This article analyses the changes in international student mobility from the lens of three overlapping waves spread over seven years between 1999 and 2020. Here a wave is defined by the key events and trends impacting international student mobility within temporal periods. Wave I was shaped by the terrorist attacks of 2001 and enrolment of…

The current theories relating to international student transition have largely tended to concentrate on "what is" to be adapted. This research contributes to the pedagogic literature examining "how" the transition is made by international postgraduate students. Using data from 20 qualitative in-depth interviews in conjunction…

If every child is to have a fairly even chance of a good education, every child must have a fairly even chance of being taught by high-quality teachers. However, high levels of social segregation in UK schools concentrate disadvantaged young people in some schools creating conditions that may deter many teachers. This study investigates whether…

Given the commonly accepted view that having a mathematically well-educated populace is strategically important, there is considerable international interest in raising attainment, and increasing participation, in post-compulsory mathematics education. In this article, multilevel models are developed with the use of datasets from the UK Department…

This paper describes patterns of participation and attainment in A-level physics, chemistry and biology from 1961 to 2009. The A level has long been seen as an important gateway qualification for higher level study, particularly in the sciences. This long-term overview examines how recruitment to these three subjects has changed in the context of…

We present a method to compare different qualifications for entry to higher education by studying students' subsequent performance. Using this method for students holding either the International Baccalaureate (IB) or A-levels gaining their degrees in 2010, we estimate an "empirical" equivalence scale between IB grade points and UCAS…

Understanding what constitutes the perceived value of foreign education to international business students is critical for business schools in order to achieve their recruitment targets. One established method relies on a financial interpretation of the costs and benefits of business education. By contrast, this study advocates a holistic approach…

The current internationalisation agenda in UK higher education (HE) is still seen as most relevant to those university departments involved in international student recruitment and support. This approach has been influenced by the dominant "deficit" discourses from earlier decades, which emphasise the need for international students to…

Increased academic attention has been drawn to democratisation in higher education, following the implementation of affirmative action in America. However, the models of Access policies presented by certain European educational systems deserve more attention. France and Britain share a common position on elitism, although they define it according…

Open, distance and elearning institutions of higher education often face ethical issues relating to their distinctive mission, especially where the core role is to open educational opportunities to under-represented groups while maintaining academic standards. Openness is surely a "good thing"; and yet there are often tensions relating…

In the quasi-marketised environment of the new, mass higher education (HE), centralised policy continues to dictate conditions, and traditionally stable sources of income are being made increasingly unreliable. An increasing emphasis on student support within HE institutions (HEIs) has been made necessary by targets for student numbers and the…

This paper explores the challenges facing supervisors of international postgraduate students at the dissertation stage of the masters programme. The central problems of time pressure, language difficulties, a lack of critical analysis and a prevalence of personal problems among international students are discussed. This paper makes recommendations…

The effects of modularizing Access Courses provided by the University of Derby were examined for 299 adult students. No significant differences appeared in retention, but the modular approach had increased recruitment/retention of unskilled and lower achieving students. Students with lower entry qualifications had higher achievement than similar…

Growing concerns about the experience and achievement of Black pupils (especially Black males) underpin calls for more Black people to serve as teacher and lay mentor role models in schools. Calls for increased numbers of Black teacher role models assume firstly, that Black teachers regard themselves as role models and want to perform such a role…

This paper is concerned with identifying how the early student experience can be enhanced in order to improve levels of student retention and achievement. The early student experience is the focus of this project as the literature has consistently declared the first year to be the most critical in shaping persistence decisions. Programme managers…