University of Warwick Press: Journals
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Cultivating Care in the Classroom: Bridging Cultural Approaches in Malaysian and UK Higher Education
Get PDFThis paper investigates the role of care in the classroom by examining the impact of a care-infused virtual drama approach on English as a Second Language (ESL) learners at two Malaysian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), incorporating teacher reflections and insights from student interviews. Due to the prevalence of power imbalances (Nawi, 2014) and authoritarian practices (Tee et al., 2018) in Malaysia, this paper further explores the perspectives of three Malaysian Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) at the University of Warwick to understand their experiences and understanding of the notion of care within the context of a UK higher education institution. Through one-on-one semi-structured and pair interviews conducted online via Microsoft Teams, these GTAs shared how they manifest care and provide support for their learners at the University of Warwick. The insights from Malaysia and the UK accentuate the significance of fostering care in diverse educational environments, revealing its potential to enhance students’ engagement and well-being across cultural and institutional settings
Factors Driving the Choice of Education in Pashtun-dominated Areas of Baluchistan: a research essay
Get PDFThis study is a synthesis of existing research knowledge and of empirical research in the geographic areas of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in which ethnic Pashtuns are a majority. The subject is the how fundamental principles, beliefs and cultural commitments motivate and shape decision-making in education for parents of pre-tertiary young people. Parental choice may seem limited and obvious, but it is subject to a matrix of factors. Access to the rural areas of Pakistan requires navigation, as does understanding the cultural depth of ethnic Pashtuns. Researched and written by a resident official, this study aims to uncover the layers of meaning and significance within the seemingly elemental choice faced by most if not all parents – how their child learns, and what and where they learn. The implications of this decision, this study maintains, will be a shaping factor for a culture and society in transition. And it remains so for current ethnic Pashtuns in relation to the madrassas, private and public schools
Weekly short assessment and individual feedback: a strategy for deeper learning in blended learning environment
Get PDFAssessment and feedback methods have important role in motivating students to take deep or surface approaches in their learning. Designing assessments with clear link to the teaching content and intended learning outcomes (ILOs), supports students’ approach toward deep learning. This study explored impact of the weekly short assessments with individual feedback in blended classes, on motivating students to take a deep learning approach in their studies. Constructive alignment framework was used to prepare the teaching content, in-class learning activities and assessment tasks. Series of short formative questions prepared with each question evolving around one teaching topic and its ILOs. Students’ responses to each question were followed by individual feedback and an opportunity to reflect on the received feedback to improve their work. Students’ perception towards the short formative assessment with individual feedback was collected using the Revised Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F). Using quantitative methodology responses of the 90 Year 2 chemical and environmental engineering students were analysed. Results showed that there are significantly higher deep approach scores (Mean=2.92, SD=1.14) compared to surface approach (Mean=2.41, SD=1.15), with p-value=0.001. Students’ motives and strategies in taking either deep or surface approach is also explored. While factors of “self-satisfaction” and “interest in the course content” were the main motives for students to take deep learning approach, surface strategies such as “learning the examinable content” were remaining high. This research aims to contribute to development of an assessment method in engineering education to foster students’ deep learning, by developing their critical thinking and problem-solving skills
Assembling with VR: Dancing in a more than human world
No full textIn this paper, we consider the claims that constellate around the concepts of immersion, presence and empathy that have been made about virtual reality across many disciplines of study, including psychology, criminology, immersive film and media. These claims are applied to an interdisciplinary, collaborative project: VR Dance; which engaged young people (11-16 years) in hip hop and immersive technology workshops over a six-week period. We discuss the ways in which co-created immersive environments which centre the body offer potential to tune into and re-calibrate our sensitivities and modes of engagement with each other and the environments we are in. We argue that this is not simply as a result of technology’s effects on individuals but constituted in wider assemblages of human and nonhuman actors. We make the case for virtual reality, not as a tool for ‘becoming other’, but as part of wider assemblages in ongoing transformations, relocations, and calibrations.
Funding Acknowledgement
VR Dance is an East London Dance programme, funded by the Mayor of London’s Young Londoner’s Fund & the London Borough of Redbridge and delivered in partnership with the University of Bristol, BirdGang Ltd, Maskomi and PlayLa.bZ
Employability Schemes for Young People in STEM: Enabling staff to deliver an enriching experience through research culture development
No full textThe researchers were awarded an Enhanced Research Culture Fund to improve the Research Culture within WMG (Warwick Manufacturing Group, University of Warwick). The aim was to encourage diversity and inclusion, enable career development and provide open access resources and research to facilitate collaboration, through the creation and development of a new Work Experience strategy. The project was committed to reaffirming young people\u27s interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics), and hopefully inspiring them to pursue a career in the field. To begin such a programme, the researchers conducted a literature review, to highlight the importance of employability interventions that can provide young people with aspirations and role models. Conclusions of the study found that young people are prone to losing their STEM interest before they reach the age of fifteen due to negative perceptions of STEM as well as a lack of access to information, advice and guidance. Using the gaps in the research culture, the project aimed to establish and train a work experience team, with an emphasis on early-stage career staff; develop a strategy document with clear guidelines for hosting employability programmes; implement said programme. The strategy document identified three core Work experience models; Guided, Blended and Independent. The fund empowered a team of early career academics and professional staff to develop and deliver such a programme. The guide allows for better resource management and student timetabling, to enhance the overall experience.
Funding Acknowledgement
The project ‘Addressing social mobility issues in STEM’ was funded by the Enhancing Research Culture Fund through Research England
Transnational Encounters and Popular Propaganda: Illuminating the penumbra of the French Resistance
No full textDespite the wealth of scholarly research on the French Resistance, there are many aspects that remain in the shadows or ‘penumbra’ surrounding the more brightly-lit central organisations. Focusing on the resources and connections of French trade unionists in London exile — usually peripheral to accounts of wartime trade unionism — this critical reflection explores the potential of the MRC’s collections to open up new research perspectives and possibilities. It foregrounds two key themes meriting further exploration: transnational encounters and popular propaganda. It first examines how French delegates of the Confédération Générale du Travail (CGT) worked not only with their counterparts in occupied France but equally with members of British trade unions and the Labour Party in a complex network of relationships between individuals and associations. Second, it uses a close analysis of some of the resistance flyers received — and sometimes translated and disseminated — by the CGT in London to highlight visual and rhetorical strategies of resistance in popular propaganda. Cumulatively, these case studies invite a wider reflection on how resistance should be defined, and on its spaces, strategies, and balances of power
Research Culture Challenges among Early Career Researchers: A qualitative study
No full textEarly career researchers (ECR) experience challenges particular to their career stage. Defining ECR as those with up to 10 years post-PhD experience, which includes postdoctoral research associates (PDRA) and graduate research students (GRS), this paper identifies some of the key issues that impact ECR based on qualitative research findings. The method used was a questionnaire in which 79 PDRA and 272 GRS from University College Dublin (UCD) responded to open-ended survey questions about research culture improvement, university acknowledgments, and promoting a positive research culture. Additional feedback was obtained from 23 PDRA and 57 GRS through post-survey focus group discussions. The challenges for ECR that were raised most consistently were: precarity, mentoring, and acknowledgement
Changing the way we teach using co-creation: Embedding employability in the engineering curriculum through the students’ perspective
Get PDFStudent voice is not often included in curriculum design, leading to limited course overview and student engagement. To improve student engagement for the “Skills for Employability” module available in all courses offered at the Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering (CBE) at the University of Sheffield, we designed a student-led research project with three strands. A survey was deployed to academics, students, and alumni, our approach regarding employability was compared to that followed by 29 other universities with relevant courses, and a review of the module content was performed. Findings revealed that academics, students, and alumni are not always on the same page regarding employability or teaching practices. This project has shown that we need to actively listen to the student voice, encourage students to shape aspects of the module, and support them in understanding the link between their course and employability alongside outlining that employability skills are just as or more important as the technical skills they hold. This paper shows the approach we followed, highlights findings through all three project strands, and indicates steps, mainly proposed by students, as best practice to improve engagement and takeaways
Degree Apprenticeship Education for Future Engineering Leaders: Developing reflective practice with work-based learning.
Get PDFThe significant growth in demand and offerings for degree apprenticeships (DA) since their introduction by the UK Government in 2014 is shaping the development of the workplace learning environment. In support of this, educational reflective practices within the workplace, together with associated academic credit requires greater research focus. For level 7 postgraduate degree students, it is relevant to examine enhancing reflective practices for work-based learning and in doing so, this paper focuses on a specific Engineering Business Management Degree Apprenticeship case study. This research discusses the outcomes for students resulting from the postgraduate DA course, with an emphasis on their work-based learning and reflective practices, investigating the research question “how can an apprenticeship degree integrate work-based learning with reflective practice?” A sample group of students close to graduation were chosen for the intervention and asked two question types covering their positive experiences and potential improvement areas for informing future practice.
The positive findings highlighted the benefits of work-based learning and reflective practice for the degree apprenticeship, including the application of learning directly into the workplace and the addition of skills and behaviour competencies, whilst still achieving the master’s level knowledge and learning competencies. Potential improvement areas focus on the challenges of understanding reflective learning in the workplace, the work-life balance combining further education and finally the additional support required from employees. The resulting recommendations for academics and course leaders encompass achieving reflective learning within the curriculum, designing courses to reflect the student’s time demands when including work-based learning, designing for the KSB’s (Knowledge, skills and behaviours) and understanding the wider student network of employer and workplace environment.  
Period Pain: Student Perceptions of the Ongoing Stigma Surrounding Menstruation at the University of Warwick and Potential Interventions to Counter Such Stigma
No full textWith ongoing menstrual stigma maintaining a culture of silence and secrecy in academic institutions, this research seeks to reveal student perceptions of this stigma at the University of Warwick, and understand their suggestions for how the University can better support menstruating students. Drawing on findings from a focus group of six menstruating students at the University of Warwick, the paper suggests that menstrual stigma persists at the University, affecting students’ wellbeing and academic performance. Participants expressed frustration at the lack of understanding of, or institutional support for, the difficulties of menstruation; including (but not limited to): debilitating pain, negative assumptions about the body, inaccessible menstrual products and inadequate hygiene facilities. However, certain students appear to be countering the cultural pressure to remain silent about menstruation, calling for the University to implement proactive measures to improve menstrual education, counter stigmatising assumptions and help menstruators mitigate the effects of pain and menstrual management. The research also calls attention to the elements of privilege present in such discourses, highlighting the need for further research into students’ menstrual needs and potential institutional interventions, with a particular focus on the intersecting difficulties faced by marginalised students