Understanding Contemporary Issues in Higher Education

Brendan Bartram is Reader in Education at the University of Wolverhampton, UK.

'At the time of writing my endorsement of this fascinating book, the 2020 global Covid-19 pandemic is creating profound uncertainty about which universities will survive and new questions about who they are for and what, and how, to teach in them. The timely publication of this thought-provoking and wide-ranging book will enable readers to locate the fallout from the pandemic in a longer history of constant change, growing government regulation, risk, precariousness and fluctuating educational and social tensions around diversity, well-being and participation in the British higher education system.' - Kathryn Ecclestone, retired professor of education and co-author of The Dangerous Rise of Therapeutic Education, published in 2008 and reissued in 2018 as part of Routledge’s Classics in Education series'This book provides a thorough overview and analysis of contemporary trends and issues in higher education, focusing on many of the tensions and contradictions that are embedded in universities today. It will inspire and motivate further discussion and debate on key issues in the field. As higher education continues to adapt to new challenges and opportunities, Understanding Contemporary Issues in Higher Education is essential reading for students and researchers alike.' - Professor Robin Shields, School of Education, University of Bristol, UK

• 1. Higher Education: Change, churn and challenges 2. Changing Notions of Risk: The realities of studying in a post-92 university 3. Transitioning from Higher Education Stories from students in a STEM discipline 4. ‘Academics online’: Self-promotion, competition and celebrification 5. Higher standards and better-informed students or false promises and ‘gaming’ the system? Competition, metrics and the consumerism of students in UK higher education 6. Weaving through the Web: How students navigate information online in the twenty-first century 7. Academic Diversity and its Implications for Teaching and Learning 8. Let’s keep it casual? Rising precarity and acts of resistance in UK universities 9. Meanings, Models and Muddles: Two tales of the pursuit of teaching excellence 10. Mental Health and Wellbeing in Higher Education 11. The Development of Knowledge in the Modern and Postmodern Universities 12. Disability, Diversity and Inclusive Placement Learning 13. How to Promote Real Equality in Higher Education 14. Higher Education: Contemplating the contradictions, complexities and challenges