The politics of student engagement

Abstract

Student engagement (SE) is currently a significant focus of attention in Higher Education (HE), but its underlying political character and the broader political-economic context have been overlooked. SE has not been considered from the perspective of the 'Idea' of the university. Bringing together the literature on SE, the marketisation of HE and the 'Idea' of the university, we argue that current policies and practices are based on a one-dimensional conception, which neglects the crucial elements of cognitive and emotional engagement, and that this both reflects and reinforces an economic utilitarian conception of the university and a consumer model of student identity.

The New Tyranny of Student Participation? Student voice and the paradox of strategic-active student-citizens

“…This heightened emphasis echoes both wider trends across the public sector to promote user involvement in planning and decision-making and the discursive positioning of students-asconsumers (Carey, 2013;Milburn-Shaw and Walker, 2017). Reinforcing these trends, research on student engagement and participation has often focused upon instrumental considerations which position students as astute and strategic decision-makers seeking to secure the optimum individual outcome.…”

Working With PhD Students to Build Their Transferability and Researcher Skills in the FEASST@8 and SuCCEED@8 Projects

“…Following the increase in the cost of tuition fees in 2010, culminating with the approval of the Higher Education Research Act 2017 (The Stationery Office, ) and the creation of the Office for Students responsible for both quality assurance and market competition, in England, more specifically, this complex discourse has been framed within the two further seemingly contrasting but conceptually convergent goals of universities being “value for money” and “value for students.” The conflation of both goals falls within a reading of student engagement and student satisfaction as the expression of a utilitarian approach supporting a specific type of self‐interest, on the one hand, and free market deregulation, on the other (Buckley, ; Milburn‐Shaw & Walker, ). Thus, universities are held accountable for ensuring that students are “able to progress into employment or further study, and their qualifications hold their value over time” (Office for Students [OfS], , p. 14) as one of the four principles defining the contract between the OfS, universities, and students.…”

Adapting conventional delivery to cope with large cohorts: turning seminars into workshops and changing assessment

“…The term student engagement has emerged relatively recently in education debates but is widely deployed in QAA, HEA, Universities UK and in pedagogy literature (Higher Education Academy, 2015;Trowler, 2010;Anyangwe, 2011;Christenson, et al, 2012;Kahu, 2011;Milburn and Shaw, 2017;NSSE, 2013;Sweeney, 2018). This follows a substantial literature around student centred learning (Lea, et al, 2003;Barraket, 2005;Mazur, 1997;Kumar, 2007;Independent Education Today, 2015;Leuven Communiqué, 2009).…”