Slouching towards a mass system: society,government and institutions in the United Kingdom

The paper describes and analyses postwar changes in regulatory and classificatory relationships between British governments and higher education institutions, in the context of broad social, economic and political change, in three time periods. The first, from 1945 to 1970, was marked by consolidation, increased government support, growth in numbers of institutions and students and a broad consensus around the desirability of expansion. The second, from 1970 to 1987, was marked by political hostility and, until 1983, stagnation in the rates of demand for places by students and for graduates by employers. The third period, from 1987 to the present day, suggests that Britain is now committing itself, whether deliberately or not, to a system of mass higher education, with a series of radical changes in government-higher education relationships. In conclusion the paper discusses alternative theoretical approaches to interpreting these developments: Trow's typology of elite-massuniversal higher education and its implications for transition between types; Teichler's analysis of models of higher education structure; and a possible synthesis between the two. But all such models need to pay due attention to the internal processes of higher education at the level of departmental and even individual behavior.     

Academic Librarianship Without the Degree: Examining the Characteristics and Motivations of Academic Library Professionals

Studies exploring librarians' backgrounds and career motivations frequently focus on all types of librarians or on students seeking degrees in librarianship. Investigating particular subsets of librarians is a field ripe for study. Here, we employed a survey of 193 academic library professionals, who are defined as those employed in professional positions in academic libraries but not possessing a graduate degree in librarianship. We found prior work in an academic library is a substantial motivating factor for entry into the field, as is also the case for traditional academic librarians who choose to attain a graduate degree in library science prior to obtaining a position in the library. The data also suggests that there are two main streams of entry for academic library professionals: those who are hired into functional positions that do not require a graduate degree in librarianship and those who hold paraprofessional titles that have taken on professional-level work. Finally, we found a majority of academic library professionals have no intention of, and do not see the value in, pursuing a graduate degree in librarianship.     

Teachers as writers: learning together with others

In the context of renewed interest in teachers' identities as writers and the writers as artist‐educators, this paper reports upon the findings of “Teachers as Writers” (2015–2017). A collaborative partnership between two universities and a creative writing foundation, the study sought to determine the impact of writers' engagement with teachers on changing teachers' classroom practices in the teaching of writing and, as a consequence, in improving outcomes for students. The project afforded opportunities for writers and teachers to work together as learners in order to improve student outcomes. The study involved two complementary datasets: a qualitative dataset of observations, interviews, audio‐capture (of workshops, tutorials and co‐mentoring reflections) and audio‐diaries from 16 teachers; and a randomised controlled trial (RCT) involving 32 primary and secondary classes. The findings reveal that the teachers' identities and assurance as writers shifted significantly. The Arvon experience also led to pedagogic shifts which the students reported impacted positively upon their motivation, confidence and sense of ownership and skills as writers. However, these salient dispositional shifts did not impact upon the young people's attainment. The professional writers gained new understandings which substantially altered their conceptions of writers' potential contribution in schools.     

Counseling via Avatar: Professional Practice in Virtual Worlds

Professional counselors (n = 5) from the United States (2), Australia, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands were interviewed about the provision of counseling services in the multi-user virtual environment (MUVE) Second Life (SL). Using Strauss and Corbin’s (1998) method, qualitative data analysis yielded four themes: (i) encapsulating the immersive experience inherent in virtual worlds, (ii) contributions to successful avatar-based counseling, (iii) the practice of MUVE counseling, and (iv) practitioners’ pioneering spirit. This study contributes to distance counseling knowledge and lays the foundation for future avatar-based counseling research and practice.     

MAKING THE PROCESS AND CRITERIA OF TERTIARY SCIENCE PROJECT ASSESSMENT MORE EXPLICIT

This paper describes the development of an Assessment Guide for Honours projects in a wide range of sciences. The guide was intended to aid assessment of the projects, assist the Honours Board in classifying students, and make the criteria for assessment more public and explicit. A relatively simple analysis of the use of the guide by Supervisors and Assessors suggests that these aims are being realised.