Student transitions are a central part of higher education policy and practice internationally. However much of the work within this important area is underpinned by unquestioned and limited assumptions of what transition as a concept might mean. Moreover, too often understandings of transition defer to narratives that sustain a stereotypic…

A growing number of studies on students' intercultural interactions and learning in higher education contexts have placed cosmopolitanism and agency at the centre of conceptual and empirical inquiry. The concept of 'cosmopolitan agency' has been proposed as a hallmark of intercultural relationships, such as friendships, between international and…

This article draws on the concept of structural lag to expand the notion of transitions in higher education contexts beyond linear and age-differentiated. Research reported here responds to scholars who are taking theories of transition into conceptually new landscapes. Using a rhizomic data analysis of a doctoral research project, the idea of…

A longitudinal qualitative study of undergraduate women nursing students demonstrated the profound and pervasive influence of the heterosexual intimate relationship on their university engagement and achievement. Hitherto, the importance of women's private lives have been underappreciated in the arenas of student equity and retention. The study…

Today's global society creates an environment characterised by complex problems, solutions to which require transcendence of traditional discipline-based boundaries, and new forms of knowledge-sharing. Higher education (HE) has a central role in interdisciplinary knowledge creation and dissemination, reinforced by funding councils, professional…

This article offers a rethinking of a fundamental area of higher education research and practice: the concept of belonging. Extending the considerable international research attending to belonging, we suggest that normative narratives often contain a number of omissions. Such omissions include a consideration of the experiences of those students…

An effective instructional approach for promoting critical thinking is a challenge not only for Higher Education but also for lower educational levels. In this paper, we argue that values and knowledge education (VaKE) is an instructional approach, which could be implemented in Higher Education to promote students' critical thinking skills and…

This paper proposes a unique framework for comparative analysis of different Adult Higher Education (AHE) systems. The framework combines, a conceptualisation of how students' outcomes are shaped by the way that they and their degree courses are positioned in stratified higher education systems with, insights about the effects of institutional…

In line with global non-discrimination legislative changes and inclusive education policies, the number of disabled students in higher education institutions are increasing. Previously, disabled students were excluded from higher education. Currently, however, higher education institutions are expected to have disability statements and policies,…

In the last three decades, inclusive disability legislation has led to an increasing number of students with disabilities entering higher education. However, barriers to the full participation of students remain. This article presents evidence from studies conducted in two Italian universities. Drawing on the Capability Approach, the goal is to…

This article considers whether it is appropriate to continue distinguishing between international and domestic student experiences and whether vertical institutional structures limit our thinking in the provision of relevant, targeted services and support. It reflects on the heterogeneous nature of the international student population and compares…

Intensifying marketisation across higher education (HE) in England continues to generate critical commentary on the potentially devastating consequences of market logic for pedagogy. In this paper, we consider the student-consumer prominent in these debates as a contested yet under-analysed entity. In contrast to the dominance of "homo…

Innovation in the workplace has been claimed to be a key factor in organizational survival and success. As future workers, university students are a major source of future innovations in organizational settings. Before they enter the labour market, it is in the context of Higher Education that they start developing some of their long-term…

This article reports the findings of research into the student experience of assessment in school/college and higher education, and the impact of transition upon student perceptions of feedback quality. It involved a qualitative study of 23 staff and 145 students in six schools/colleges and three English universities across three disciplines.…

This article provides a systematic analysis of 13 in-depth interviews of disabled students from universities in Northern Ireland. Undertaken as part of the Uni4U initiative, the findings presented describe barriers experienced by students with disabilities to participation in higher education. The students provided comments concerning their…