New Labour and Higher Education: Dilemmas and Paradoxes

Brown, Roger

doi:10.1111/j.0951-5224.2003.00245.x

Cited by 13 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Tapper and O. Filippakou government policy (especially of the Research Assessment Exercises (RAE)) would argue that, in fact, it encourages stratification whilst undermining diversification, notwithstanding fine words to the contrary (Brown, 2003) In terms of British higher education institutions, the response to the selective allocation of research income is varied. The range of reactions to RAE outcomes has been much the same since the evaluative process was implemented in 1986.…”

Section: Selective Research Funding and World-class Statusmentioning

confidence: 99%

The world‐class league tables and the sustaining of international reputations in higher education

Tapper

Filippakou

2009

Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management

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The purpose of this exploratory article is to broaden our understanding of institutional reputation. It argues that it is vital to understand how prestigious institutions of higher education evaluate the basis of their own reputations. While accepting the importance of institutional research outputs, which are so critical to the current 'world-class' ranking lists, it puts forward alternative criteria that elite institutions are likely to embrace, and suggests ways in which their significance could be researched. There have been two main academic approaches to the ranking lists: the first explores their methodological weaknesses and suggests ways in which they could be improved; the second offers a moral condemnationthey are invariably poorly constructed, have negative policy connotations and their use should be restricted. This article takes a different approach: we need to know what institutions believe is the basis of their own reputations, and what changes they are prepared to pursue in order to sustain it.

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Section: Selective Research Funding and World-class Statusmentioning

confidence: 99%

The world‐class league tables and the sustaining of international reputations in higher education

Tapper

Filippakou

2009

Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management

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“…In many ways, the expectations for FD providers to produce graduates who are both ready for progression, if that is their chosen route, or for entry into the workplace (Department for Education and Skills 2004), make the translation of the employability agenda increasingly complex. The 'dilemmas and paradoxes' that have arisen from the policy context surrounding the development of the FD (Brown 2003) can be crystallised to provide some understanding of the difficulties on the ground in the pedagogic challenges of FD provision. In bald terms, the FD was developed as a qualification for all seasons, which needed to address issues of social equity and the higher-level technician training needs and appropriate skills development, whilst not placing an excessive burden on the exchequer and maintaining quality and standards.…”

Section: Concluding Commentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A social constructivist approach to introducing skills for employment to Foundation Degree students

Rutt

Gray

Turner

et al. 2013

Research in Post-Compulsory Education

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Expectations for higher education providers to produce graduates ready for the workplace have shaped provision, with the introduction of the Foundation Degree, and expectations of an employability component within higher education programmes. This paper reports on an intervention for three groups of foundation degree students, which introduces them to ideas of skills for employability. An initial evaluation was followed up two months later exploring the longer-term impact and connections within students' programmes of study and data were captured from employers and tutors supporting this intervention. In agreement with similar studies, benefits for students were identified. However, this research reinforces the challenging nature of the employability agenda, particularly within the context of Foundation Degrees and their dual vocationalacademic remit. This paper suggests there is a case to be made for a social constructivist approach within programmes and institutions for promoting awareness and consistency in developing student employability skills. IntroductionThe skills agenda and the evolution of it within Higher Education (HE) policy in the UK are well documented, from the Dearing Report (Dearing 1997) through to a review, The Future of Higher Education, by the Department for Education and Skills (2003) and, later, the Leitch Review of Skills (2006). Relatedly, in this time Foundation Degrees (FDs) were launched with a view to promoting vocational HE delivered by HE institutions but also further education (FE) colleges. With one of the main aims of the FD being to improve the level of skilled labour entering the UK workforce (Stanton 2009), it is appropriate to examine how this is played out within the curriculum, and this paper provides focus on one case study where FE college-based FD entrants were introduced to the idea of skills for employment. Despite the emphasis within the policy discourse on skills for employment, research has identified that some students still finish such courses of study without a clear understanding of the value that their course has for their employability (Dismore, Hicks, and Lintern 2010). Twelve years on from the launch of the FD and the meeting of the ambitious FD recruitment targets (Longhurst 2010) it is timely to review practice in relation to the skills and employability remit attached to the award. As

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“…Evidence indicates that choice of a local university is influenced by SES with those falling into the lowest group of DE being significantly more likely to select according to the home proximity than students in all other socio-economic groups (NUS-GfK Survey 2008, 8). Although differential fees may cause a disincentive for working-class students to enter HE in the first place (Brown 2003), the impact is relatively unknown and more research is required in this area.…”

Section: The Decision-making Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

An analysis of school pupils’ (with low social economic status) perceptions of university, regarding programmes of study

Moogan¹

2011

Educational Studies

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Through its "Aim Higher Project" and "Excellence Challenge Programmes", the UK government is investing large sums of money into widening participation so that more school leavers stay on to study for higher education (HE) courses, especially those from lower social classes and ethnic groups. Universities are increasingly developing links with local schools and creating novel ways of enhancing these relationships. Nevertheless, as the costs of attending university rise, it may be difficult to widen access especially amongst those "less wealthy" young people which universities are desperate to attract and enrol, due to the more lucrative government funding that the universities will receive. The main aim of the research is to report research findings from a case study incorporating Year 11 pupils (n = 38) from an inner city school (placed second on the Aim Higher register for the most socially disadvantaged), focusing in the main on the programme of study. This exploratory work is longitudinal with the researcher entering the Roman Catholic High School every two weeks during the academic year (over a period of nine months).

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New Labour and Higher Education: Dilemmas and Paradoxes

Cited by 13 publications

References 7 publications

The world‐class league tables and the sustaining of international reputations in higher education

The world‐class league tables and the sustaining of international reputations in higher education

A social constructivist approach to introducing skills for employment to Foundation Degree students

An analysis of school pupils’ (with low social economic status) perceptions of university, regarding programmes of study

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