This article examines responses to a new impact indicator introduced to the UK Research Excellence Framework (REF). While analysts have pointed to opportunities in impact policy for educational research as a field, the requirement to demonstrate impact beyond the academy poses challenges for research relating to higher education. The study…

This paper is based on a case study of one university's efforts in "self study," or "institutional research," presented at the first UK Institutional Research (IR) conference. It offers a critical account of work in progress at the University of Brighton to try to establish good data habits, embracing collection, analysis and…

Student retention and progression has exercised the HE sector for some time now, and there has been much research into the reasons why students drop out of Higher Education courses. (Allen, 2006; Buglear, 2009;). More recently the Higher Education Academy Grants Programme Briefing (HEFCE, 2010), outlined a number of areas that emergent project…

This paper analyses the journey of one pre-1992 UK university towards the creation of an environment that supports teaching and learning effectively. This includes both a culture that values the scholarship of teaching and learning and pedagogic research and that provides a supportive environment for its students' development. It investigates the…

A discussion of performance indicators and their use in the United Kingdom examines the basic data from which performance indicators can be assembled, distinguishing input and process variables controllable by management from uncontrollable background variables. Problems in application of performance indicators and the potential for their future…

Determines the characteristic features of effective inclusive schools through two studies of inclusive educational practices: one in the United States, the other in the United Kingdom. Reports results based on these studies, describes barriers faced by inclusive schools, and suggests solutions for policy makers and practitioners. (DSK)

This article reports some of the findings of a recent comprehensive review of the education provision of The Wildlife Trusts UK, one of the UK's leading non-governmental organisations (NGOs) concerned with nature conservation. These findings are set within the context of current thinking on responsibility for education for sustainability. It…

Research evidence concerning the introduction of performance appraisal in United Kingdom universities is presented. The notion of "procedural compliance" is introduced to draw attention to the largely externally imposed appraisal of universities and to the nature of institutional response. Findings of a study of appraisal in four…

The British experience with nationwide research quality assessment exercises and newly-introduced measures to improve research program accountability is described. Consequences for institutions of higher education and for the system as a whole are examined, using the University of Glasgow (Scotland) as an example. Utility of performance indicators…

Reports on a five-year ethnographic, longitudinal study of a British higher education college during a process of change in quality assurance. Identifies tensions experienced during the process and stresses the influence of context, the unpredictability of change, and the lack of simple prescriptions for managing change projects. (DB)

Using data gathered during a case study of the "culture" of a Jewish secondary school, this article explores the indeterminate boundaries of Jewish identity. By examining the mechanisms that control what and who comes into the school, and what is approved and disapproved of in the school, a picture emerges of what and who is counted as…

Problems in use of performance indicators to assess college and university outcomes in the United Kingdom (UK), particularly for comparison of diverse institutions, is discussed. It is proposed that the system adopt indicators for each institution consistent with its mission. The role of peer review in this approach is examined. (Author/MSE)

Demographic and institutional factors responsible for the large variations of student retention and achievement at further education (FE) colleges throughout the United Kingdom were examined. Data from individualized student records were analyzed, and 10 FE colleges identified as serving areas of deprivation were visited to assess the extent to…