The closed-door PhD and doctoral viva voce--the approach adopted in the United Kingdom--is esteemed by some as being a valuable academic tradition. However, an increasing body of literature and research has raised concerns about the quality, transparency, reliability and validity of this viva format. This systematic literature review aims to…

In Higher Education Focus Groups and Nominal Group Technique are two well-established methods for obtaining student feedback about their learning experience. These methods are regularly used for the enhancement and quality assurance. Based on small-scale research of educational developers' practice in curriculum development, this study presents…

Due to the emerging demands on shifting focus towards the development of more student-centered and engaging learning experiences, this systematic review elucidates the effectiveness of PeerWise introduction into the blended learning model in Physiology education based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis…

Providing evidence that can inform awarding is an important application of Comparative Judgement (CJ) methods in high-stakes qualifications. The process of marking scripts is not changed, but CJ methods can assist in the maintenance of standards from one series to another by informing decisions about where to place grade boundaries or cut scores.…

In Comparative Judgement (CJ) exercises, examiners are asked to look at a selection of candidate scripts (with marks removed) and order them in terms of which they believe display the best quality. By including scripts from different examination sessions, the results of these exercises can be used to help with maintaining standards. Results from…

This paper reports on the use of feedback as part of a tuition strategy applied in a distance design course at The Open University in the United Kingdom. A blended feedback model (audio and summary text) was compared to the existing written-only feedback model in terms of student attainment, use, and perception. Comparison of feedback models…

University participation gaps between free school meals (FSM) and non-FSM students have remained largely stable in the UK since 2006. The efficacy of UK widening participation (WP) interventions in changing attitudes towards university and increasing participation of disadvantaged students is uncertain. Some approaches have shown to be effective…

This article employs critical discourse analysis of the Spear's Schools Index of 'the best private schools in the world', the first such global ranking of schools, to understand representations of elite education in globalised societies. It argues that the Index is a powerful text that exemplifies a global gaze -- an imagined perspective from…

Background: In 2016/17, the CATALISE Consortium published the results of a multinational and multidisciplinary Delphi consensus study, representing agreement among professionals about the definition and process of identification of children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) (Bishop et al., 2016, 2017). The extent to which the current…

This article presents the methodological approach taken to investigate students' experiences of synchronous online tuition in health and social care at a large, distance learning university in the UK. Seeing the students as the 'privileged knowers' on the topic of their tutorial experiences, this study took an experience-centred narrative approach…

In November 2020 Universities UK published "Tackling Racial Harassment in Higher Education" (ED613314), a set of recommendations designed to decisively tackle racial harassment as part of efforts to address racial inequality in UK higher education. Universities UK is committed to carrying out a review to evaluate the impact of this…

This paper reports a study into the development of staff understanding of assessment and assessment practice. Eight teachers from two universities constructed an initial concept map about assessment that was discussed in a one-to-one semi-structured interview. A year later, a new map was created and the interview focused on change in thinking and…

A key assumption underpinning formative assessment strategies is that individual pupils must be fully involved in the process. While such engagement and attention on the individual is important, studies suggest that teachers do not always readily engage with formative assessment as a reciprocal process which involves pupils. Additionally, a focus…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the evaluation of a universal, mental well-being and mindfulness programme in a UK graduate entry medical school. Design/methodology/approach: Mixed methods used in the paper were the measurement of mental well-being and mindfulness in two cohorts at three time points over 15 months; descriptive,…

The mental health and wellbeing of children and young people is an area of great concern for those within education and health sectors, with young people reported to be especially at risk during adolescence. This has resulted in increasing demand for measures which can identify children and young people at risk of developing mental health…