Abstract
The University of Exeter introduced a co-curricular, intensive, interdisciplinary summer programme for first-year undergraduates across three University campuses. Students work with teams of research academics and postgraduates to explore one of twelve global social, economic and environmental challenges the world faces in the early twenty-first Century.
This chapter identifies some of the key features of the programme’s format and delivery, considers the challenges these features present to academics, professional staff and students, and reports on the outcomes of the programme.
To situate the case study more broadly, the role of structure and agency as influences on the evolution of the (informal) curriculum in research-rich contexts are discussed. In particular, the analysis considers the epistemological pressures that underlie curriculum change in Higher Education and influenced the development of this intervention at Exeter. Finally, the chapter reflects on the unstated ideologies and values that underpin this curriculum intervention with reference to the wider research literature. The author addresses the question of whether intensive co-curricular interventions, such as the one described in this chapter, provide a context which liberates teachers from the constraints imposed by the positivist, neoliberal epistemologies that widely influence the university experience of contemporary undergraduate students.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
The National Student Survey is an annual survey of student opinions taken across the Higher Education sector in the UK.
- 2.
At the University of Exeter departments are grouped into Colleges which form the organizational structure for teaching and research.
- 3.
Students leave the University of Exeter with a transcript of achievements including details of successful engagement in co-curricular activities such as Grand Challenges. This enhances their employment opportunities.
- 4.
At The University of Exeter the students’ union is called the Guild.
- 5.
All the quotations in this chapter are from anonymous feedback provided by staff and students at the end of the programme. It has not been possible to request the permission of individuals as their total anonymity has been assured.
- 6.
The Exeter Award—The Exeter Award provides students with a certificate to recognise successful participation in a range of extra curricula career related activities.
- 7.
This is recorded in their personal uk | LinkedIn profiles.
References
Barber M, Donnelly K, Rizvi S. An avalanche is coming: higher education and the revolution ahead; 2013. p. 77.
Barnett R. Supercomplexity and the curriculum. Stud Higher Educ. 2000;25(3):255–65.
Barnett R. Knowing and becoming in the higher education curriculum. Stud Contin Educ. 2009;34(4):429–40.
Barnett R, Coate K. Engaging the curriculum in higher education. Maidenhead: SRHE & Open University Press; 2004.
Barnett R, Perry G, Coate K. Conceptualising curriculum change. Teach Higher Educ. 2001;6(4):435–49.
Becher T, Trowler P. Academic tribes and territories: intellectual inquiry and the culture of disciplines. Buckingham: SRHE and Open University; 2001.
Bernstein B. Pedagogy, symbolic control and identity: theory, research, critique. Oxford: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers Inc; 2000.
Biesta G. A new logic of emancipaton: the methodology of Jacques Ranciere. Educ Theory 2010;60(1):39–59.
Biesta G, Stirling T, Tedder M. Learning from life in the learning economy: the role of narrative; Paper presented at the 38th Annual SCUTREA conference, July 2008. pp. 2–4.
Blackmore P, Kandiko CB. Strategic curriculum change in universities. Abingdon: Routledge; 2012.
Boden R, Nedeva M. Employing discourse: universities and graduate ‘employability’. J Educ Policy. 2010;25(1):37–54.
Bolden R, Gosling J. Distributed leadership in higher education: rhetoric and reality. Georgy Petrov University of Exeter Discussion Papers in Management Paper Number 07/19 ISSN 1472-2939; 2008. pp. 1–27.
Bridges D. Back to the future: the higher education curriculum in the twenty first century. Cambridge J Educ. 2000;30(1):37–55.
Coffield F, Edward S. Rolling out ‘good’, ‘best’ and ‘excellent’ practice. What next? Perfect practice? Br Educ Res J. 2009;35(3):371–90. (Web. 13 Aug. 2012).
Cohen AM, Kisker CB. The shaping of American higher education: emergence and growth of the contemporary system. 2nd ed. San Fransisco: Jossey-Bass; 2009.
Collini S. What are universities for? London UK: Penguin; 2012.
Curzon-Hobson A. Higher learning—the critical stance. Stud High Educ 2003;28(2):201–12.
Department for Business Innovation and Skills. Higher education: students at the heart of the system. HMSO. 2011.
Dewey J. Experience and education. New York: The Macmillan Company; 1952.
Eraut M. Developing professional knowledge and competence. London: Falmer; 1994.
Fernandez-Armesto F. Ignoring is bliss. Times Higher Educ. May 2013; 33.
Fotheringham J, Strickland K, Aitchison K. Curriculum: directions, decisions and debate. Quality Assurance Agency Scotland 2012. (Web. 10 May 2013).
Gilgun JF. Theory and case study research. Curr Issues Qual Res. 2011;2(3):n. pag.
Giroux HA. Critical theory and educational practice. In: Darder A, Baltodarno MP, Torres RD, editors. The critical pedagogy reader. Abingdon: Routledge; 2009.
Griffiths R. Knowledge production and the research-teaching nexus: the case of the built environment disciplines. Stud High Educ. 2004; 29(6):709–26.
Gunn V. Enhancing research-teaching linkages as a way to improve the development of employability attributes. Scotland: Quality Assurance Agency; 2010. (Web. 10 May 2013).
Hargreaves A, Fullan MG. Understanding teacher development. New York: Teachers College Press; 1992.
Hartman Y, Darab S. A call for slow scholarship: a case study on the intensification of academic life and its implications for pedagogy. Rev Educ, Pedag Cult Stud. 2012;34(1–2):49–60. (Web. 3 April 2013).
Healey M. Linking research and teaching exploring disciplinary spaces and the role of inquiry-based learning. In: Barnett R, editor. Reshaping the university: new relationships between research, scholarship and teaching. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill/Open University Press; 2005. pp. 30–42.
Healey M, Jenkins A. Developing undergraduate research and inquiry. York: The Higher Education Academy; 2009.
Higher Education Academy. UK professional standards framework. (Web. 22 June 2013).
Higher Education Funding Council. Research excellence framework. (Web. 22 June 2013).
Hounsell D. Graduates for the 21st century: integrating the enhancement themes. Scotland: Quality Assurance Agency; 2011. (Web. 10 May 2013).
Hussey T, Smith P. The trouble with learning outcomes. Act Learn High Educ. 2002;3(3):220–33.
Kay J. Student value for money means broader learning, not just more contact hours. The Guardian Higher Education Network. (Web. 22 June 2013).
Knight PT. Complexity and curriculum: a process approach to curriculum making. Teach High Educ. 2001;6(3):369–81.
Knight P, Tait J, Yorke M. The professional learning of teachers in higher education. Stud High Educ. 2006;31(3):319–39.
Knowles M, Holton EF, Swanson RA. Adult learning: the definitive classic in adult learning and human resource development. 7th ed. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann; 2011.
Lave J, Wenger E. Situated learning: legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 1991.
Levy P, Petrulis R. How do first year students experience inquiry and research, and what are the implications for the practice of inquiry-based learning? Stud High Educ. 2012;37(1):85–101.
Lines D. National and international policy developments in HE. Scotland: Quality Assurance Agency; 2012. (Web. 10 May 2013).
Malcolm J, Zukas M. Pedagogies for lifelong learning: building bridges or building walls? In: Harrison R, Reeve F, Clarke J, editors. Supporting lifelong learning. Vol. 1. London: Routledge Falmer/Open University; 2001. p. 1998.
McArthur J. Time to look anew: critical pedagogy and the disciplines within higher education. Stud High Educ 2010;35(3):301–15.
McKernan J. Curriculum and imagination: process theory, pedagogy and action research. Abingdon: Routledge; 2007.
Osberg D, Biesta G. The emergent curriculum: navigating a complex course between unguided learning and planned enculturation. J Curric Stud. 2008;40(3):313–26.
Peach S. A curriculum philosophy for higher education: socially critical vocationalism. Teach High Educ. 2010:15(4);449–60.
Quality Assurance Agency. UK quality code for higher education; 2012.
Ramsden P. The future of the higher education sector: teaching and the student experience; Higher Education Academy 2008.
Spronken-Smith R, Walker R. Can inquiry based learning strengthen the links between teaching and disciplinary research? Stud High Educ 2010;35(6):723–40.
Toohey S. Designing courses for higher education. Buckingham: SRHE and Open University Press; 1999.
Trowler P. Cultures and change in higher education. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan; 2008.
University of Exeter. Grand Challenges. 2013a. (Web. 18 June 2013).
University of Exeter. University of Exeter Education Strategy. 2010. (Web. 18 June 2013).
University of Exeter. University of Exeter Research Led Teaching Strategy. 2013b. (Web. 17 June 2013).
Vidovitch L, O’Donoghue T, Tight M. Transforming university curriculum policies in a global knowledge era: mapping a ‘global case study’ research agenda. Educ Stud. 2012;38(3):283–95.
Weller S. Acheiving curriculum coherence: curriculum design and delivery as social practice. In: Blackmore P, Kandiko CB, editors. Strategic curriculum change: global trends in universities. Abingdon: Routledge and SRHE; 2012. p. 21.
Wenger E, McDermott R, Snyder WM. Cultivating communities of practice. Boston: Harvard Business Press; 2002.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Burkill, S. (2015). Challenging Pedagogic Norms: Engaging First-year Undergraduates in an Intensive Research Informed Learning Programme. In: Layne, P., Lake, P. (eds) Global Innovation of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. Professional Learning and Development in Schools and Higher Education, vol 11. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10482-9_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10482-9_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-10481-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-10482-9
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawEducation (R0)