Rethinking Higher Education – serie

This book examines the restructuring of universities on the basis of neoliberal models, and provides a vision of the practice of hope in higher education as a means to counteract this new reality. The authors present a re-imagined version of Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” to highlight the absurdity of policy trends and decisions within higher education and shock people out of indifference towards action. The authors suggest the ‘practice of hope’ as a way to create a system that moves beyond neoliberalism and embraces equity as commonplace. Providing real-world possibilities of the practice of hope, the book offers possibilities of what could happen if neoliberalism at the higher education level is counteracted by the practice of hope.

This book examines the restructuring of universities on the basis of neoliberal models, and provides a vision of the practice of hope in higher education as a means to counteract this new reality. The authors present a re-imagined version of Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” to highlight the absurdity of policy trends and decisions within higher education and shock people out of indifference towards action. The authors suggest the ‘practice of hope’ as a way to create a system that moves beyond neoliberalism and embraces equity as commonplace. Providing real-world possibilities of the practice of hope, the book offers possibilities of what could happen if neoliberalism at the higher education level is counteracted by the practice of hope.

This book analyzes stories of university early childhood faculty members, community activists in southern California, and children and the early childhood teacher education students working with them. The grounding of this research is reconceptualization of postmodern narrative theoretical influences. Through narrative inquiry, the book connects ongoing research to ongoing pedagogy. It explores the following research questions: (1) How do learners across generations create, build upon, and reinvent each other’s stories to make new meanings through consideration of family history, multigenerational knowledge, and experiences?; (2) How do learners’ stories offer new possibilities through leadership that connects Global South knowledge with Global North contexts?; (3) In what ways is it possible to use this framework and methodology in Higher Education to promote systemic consistency in promoting social justice that is generatively inclusive?More than half of the research participants have truly lived bi-culturally, many of the children in the early care and education programs in the USA are from Mexico and Central America. These collaborators truly carry their roots with them as they strive for justice and authenticity in early childhood teacher education and community activists working with families and children.

This book analyzes stories of university early childhood faculty members, community activists in southern California, and children and the early childhood teacher education students working with them. The grounding of this research is reconceptualization of postmodern narrative theoretical influences. Through narrative inquiry, the book connects ongoing research to ongoing pedagogy. It explores the following research questions: (1) How do learners across generations create, build upon, and reinvent each other’s stories to make new meanings through consideration of family history, multigenerational knowledge, and experiences?; (2) How do learners’ stories offer new possibilities through leadership that connects Global South knowledge with Global North contexts?; (3) In what ways is it possible to use this framework and methodology in Higher Education to promote systemic consistency in promoting social justice that is generatively inclusive?More than half of the research participants have truly lived bi-culturally, many of the children in the early care and education programs in the USA are from Mexico and Central America. These collaborators truly carry their roots with them as they strive for justice and authenticity in early childhood teacher education and community activists working with families and children.

In a context in which explicit attention to the curriculum has been sidelined in universities’ strategy, this book makes an argument for why curriculum matters, both in understanding the effects of unbundled online learning and more broadly. It takes up two particular curriculum issues which are amplified in an unbundled context: differences in the formulation of curriculum between disciplines and professional fields, and the extent these are recognised in university strategy; and the push for constructivist pedagogies, and its effects on curriculum construction. Since the onslaught of MOOCs in 2012, unbundled forms of online learning offered via partnerships with external online program management and MOOC providers have grown significantly across the university sector. There has been much debate about the implications of these partnerships but the focus has predominantly been on the engagement of students and their learning. This book takes adifferent and novel approach, looking instead at the effects on curriculum and knowledge.Drawing on selected case studies, the book reflects on how university leaders and academics engaged with MOOCs and other forms of unbundled online learning in the early 2010s, and the effects of these reforms on curriculum practice. It captures in detail the complex and difficult work involved in university curriculum making in a way rarely seen in discussions of higher education. And it generates new in-sights about some of the critical problems manifest in the ongoing moves to embrace unbundled online learning today.

In a context in which explicit attention to the curriculum has been sidelined in universities’ strategy, this book makes an argument for why curriculum matters, both in understanding the effects of unbundled online learning and more broadly. It takes up two particular curriculum issues which are amplified in an unbundled context: differences in the formulation of curriculum between disciplines and professional fields, and the extent these are recognised in university strategy; and the push for constructivist pedagogies, and its effects on curriculum construction. Since the onslaught of MOOCs in 2012, unbundled forms of online learning offered via partnerships with external online program management and MOOC providers have grown significantly across the university sector. There has been much debate about the implications of these partnerships but the focus has predominantly been on the engagement of students and their learning. This book takes adifferent and novel approach, looking instead at the effects on curriculum and knowledge.Drawing on selected case studies, the book reflects on how university leaders and academics engaged with MOOCs and other forms of unbundled online learning in the early 2010s, and the effects of these reforms on curriculum practice. It captures in detail the complex and difficult work involved in university curriculum making in a way rarely seen in discussions of higher education. And it generates new in-sights about some of the critical problems manifest in the ongoing moves to embrace unbundled online learning today.

This open access book explores how educational researchers working at the edges of innovations in languages and literacies, leadership, assessment, social and cultural transformation, and pedagogies rethink the educational turn in new sites. It engages with the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) for educational researchers to redefine ways of knowing about learning post-COVID and deepen collective understanding of student learning and teaching for next practices to emerge.This book extends the theoretical and practical aspects of the educational turn across multiple contexts as SoTL. It is grounded in a field of practice and ways of knowing, outlining key intellectual principals, and set against specific examples from research. The chapters reference an understanding of the pedagogical implications of the ‘educational turn’, utilise a broad range of theory and concepts, and explore potential implications for education and next practices.

This open access book explores how educational researchers working at the edges of innovations in languages and literacies, leadership, assessment, social and cultural transformation, and pedagogies rethink the educational turn in new sites. It engages with the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) for educational researchers to redefine ways of knowing about learning post-COVID and deepen collective understanding of student learning and teaching for next practices to emerge.This book extends the theoretical and practical aspects of the educational turn across multiple contexts as SoTL. It is grounded in a field of practice and ways of knowing, outlining key intellectual principals, and set against specific examples from research. The chapters reference an understanding of the pedagogical implications of the ‘educational turn’, utilise a broad range of theory and concepts, and explore potential implications for education and next practices.

This book offers an insight into current-day Student as Partners (SaP) practice, presenting reflections by staff and students from global institutions. Student as Partners (SaP) is a practice that involves creating partnerships with students to create their learning journey. It enables student empowerment by giving them agency and a space creating student voice, and allows for close connections and quick feedback on teaching practices and policies. In the past ten years, there has been a rise in SaP practices in Australian higher education institutes, and a swell in dedicated scholarship from educators and researchers, reflecting an appetite for student-led approaches to higher education. Born from the (inter) national Students as Partners Roundtable from 2023, this book engages with “Respect, Reciprocity and Responsibility” (Cook-Sather et al., 2014) as central themes within Student-Staff partnerships. It brings together reflections from students and educators, as well as doctoral candidates operating in a sort of “middle ground.” This book also expands on current literature, with reflections on SaP practices across the Asia-Pacific region sitting alongside those from the United Kingdom, North America, and South Africa.

This book examines policies and practices within higher education, particularly in the field of teacher education, that foster sustainability from a variety of viewpoints. It sheds light on both common facilitators and obstacles across 18 research-oriented chapters. It scrutinizes global research, policies, and practices, and delves into the theoretical frameworks and empirical evidence that underpin the research. It also offers critical perspectives on teacher education, emphasizing potential areas for growth. The collective findings presented in this book offer valuable insights into the sustainable development of teaching and research within higher education institutions, providing readers with a deeper understanding of the challenges at hand. Its concluding chapter culminates in an action plan for higher education institutions, synthesizing the global research presented throughout; with the aim of rejuvenating higher education and, consequently, societies as a whole. In essence, this book serves as a catalyst for initiating a global conversation within higher education, facilitating the exploration of new discourse topics, and transforming the mindset prevalent in academia, all with the ultimate goal of nurturing sustainable futures.

This book examines policies and practices within higher education, particularly in the field of teacher education, that foster sustainability from a variety of viewpoints. It sheds light on both common facilitators and obstacles across 18 research-oriented chapters. It scrutinizes global research, policies, and practices, and delves into the theoretical frameworks and empirical evidence that underpin the research. It also offers critical perspectives on teacher education, emphasizing potential areas for growth. The collective findings presented in this book offer valuable insights into the sustainable development of teaching and research within higher education institutions, providing readers with a deeper understanding of the challenges at hand. Its concluding chapter culminates in an action plan for higher education institutions, synthesizing the global research presented throughout; with the aim of rejuvenating higher education and, consequently, societies as a whole. In essence, this book serves as a catalyst for initiating a global conversation within higher education, facilitating the exploration of new discourse topics, and transforming the mindset prevalent in academia, all with the ultimate goal of nurturing sustainable futures.

This book examines how teaching and learning and teacher and student identities are being reframed in higher education by neoliberal policies and practices. It shares how teachers perform teaching and learning duties in relation to prescribed institutional policies and how teachers insert dissonant pedagogies as a critical practice.The book explores narrative pedagogy as a disruptive presence and a space for critique. It interrogates personal/professional experience of educational systems that present educators juggling complexity and meeting competing demands to make learning meaningful for students. Each contribution will act as a counterpoint and provide a synoptic method for comparison. The book re-constructs meaning from the generic narrative of the public face of education, which homogenizes and diminishes collective understandings of teachers and teaching. This book provides a contemporary account of the social realities experienced within the higher education classroom across the globe.