This article introduces a framework for transforming Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) through Heterotopic Affinity Spaces (HAS). Our model suggests HAS can shift traditional power dynamics by enhancing learner agency. Drawing on studies of affinity spaces and heterotopias, we present these spaces as free from the restrictions of formal…

Despite being recognised as complementary to formal learning, informal learning is not yet well understood. Using a qualitative synthesis approach, we systematically reviewed how students' informal learning interactions are represented in health professions education research. Thirty-five articles were identified. Our three-stage analysis…

The peer review of journal article manuscripts is a complex and emotionally fraught process. This article draws on how 25 academic authors used metaphor to describe their experiences of manuscript peer review. A critical analysis of these metaphors provided insight into the structures, relationships of power, and their emotional impacts. Over…

Students may experience uncertainties when planning and conducting research. On the one hand, a measure of uncertainty is an inherent part of knowledge creation and represents the positive dimension of uncertainty in research. On the other hand, if uncertainties are not handled well, it could negatively affect the process and quality of research.…

Increasing the participation of students from low-socioeconomic status (LSES) communities in tertiary education has been a policy focus of successive Australian governments. LSES parents are important influencers, yet are often unsupported in their efforts to help their children. Via two qualitative studies across metropolitan, regional and remote…

Academics nowadays are increasingly expected to implement high-quality teaching, what is frequently referred to as 'excellent teaching'. Understandings of academics' conceptions of excellent teaching are, however, limited, despite extensive research on different aspects of quality teaching. To address this gap, there is a need to expand the…

This study empirically investigates the correlation between leaders' transformational leadership (TL) behaviors and subordinates' psychological empowerment (PE) in Saudi universities. It also explores whether supervisors' gender is associated with TL and PE. In this study, 154 female faculty members who hold leadership positions in Saudi…

Spatial fluency describes the ability and confidence of an individual to navigate and negotiate their experiences in a postdigital world. This paper reflects on teaching and learning experiences from the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and its aftermath, and on the volatile nature of social media, and the threats and opportunities afforded by AI. It…

Current research into, and definitions of, historical literacy do not adequately acknowledge the cultural backgrounds of indigenous learners across the historical disciplines and levels. Nor do they recognise the vital role of historical literacy in empowering indigenous students. In conversations with teachers of a range of ethnicities and Maori…

This study examines the impact of an Australian enabling program, underpinned by critical pedagogy, on students' academic and professional success. Qualitative focus group data were collected from individuals who had completed an enabling program at a regional Australian university and progressed to undergraduate study. Quantitative data comparing…

The popularisation of virtual mobility offers opportunities to reconsider power imbalances among different actors in higher education and to affirm the centrality of student agency and diversity. This article explores possibilities for applying the Students as Partners (SaP) approach to virtual mobility in order to empower students and foster…

This study draws on the theoretical frameworks of genre theory and writing expertise to explore how educators manage and excel in writing for professional recognition. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with four educators from different disciplines in which participants discussed their experiences of preparing and writing for Senior…

Recent provocations by Maori and Pacific/Pasifika academics have called for a collective response to the under-representation of Pacific/Pasifika academics in universities across Aotearoa New Zealand. Drawing from Indigenous concepts and frameworks foregrounds Pacific language and ideas as being central to our worldviews and validates the lived…

This study is an autoethnographic reflection on power and expertise in an evolving student/staff partnership. The partnership was initiated as pedagogical co-design in the development and implementation of a peer-assisted learning programme. Through a process of critical reflection that linked our partnership experience with themes from relevant…

Recent research on English-medium instruction (EMI) has examined university instructors' professional identities in science and social science rather than in the humanities. To fill the gap, this qualitative case study explores the ways in which 13 university instructors in law and the humanities in Taiwan perceived their identity and exercised…