HED7023 - Investigating the wider context of Higher Education

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

1 - Critically interrogate local, national and international influences on higher education policy and practice
2 - Critically evaluate cultures, customs and practices of higher education institutions
3 - Present a systematic and research-informed critique in response to a particular policy/practice concern within their own professional context.

Content:

The module content will take a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) philosophy and be adapted to take account of current policy, practice and political debates in the national and international arena of higher education. An ecological approach will be taken to build participants’ critical knowledge and understanding of a wide range of influences on institutional policy and practice, including power relationships between local, regional, national and international actors. Issues of equity and social justice will be embedded across all critical evaluation. Employing their critical awareness and evaluation of cultures, customs and practices in higher education, participants will systematically evaluate and critique an aspect of policy/practice within their own professional domain, with opportunity to develop a theory of change to share with colleagues and leaders.

Learning and Teaching Information:

Participants will learn through a mix of approaches. These include lead lectures from experts in the field; some guest speakers may be used to deliver lead lectures in specific areas. These lectures will then be linked with seminar style activities to facilitate discussion and promote reflexive learning. A dialogic approach to learning will support participants to share ideas with colleagues from other sectors/backgrounds or specialisms. The module will make use of Moodle and Teams where relevant to support distance learning.

Scheduled teaching and learning: lectures, seminars and tutorials
Hours: 30
Intended Group Size: 20

Mentor meetings
Hours: 2
Intended Group Size: 1-5

Guided independent study
Hours: 268



Further details relating to assessment

Negotiated assessment for learning outcome 1 will allow participants to contextualise their critical interrogation in relation to an aspect of key influence that is most relevant to their discipline/professional context. A specific marking rubric for this component will be provided to participants to support their choice of assessment format and content.

Presentation can be delivered live or recorded. It will include a critical evaluation of a policy/practice concern underpinned with current theory and literature and will offer recommendations for future actions in this area.

Assessment:

001 Negotiated Assessment; 2000 words; 40%; End of term 40%
002 Presentation; 20 mins; 60%; end of term 60%

Fact File

Module Coordinator - Amanda Nuttall
Level - 7
Credit Value - 30
Pre-Requisites - NONE
Semester(s) Offered -

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