Emeritus Professor John Elliott
Emeritus Professor
School of Education & Lifelong Learning
Associate Tutor
School of Education & Lifelong Learning
Research Group Member
Research in Higher Education and Society
This research area focuses on the relationships between the internal dynamics of higher education systems and their societal environments.
The area has attracted an increasing number of research students in recent years and brings together various disciplinary perspectives and expertise, including sociology, anthropology, philosophy, psychology and pedagogy.
Researchers in this area follow two interrelated strands of enquiry. The first interrogates strategies of policy and community engagement, including conceptualisations of ‘engagement' and ‘community' amongst academics and universities.
The second theme explores patterns of participation and experiences in higher education as a consequence of the expansion and internationalisation of the sector, including access to higher education, transitions from further to higher education and international student experience.
Our researchers collaborate within the area on the elaboration of research proposals, in support of research students, and more broadly in a forum where ideas and findings about higher education transformation are debated.
Drawing on the existing networks of its members, the area is developing collaborative research projects and dissemination events. The resulting increase in visibility of this research strength of EDU is already an impact on the recruitment of research students, and on the relations with researchers in other schools and institutions (HE research is by nature an interdisciplinary field attracting interest from throughout the social and management sciences).
For further information about the area's activities, please contact Yann Lebeau (convenor):