Study goals and effective management of study time are both linked to academic success for undergraduates. Mastery goals in particular are associated with study enjoyment and positive educational outcomes such as conceptual change. Conversely, poor self-regulation, in the form of procrastination, is linked to a range of negative study behaviours.…

In this study, 28 university students from two different fields--the humanities and veterinary medicine--were interviewed. The aim was to explore the role of individual interest and future goals during the first two years of university study through retrospective interviews. The results showed that, while support from the learning environment was…

In resource-constrained environments universities increasingly must interact collaboratively and competitively to ensure financial stability. Such interactions are supported by the actions of senior university managers. This study investigated the extent and purpose of the interconnections between members of two groups of pro-vice chancellors…

Drawing on the data from interviews with 32 international students, this qualitative study applies Weick's framework of organizational sensemaking to the analysis of international graduate students' socialization in the academic and student communities in a large US university. Methodologically, the analysis relies on a semiotic chain…

Although there is general agreement that doctoral students and their experiences are diverse, in what respect this is true is in question. Most institutional practices in the collection of data in this regard have been established to satisfy government reporting requirements and concerns, such as funding, participation and equity, and efficiency.…

The central role that assessment plays is recognised in higher education, in particular how formative feedback guides learning. A model for effective feedback practice is used to argue that, in current schemes, formative feedback is often not usable because it is strongly linked to external criteria and standards, rather than to the processes of…

Recent studies of undergraduates engaged in authentic research have suggested that students may benefit in a range of different ways from such experiences. However, these same studies have also shown significant variation in the extent and universality of these benefits. This article investigates the impact of one potential source of variation in…

This study reports on experiences of doctoral students in educational administration at a time when the effectiveness of programs preparing practitioners and academics in this field are being questioned. Concerns related to how students in educational administration developed knowledge about research and identity as researchers were closely…

A motivational orientation framework for higher education has previously been derived from interviews with 36 undergraduate students in an elite university system. The framework consists of six interacting facets of motivation represented by continua labelled: compliance, individual goal setting, sense of belonging, interest, career and university…

This article examines the reported influences on the university choices of 17 gay male undergraduate students attending a UK institution. It is argued that this process is strongly mediated by, and, therefore, has to be considered in relation to, class. Data analysis provides insight into the factors gay students say are important in selecting…

A competitive higher education environment marked by increased accountability and quality assurance measures for doctoral study, including the structured training of doctoral supervisors, has highlighted the need to clearly articulate and delineate the work of supervising doctoral students. This article responds to this imperative by examining the…

Governments are aiming to expand the intake to higher education, so it is important to understand what motivates students to enter university and choose a particular programme. The aim of this study was to see whether a motivational orientation framework, developed to explain motivation to study, could also be applied to motivation to enrol in a…

It has been claimed that one of the overriding purposes of the scholarship of teaching movement is to make more visible what teachers do to make learning happen. The authors of this article are critical of the literature on the scholarship of teaching for not having made more progress towards this aim. They support these assertions through…

Integration of new students into the university has been widely studied from both psychological and academic perspectives. Much less, if anything, is heard from the other party in the integration process--the teachers. At the heart of this study is the voice of university teachers. Staff from 12 departments in three faculties (n = 52) in one…

Research suggests mature college students use more desirable approaches to academic learning, adopting a deep approach (meaning orientation) more often and a surface approach less often than younger students. Explanations include motivation by intrinsic goals; acquisition of a surface approach by younger students in secondary education; and…