Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical, reflective examination of the organisation, delivery and evaluation of a training event conducted by postgraduate students undertaking a module on human resource development. Design/methodology/approach: The paper seeks to offer a triangulation of semi-structured interviews, archival…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report upon an initiative within a case study UK university to facilitate service innovation in small firms. The paper aims to outline how explicit use of such concepts has the potential to enhance the effectiveness of this form of university-industry interaction. Design/methodology/approach: The paper…

This research aims to examine, from an innovation adoption perspective, Chinese students' intention of taking up e-learning degrees. A survey of Chinese students was conducted to reveal their perceptions concerning innovation attributes relevant to e-learning and their intentions of taking e-learning programmes provided by UK universities. Given…

Technologies offer tantalising possibilities for new forms of educational innovation, but we have argued that there is a gap between the potential of technologies to support learning and the reality of how they are actually used, and that this is due to a lack of understanding about how technologies can be used to afford specific learning…

How can people know what vocational education and training (VET) practitioners are doing in other countries? Often people who are finding new and different ways to teach and help people learn do not publish what they are doing. However, a large number of relevant web-based networks exist and the author was able to interrogate these for examples of…

Do some forms of student (and school) assessment hinder the introduction of innovative educational practices and the development of innovation skills in education systems? This report focuses on the impact of high-stake summative assessment on innovation and argues that it is possible to reconcile high-stakes assessments and examinations through…

This project built upon the AchieveAbility initiative, which develops materials and training for teaching specific learning difference learners in schools and colleges. AchieveAbility devised the concept for the "InCurriculum" Project and brought together a consortium of United Kingdom higher education institutions to deliver the…

Schools are now re-designing their curricula to include knowledge and understanding of globalisation. For many schools this is a an extension of the curriculum innovation work focussed on providing more personalised learning pathways for their students. This publication is aimed to support school leaders and teachers in their journey to…

This paper considers professional development in a context that is familiar and problematic to teaching teams in tertiary education everywhere, that of delivering online programmes with an ever-decreasing complement of staff. The Teaching Qualification Further Education (TQFE) teaching team at University of Dundee confronted the reality of reduced…

This paper explores the potential of Semantic Web technologies to support teaching and learning in a variety of higher education settings in which some form of case-based learning is the pedagogy of choice. It draws on the empirical work of a major three year research and development project in the United Kingdom: "Ensemble: Semantic…

The number of doctorates being awarded around the world has almost doubled over the last ten years, propelling it from a small elite enterprise into a large and ever growing international market. Within the context of increasing numbers of doctoral students this book examines the new doctorate environment and the challenges it is starting to face.…

In the twenty-first century educators around the world are being told that they need to transform education systems to adapt young people for the challenges of a global digital knowledge economy. Too rarely, however, do we ask whether this future vision is robust, achievable or even desirable, whether alternative futures might be in development,…

The present state of adult education is perilous, as all readers of "Adults Learning" will know well. All sectors are damagingly affected by funding decisions, as witnessed by the large numbers of organisations and providers represented at the recent Parliamentary lobby by the Campaigning Alliance for Lifelong Learning (CALL). The damage…

The history of educational development is rooted in the improvement of teaching techniques. As a result, centres or units have normally been located in central registrars or human resources departments, library, learning and technical support services, or established as semi-autonomous entities. The alignment of educational development with…

Higher education can play a major role in helping British business to survive the economic downturn and to build for the future. Your universities and higher education colleges have a strong record in fostering innovation, enterprise and skills, and in helping to create wealth and job-generating opportunities. And they want to work with you to…