About the Higher Education Research Group

The Higher Education Research Group incorporates multiple research aims and interests.

Our group meetings act as a forum for dialogue, sharing ideas and pooling the varied and rich expertise and experience that members contribute to the group in an ethos of openness, and which is inclusive of all researchers, whether early career or more experienced.

As such, the group resembles a Community of Practice with common areas of research interest which cluster around the broad headings of pedagogy, education for social justice, policy and governance, the neoliberal academy, student experience and a range of research methodologies. Our meetings provide a space for informal conversations about research where interdisciplinary and cross-School connections are forged.

A shared enthusiasm for research as a form of enquiry is another unifying tie that defines and sustains this group. This space acts as an incubator for ideas and for planning to take them forward. Conversations, peer support, learning from one another and space to reflect are some of the ingredients that enable participation in this group to be a potent form of professional development.

Research interests

Our research interests include:

• Higher education pedagogy 
• Education for social justice 
• Higher education policy and governance 
• The neoliberal academy 
• Research methodologies 
• The student experience

Our aims

As a group we have agreed a set of aims, which are to: 

• Learn about, support and encourage each other's work in a way that nourishes each group member intellectually and emotionally.
• Cut through departmental barriers to connect practices across disciplinary lines and bring ideas into dialogue. 
• Develop and discuss theorisations of higher education practices. 
• Initiate and incubate collaborative research projects. 
• Explore opportunities for collaborative funding bids for research into higher education. 
• Learn from others, including those in different countries or contexts. 
• Disseminate work, including beyond traditional academic outlets.