Retention and progression issues are complex problems that need to be addressed by the Higher Education sector. This paper views the academic self-efficacy of students as an important matter which is linked to retention and progression. The study employs online student surveys to analyse the differences in self-efficacy among year one students on…

The Race Disparity Audit (RDA) was published in 2017 by the then Conservative government of the UK. The proclaimed aims were to 'reveal racial disparities and to help end the injustices that many people experience'. This paper adopts a critical discourse analysis approach to analysing the RDA and associated webpages, to critically examine the…

The increase in student diversity, legislative changes and shift towards the social model of disability has led to greater emphasis on inclusive curricula within Higher Education (HE). Whilst there are good examples for changes in assessment, delivery and student support, specific challenges faced by Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics…

Previous studies in higher education have found that a considerable number of students do not access feedback. Here, we use assessment system data on nearly 300,000 assignment submissions to statistically analyze demographic and timing factors leading to lower likelihood of feedback collection. The most significant factors were student…

Across the United Kingdom, medical schools are acknowledging the need to respond to inequalities experienced by minority groups, racism within healthcare, and the need to decolonise medical curricula. Understanding the impact of structural racism is increasingly recognised as part of health professionals' training. In this paper we report the…

The concept of 'professional boundaries' -- widely used in sectors where professional relationships between adults are regulated -- has not commonly been drawn on in higher education (HE) to understand and denote appropriate relationships between faculty or staff and students. Nevertheless, in recent years the question of how to regulate sexual…

Decolonisation is a socio-political movement which challenges Eurocentrism and post-colonial notions of power. This has numerous implications for higher education institutions (HEIs), where the content and delivery of curricula may be seen as products of colonial legacy. The decolonisation agenda has increasing support from students, the academy,…

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a highly heterogeneous set of neurodevelopmental disorders with the global prevalence estimates of 2.20%, according to DSM5 criteria. With the advancements of technology and availability of huge amount of data, assistive tools for diagnosis of ASD are being developed using machine learning techniques. The present…

A literature review published in 2008 outlined known relationships between gender, ethnicity, and academic attainment in UK higher education. In the period since this publication, many changes to the higher education sector have occurred, including raising tuition fees, an increased focus on widening participation, and an increasing interest in…

This paper examines the role of numeracy in smoothing financial difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results show that numeracy was associated with a 30% reduction in late or non-payment of bills and a 20% reduction in the odds of feeling financially squeezed. The effect of numeracy on financial wellbeing was remarkably consistent across…

The objective of this study is to identify the factors which have a significant impact on the performance of students on an undergraduate accounting degree course. Previous research in this area has taken place over many years and has considered a number of factors which might influence performance such as: prior academic achievement, gender, age…

In UK higher education, minority ethnic students are less likely to graduate with a good degree than their White British counterparts, even when prior attainment is considered. Until recently, concerns about this ethnicity degree awarding gap have not received the research attention it deserves. In this paper, we contribute to this gap in…

Background: Situational judgement tests (SJTs) measure non-cognitive attributes and have recently drawn attention as a selection method for initial teacher education programmes. To date, very little is known about adverse impact in teacher selection SJT performance. Aims: This study aimed to shed light on adverse effects of gender, ethnicity, and…

Recent calls for the decolonization of the academy demand recognition for diverse canons of knowledge. Asia's economic ascent also imparts rising confidence among Asian scholars and institutions to promote indigenous knowledge. While these global calls for emancipation are invigorating, decolonial scholarship is prone to sterile theorization,…

In the current study, data collected from Wave 6 of the Millennium Cohort Study (n = 11,872), a nationally representative sample survey of youth aged 14 years in the UK, are used to examine the prevalence of loneliness among this age-group, investigate the feelings associated with the experience of loneliness among youth, explore the risk factors…