Research-based learning (RBL) is regarded as a panacea when it comes to effective instructional formats in higher education settings. It is said to improve a wide set of research-related skills and is a recommended learning experience for students. However, whether RBL in the social sciences is indeed as effective as has been postulated for other…

This study contributes to the debate on sustainability in higher education through a project conducted in a single Scottish university that incorporated sustainability into undergraduate accounting education through the application of a real-world problem in the form of a social and environmental report. Data from study participants were collected…

The science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) doctorate is the established entry qualification for a scientific research career. However, contemporary STEM doctoral graduates assume increasingly diverse professional paths, with many forging non-academic careers. Using the UK as an example, the authors suggest that the STEM PhD fails to…

This paper explores the transitions that a group of students, admitted from further education colleges as part of broader widening access initiative at a Scottish research-intensive university, made across the lifetime of their degrees. It investigates how they negotiate their learning careers beyond the first year, and how they (re)define their…

The question of what a doctorate is has been looked at before. The author argues that the issue of "doctorateness" is a recurring debate which needs to kept alive and revisited regularly. The aim of this article is to suggest five different areas or arenas in which the question can be addressed, forming a framework which can perhaps be…

This article reports on a study which aimed to understand how tutors, who also described themselves as creative practitioners, experienced the relationship between practice and teaching. In some disciplines this relationship has been shown to be problematic, but few explanations are given to account for this. A phenomenographic approach to…