism of Anglo-American domination, how must educational administrators and leaders respond to the challenges of internationalising their curricula and accommodating diversity?  This edited collection offers conceptual frameworks, models, theoretical approaches, and strategies that can inform and guide the development of a genuinely international curriculum. Offering an in-depth look at cases in countries such as Sweden, the US and UK, Turkey, Oman, Cameroon, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Australia, the authors investigate how factors such as institutional culture, faculty recruitment and development, learning styles, accreditation and standards, political orientation, policy, and availability of financial resources may either facilitate or inhibit the internationalisation of the curriculum. The collection also includes broader international issues of diverse humanisms, postcolonial issues, and corruption, fraud and abuse in internationalisation that has occurred that need to be addressed in educational administration and leadership curricula to improve internationalisation.  Acknowledging the need for a much broader set of cultural traditions within which educational administrators and leaders are equipped to function, this book provides a critical insight into how they might navigate the challenges of creating a truly international curriculum.

Although Lean Six Sigma (LSS) and its popularity in the context of larger manufacturing and service organizations has long been recognized, it is not widely recognized in the context of Higher Education (HE).  This book serves as a practical and systematic roadmap for developing, implementing, sustaining and deploying LSS in any higher education institution. Including various case examples and studies carried out by leading research scholars and practitioners in the field, plus a dedicated chapter on the tools and techniques which can be utilised for problem solving in the HE sector – the contributors illustrate the power of LSS methodology and its relevant tools in the HE context.  By demonstrating a clear need for LSS, and guiding the reader through practical implementation solutions, this book, edited by a globally recognised leader in LSS methodology, is a must-have resource for academics and continuous improvement professionals who are interested in applying LSS as a process improvement methodology within the university sector, as well as trainers and consultants who would like to develop LSS training material for their university clients.

The ebook edition of this title is Open Access and freely available to read online. The under-representation of women in research and innovation has been documented as a global phenomenon and is particularly heightened on decision-making boards and in leadership positions. Presenting a reflexive approach to gender equality for research organisations developed within the TARGET project, funded by the European Commission, the authors describe the experiences of the project’s implementation in seven Gender Equality Innovating Institutions in the Mediterranean basin - including research performing organisations, research funding organisations and a network of universities. The TARGET approach goes beyond the formal adoption of a gender equality policy by emphasising an iterative and reflexive process towards equality at the institutional level as well as the establishment of a community of practice for gender equality within the institution. The approach is based on the assumption that actual change is the result of increased institutional willingness and capacity to identify, reflect on and address gender bias in a sustained way. Starting point and anchor of the process is a tailored gender equality plan for each institution. A specific characteristic of TARGET is the fact that implementing institutions are located in countries which have been characterised as relatively ‘inactive’ in developing gender equality policies in science and research. Therefore, internal and external communication about the relevance of gender equality in science and research forms an important element of a reflexive gender equality policy in contexts which are characterised by resistances, anti-genderism and traditional gender roles. This book will therefore be essential reading for higher education leaders and managers, and staff at all levels committed to achieving gender equity in higher education. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

Access education has been through many changes since its beginnings in the late 1960s. Recent shifts in the academic landscape including standardization, grading, and new tensions in higher education raise difficult questions for educators regarding the future of access education. This book critically examines various aspects of Access education from a historical perspective. It proposes that there are particular 'Access' values that are shared by practitioners that can be at odds with the needs of higher education. Wider questions concerning funding and accountability underpinned by neoliberalism have also had an impact on Access education. The authors, practitioners and researchers of Access education, gather their insights in this timely book, grounded in authentic experience. They explore the ways in which policies and procedures have been developed in light of these tensions. By drawing particular attention to the voices of Access practitioners and highlighting the current constraints around curriculum design this book will prove invaluable for leaders, administrators, researchers and practitioners in further and higher education.

A 'safe space' is both a precondition, and one of the effects, of efforts of inclusiveness and egalitarian access to education. By creating safe spaces for learning and unlearning, researchers and practitioners have been working to strengthen the purpose of schools and universities, where education and learning are intended for everyone, with the goal of increasing critical thinking and valuing difference. Re-Conceptualizing Safe Spaces broadens the idea of a safe space that is traditionally discussed in feminist studies, to include gendered identities intersecting with class, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and ability within multiple aspects of education. This edited collection showcases work supporting access to education of persistently marginalized individuals, as well as efforts that help privileged groups understand their role in perpetuating the marginalization of others in educational spaces, by bringing into the popular discourse examples of the diverse and valuable work taking place. Combining foundational concepts with practical cases of creating safe spaces in venues of education, this book is essential reading for educators across the USA, Europe, and beyond.

Against the backdrop of disintegrative tendencies in the EU, where Brexit perhaps most profoundly captures the spirit of current developments in the EU, this book offers a detailed understanding of the key issues, challenges, and opportunities that educators across Europe and beyond encounter on a daily basis when teaching EU-related course content at higher education institutions.   Written by a team of international academics and practitioners engaged with teaching, researching, and explaining European integration to successive generations of students, this edited collection showcases expert voices on the issues and developments central in the debate on how to teach the EU efficiently today. Using a wide variety of case studies, the chapters examine how novel approaches to teaching and learning, and especially technology-enhanced tools and methods, can lead to better teaching and learning outcomes in the Brexit age. A cutting-edge collection of insights from experts teaching and researching the EU, this book will serve as a timely resource for educators, researchers, administrators, and decision-makers.

Widening access to university has become a major component of education policy in the past few decades, particularly in the UK and Europe. The aim is to make a university education more accessible for people from traditionally under-represented backgrounds and to ensure student bodies reflect the diversity of wider society. This key volume presents, for the first time, a critical analysis of the 'business of widening participation’ in a marketised context, featuring contributions from some of the major academic and practitioner researchers in the field. Encompassing how WP policy (as a subset of HE policy) is made, enacted and implemented at various stages, also presented are multiple professional and cultural perspectives on how WP is experienced and understood by those enacting policy. Chapter authors explore how the two aspects of the ‘business of widening participation’ work together to shape how WP is understood and done, as well as the possibilities for doing otherwise by employing a dual usage of the term 'business' in relation to WP. The first, figurative, usage explores the ways in which WP has been drawn into institutional positionality as HE providers differentiate themselves in the market; the second, literal, usage explores the ways in which WP policy is actuated by HE providers (including 'alternative' providers and FE colleges), state actors and third sector and private organisations increasingly engaged in the delivery of WP interventions and as policy stakeholders in this field. Offering both a comprehensive policy history of widening participation in UK higher education and exploration of how that policy has translated into institutional practices in different contexts, this timely work offers new analysis to academics familiar with the field whilst also offering sufficient background to practitioners who may be less familiar with the historical context and academic debates around WP.

Theory of Change speaks to those looking for an academically rigorous discussion of the origins and debates around this approach in Higher Education. Melding together robust academic research with examples of practice, the book provides specific applications of using a Theory of Change across key stages of the student life cycle. The Theory of Change underpinning this book is that national and international practitioners, policy makers, higher education professionals, students and academic faculty will increase awareness and ability to use a Theory of Change in their own work. This, in turn, will mainstream the use which will lead to better interventions and practices. In the field of access and participation in higher education, it will ultimately lead to more disadvantaged students entering and successfully progressing from higher education. This book helps to establish a common lexicon around a Theory of Change approach and enable discussion of demonstrable, meaningful reflections on the ‘change’ work has on inequalities in higher education access and participation.