This article introduces a framework for transforming Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) through Heterotopic Affinity Spaces (HAS). Our model suggests HAS can shift traditional power dynamics by enhancing learner agency. Drawing on studies of affinity spaces and heterotopias, we present these spaces as free from the restrictions of formal…

In this short piece, we argue that, in light of issues with traditional grading practices, critical assessment activities, particularly through guided reflexivity, can support equitable and social justice-oriented education in communication and beyond. The article posits that a culture-centered critically reflexive self-assessment empowers…

Assessment of student learning is commonly understood as a seemingly objective measurement of learning outcomes. It is seen as fair that assessment targets students' abilities -- not their identities or personalities. This idea fails to acknowledge how assessment transforms its object, the students, often in unintended ways. While higher education…

Black first-generation college students (FGCS) often encounter challenges in the collegiate classroom due to implicit racism, academic unpreparedness, and cultural shifts. My study explores how strengths philosophy, a social work framework that leverages inherent strengths to encourage agency and change, can enhance the self-efficacy of Black…

IU International University of Applied Sciences with more than 120,000 enrolled students at present and more than 200 bachelor's and master's programmes in total is a member of the UN Global Compact and its higher education initiative. The principles of these two initiatives are the key factors which define the sustainability approach of the…

Semi-structured interviews with 22 faculty at a fronterizx HSI located at the U.S.-Mexico border revealed the ways faculty perceive, enact, and engage with servingness practice. Findings provide critical insights into the relationship between servingness and faculty as empowerment agents through three culturally relevant themes:…

In this study, we investigated the relationship between perceived learner control and student engagement in a blended course. Data were collected from 110 s-year bachelor students through weekly questionnaires to gather information about how they perceived their learner control and engagement in various study activities, including reading…

We describe how a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) "enrolling" educational institution can transform its practices to embrace and include student voices and become HSI "affirming and thriving" by focusing on the introductory semester-long public-speaking course as a site for liberatory learning outcomes and by using digital…

One of the biggest challenges on a college campus is finding a way to bring student voice to faculty in a way that is not intimidating to the students and creates a safe space for faculty to talk about their practices and how it affects students. This is a challenge that the author has faced as the director of Faculty LIFE (Learning Innovation and…

Creating a socially just pedagogy from a grassroots level could help address issues of educational injustice. This paper focuses on the creation of the student voice for social justice (SVSJ) pedagogical method that is based on Nancy Fraser's political social justice framework. The resulting approach, developed through participatory action…

This study examines postsecondary education (PSE) students' perspectives on postplagiarism--a framework that reconceptualizes academic integrity in response to generative artificial intelligence (GenAI). Through a quantitative survey of 581 PSE students across five English-speaking countries, the research investigated student responses to the six…

Although they constitute twenty percent of Israel's citizens, Arabs have no significant opportunity to study their own language in Israel's academic institutions. Academic courses are conducted in Hebrew, the official language of the country. This has implications for the Arab students' academic achievement as well as for their sense of belonging…

As university teachers of literature, we tend to accept the rhetoric that students lack the capacity to interpret texts meaningfully, without questioning our own biases about the kinds of meaning we expect them to elicit from texts. Often, these are meanings that have little relevance to students' own social or professional lives. In this article,…

E-learning systems have strengthened the learning process among students by providing online learning opportunities to them. With the diminishing difference between the academic world and the job markets, students must get the full benefits of e-learning platforms. The disparity in online learning opportunities due to a lack of resources has…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore an interactive teaching approach using an autoethnographic lens to enhance key competencies in sustainability. These competencies are integrated sets of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that facilitate effective task performance and problem-solving related to real-world sustainability issues (Wiek,…