About the Higher Education Research group

We are an interdisciplinary group of colleagues from Schools across the university brought together through our shared research interests in higher education. Our group meetings act as a forum for dialogue, sharing ideas and pooling the varied and rich expertise and experience that members contribute to the group in an ethos of openness, and which is inclusive of all researchers, whether early career or more experienced.

Benefits of participating in the group

As such, the group resembles a Community of Practice with common areas of research interest which cluster around the broad headings of pedagogy, education for social justice, policy and governance, the neoliberal academy, student experience and a range of research methodologies. Our meetings provide a space for informal conversations about research where interdisciplinary and cross-School connections are forged. A shared enthusiasm for research as a form of enquiry is another unifying tie that defines and sustains this group. This space acts as an incubator for ideas and for planning to take them forward. Conversations, peer support, learning from one another and space to reflect are some of the ingredients that enable participation in this group to be a potent form of professional development.

Ethos

The ethos of the group is akin to elements of a relational model of academic being, a model ‘that does not regard others in academia as merely the means through which to pursue private ends, as competitors for resources, advancement and reputation. It constructs, rather, a genuine dialogue by extending value to others as colleagues, recognizing that self, other and community are also locations of human worth’ (Light, Cox and Calkins, 2009:41).

Aims

As a group we have agreed a set of aims, which are to:

• Learn about, support and encourage each other’s work in a way that nourishes each group member intellectually and emotionally.
• Cut through departmental barriers to connect practices across disciplinary lines and bring ideas into dialogue.
• Develop and discuss theorisations of higher education practices.
• Initiate and incubate collaborative research projects.
• Explore opportunities for collaborative funding bids for research into higher education.
• Learn from others, including those in different countries or contexts.
• Disseminate work, including beyond traditional academic outlets.

Plans for 2023/24 and beyond

Informed by the above aims, plans for a number of exciting possible projects in the 2023/24 academic year and beyond, that the group would like to work on together are currently under discussion and these will provide purpose and focus for the group and will ensure that direction and momentum are maintained. This is in the context of higher education research as ‘a rich and rapidly developing field’ and one with ‘much to offer the researcher, whether new to research and/or to the field, or older and well-practised’ (Tight, 2019 :176), and this field is one to which the group has much to contribute and also much to gain from working together collaboratively in this endeavour.

If you think that you may like to join the Higher Education Research Group then please make contact with the Co-ordinators: Dr Margaret Meredith m.meredith@yorksj.ac.uk and Dr Margaret Wood m.wood@yorksj.ac.uk

References

Light, G., Cox, R. and Calkins, S. (2009) Learning and Teaching in Higher Education. The Reflective Professional. London: Sage.

Tight, M. (2019) Higher Education Research. The Developing Field. London: Bloomsbury.