The COVID-19 pandemic placed increasing pressure on university staff with spiralling workloads due to the rapid implementation of changes to university processes and staff being required to take on additional duties due to self-isolating or unwell colleagues. The mental health of students was also adversely affected due to changes in their…

This explores the narratives from three individuals in low-skilled employment in the UK. The interviewees reflected upon their experiences of learning from compulsory education and beyond and their pathways through education to employment. The narratives illustrate how with the support of significant others, resilience and proactivity, they can…

This paper examines the role that social characteristics play in determining the academic success of students who begin university with roughly similar entry grades. The data used were drawn from the administrative records of over 38,000 UK-domiciled undergraduate students from one British university between 1998 and 2009. Results show that the…

Amid a growing focus on graduate employability, this study examines the relationship between students' part-time work, career aspirations and self-efficacy, in a survey of 357 UK students from two post-92 universities. The results suggest a positive and significant relationship between part-time work and career aspiration. Students who work…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between students' entrepreneurial attitudes and traits and their classification of employment six months after university graduation. It aims to identify what specific attitudes and traits of entrepreneurial graduates are linked to employability in a professional or managerial…

Underachievement at GCSE level has significant effects on an individual's life chances. Each year, around half of 16-year-olds leave school without having achieved a full level-2 qualification (five GCSEs at A*-C including English and maths). Many of these students enrol on a programme of study at local further education (FE) colleges. Recent…

This study focuses on a pan-disciplinary scheme that targeted high-achieving undergraduate students. Earlier research from the scheme argued that high achievers have discernibly different learning and personal development support needs. One of the most frequent self-reported challenges within this high-achieving group is perfectionism. This…

The aim of this article is to explore the structure of social capital in peer networks and its relation to the unequal access of educational resources within mathematics classrooms. We hypothesise that learners can gain access to mathematics through friendship networks which provide more or less help from peers that might sustain (or curtail)…

International trends for pre-registration nurse education at degree level alongside "widening access" initiatives mean that academic achievement of students entering via different educational routes is of interest to both higher and further education institutions. This article examines the academic achievement of students undertaking a…

This article offers explanations as to why good candidates for mathematics or physics degrees might opt to study subjects other than STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) subjects at university. Results come from analysis, informed by psychoanalytic theory and practice, of narrative-style interviews conducted with first-year…

This study investigates motivation that influences heritage and non-heritage students' learning of Chinese, and its relationship with Chinese language learning strategies (LLS). The study uses Deci and Ryan's typology--"Intrinsic Motivation" and "Extrinsic Motivation", for the investigation, examining issues such as: (1) What…

We investigate the relations between gender, parental education, ability, and educational achievement in Britain, focusing on the way in which gender and parental education interact with ability to contribute to a pupil's obtaining secondary school qualifications. This allows us to provide evidence relevant to claims concerning the effects of…

Shifts in UK social and economic policy have focused on education and care in the Early Years as key to improving social inclusion, skills acquisition and longer term social and economic prosperity. The implications for practitioners in the sector have been significant as roles, functions and foci have been renegotiated through the processes of…

This paper explores incentives for students to engage with continuous learning outside the classroom, i.e. independent study. Two questionnaires were completed with undergraduate students, asking them quantitative and qualitative questions regarding their engagement (or lack thereof) with weekly readings which are non-assessed and non-monitored.…

This paper provides insights into the human capital development of a group of young entrepreneurs, all of whom have built growth businesses with turnovers of between 1M British Pounds and 90M British Pounds. Their development of knowledge and skills was investigated before and during the creation of their first main ventures. This is significant…