The CEFR encourages teachers to resort to task-based activities in the language classroom. However, some resistance has been offered to this approach, due to lack of appropriate training and difficulty in meeting some basic practical conditions, as well as in finding resources and examples of good practices, as shown in a survey conducted within…

This paper summarizes the evaluation of a project that involved undergraduate mathematics students in the development of teaching and learning resources for statistics modules taught in various departments of a university. This evaluation regards students' participation in the project and its impact on their learning of statistics, as…

Student engagement is an important issue in higher education, and is related to the quality of the student experience. Increasing student engagement is one way of enhancing quality at a higher education institution. An institution is able to influence student engagement in a number of ways, one being through curriculum design. The use of a…

This article concerns a study that examines the attitudes of parents, who have had babies in neonatal care, to sharing their babies' routinely collected health data for research purposes. A participatory methodology was applied to the design of the study; a group of eleven parents who had all previously had babies in neonatal care were involved in…

In response to widespread support for mentoring schemes in higher education this article calls for a more critical investigation of the dynamics of power and control, which are intrinsic to the mentoring process, and questions presumptions that mentoring brings only positive benefits to its participants. It provides this more critical appraisal by…

Increasingly, universities are embedding reflective activities into the curriculum. With the growth in online tertiary education, how effectively is reflection being promoted or used in online learning spaces? Based on the notion that teachers' beliefs will influence their approaches to teaching, this research sought to understand how a group of…

Previous studies have suggested that a student's personal epistemological beliefs can be a predictor of their academic performance. The current research aimed to extend this work by exploring whether the disciplinary epistemological beliefs presented to students in their classes and assessments might mediate the relationship between students'…

The aim of this work investigated whether there is a need to incorporate the Internet of Things (IoT) into the Industrial Design curriculum. Initial research comprised a literature review into the origins, growth, challenges and enabling technologies for the IoT. Furthermore, literature around IoT within the current curriculum and for industrial…

A sample of 1047 parents completed an online survey about their experiences and opinions regarding the process of attaining a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder for their children. The results revealed that parents usually waited a year from when they first had concerns about their child's development before they sought professional help. On…

Higher education institutions (HEIs) have invested significantly in digital technologies for learning and teaching. However, technologies provided by HEIs have not been universally successful in terms of adoption and usage. Meanwhile, both students and lecturers use disruptive technologies to support learning and teaching. This article examines…

The arts therapies are becoming more commonplace as psychotherapeutic interventions for young people with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) and associated mental health conditions in educational settings and are now used in many educational provisions. The justification for their use would seem to be largely based on the…

Learning a language through distance means is becoming increasingly widespread. The investigation reported in this paper was part of a large study (n = 590) carried out in 2011, which examined the experience of English-speaking students learning French pronunciation in a distance setting. This paper explores the hypothesis that there is a link…

This study investigated gender- and age-related differences in academic motivation and classroom behaviour in adolescents. Eight hundred and fifty-five students (415 girls and 440 boys) aged 11-16 ("M" age = 13.96, "SD" = 1.47) filled in a questionnaire that examined student academic motivation and teachers completed a…

Recent research on student learning in higher education has identified clear associations between variations in students' perceptions of the academic environment and variations in their study behaviour. This study investigated a general theoretical model linking students' demographic characteristics, perceptions and study behaviour with measures…

Family members are often the primary caregiver for autistic adults and this responsibility may impact on the carer's wellbeing and quality of life. 109 family members of autistic adults completed an online survey assessing their wellbeing relating to their caring role for their autistic relative. Family members who were supporting an autistic…