Higher education has often been accused of its anti-social character, represented by the metaphor of the 'ivory tower'. However, the idea of the pursuit of knowledge per se, which is associated with the ivory tower, has not been widely recognized as a public ideal of higher education. In this study, by drawing on the 20th-century British…

This paper analyses student perceptions of Active Blended Learning (ABL) during the transition to an institutional pedagogy at the University of Northampton. In focus groups with 227 student participants across all four faculties, we explored factors mediating student engagement with ABL. Students expressed a preference for face to face teaching…

The relationship between students and higher education is seen to have become increasingly transactional. We approach the study of the student-HE relationship in a novel way, by focusing on students' behaviour post-university, rather than on student narratives. Conceptually, the article builds on multidimensional views of student engagement and…

The emergence of new technologies has changed the way people communicate. Social media have allowed businesses to connect with customers and to market their products more efficiently. However, these platforms also allow customers to share information and opinions with the company and fellow customers, diverting from previous online service…

Has the National Student Survey 'customerized' the UK's university students? This article examines the 'customerization' of university students in the UK and the impacts of reciprocity and social exchange behaviour on National Student Survey outcomes. Using a multi-method qualitative approach, the findings suggest that the National Student Survey…

The notion of students as consumers who exercise educational decisions based on economic self-interest leads to interesting questions about their perceptions of current higher education assessment practices. Guided by a Foucauldian theorisation and the findings from focus groups carried out with students from two European universities, one from…

Existing literatures have discussed both ethical issues in visual research with young people, and the problems associated with applying 'universal' ethical guidelines across varied cultural contexts. There has been little consideration, however, of specific issues raised in projects where visual research is being conducted with young people…

This research investigates the influential factors impacting CDM among prospective online MBA students, using qualitative interviews. This research focus is contextualised with analysis on the CDM process and the disparity between UK and international students, to gain a deeper understanding of the dynamics of the influential factors. The findings…

This paper addresses issues associated with leadership in Higher Education (HE), by drawing on research and debate in relation to the role of education in reproducing social inequalities, and on expertise developed through academic leadership roles in British art schools. It seeks to stimulate discussion about the commodification of HE, which is…

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the growing body of literature critically analysing the relation between neoliberalism and the global English Language Teaching (ELT) textbook with a new perspective. In this study, neoliberalism is regarded not only as an economic policy paradigm, but especially in a Foucauldian way, as a form of…

This article first offers a survey of what has become an area of increasing interest in higher education: the rise of the so-called "student-consumer". This has been linked in part to the marketisation of higher education and the increased personal financial contributions individual students make towards their higher education. Drawing…

The 'learning city' contains a range of non-formal learning economies. In recent years researchers have focused on, what has been termed, the non-formal arts learning sector, to document best practices, the emergence of new literacies and/or cultural practices, and to highlight interventions that support otherwise marginalised and underserved…

Robust academic research on the topic of students involved in the sex industry is in its infancy, yet the relationship appears consistent and permanent. This paper draws on findings from the largest study into the stripping industry in the United Kingdom to explore the relationships between students, sex work and consumption. To make sense of the…

This article argues that the concept of rationality is undergoing significant revision in UK education policy-making, influenced by developments in several academic fields. This article focuses on the take up of behavioural economics in policy as one aspect of this revision of the concept of rationality, discussing how this has happened and its…

In the global university sector competitive funding models are progressively becoming the norm, and institutions/courses are frequently now subject to the same kind of consumerist pressures typical of a highly marketised environment. In the United Kingdom, for example, students are increasingly demonstrating customer-like behaviour and are now…