The British Educational Research Association (BERA) has promulgated a concept of close-to-practice research that is seen as vital to defending and promoting education as an academic discipline. However, what is overlooked are the questions of what education is for and what educational practice is--questions that need to be addressed for any…

It is widely recognised that an important aspect of doctoral study is the development of a researcher identity. However, little is known about how to support this. Although previous research has highlighted the importance of discursive engagement for researcher identity development, no studies examine talk or discuss how identities are constructed…

The aim of this study is to explore doctoral students' (DS) perceptions of social practices that contribute to their well-being. Utilising social practice theory, specifically the framework of social practices as an interplay of 'materials', 'meanings' and 'competences', we examine which social practices enhance DS well-being and the contexts in…

Over the last 30 years higher education has seen a rise in new managerialism across all its activity, driven by neoliberal economic policy. Professional doctorates (PDs) have been part of this rise, increasing in number considerably and spawning a related interest in researching doctoral work. However, there have been few studies focused on how…

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) offers a bottom-up, locally situated and contextualized approach to enhancing educational practice. It has been championed for several years, yet remains curiously undervalued within the academy, despite clear benefits for curricular development and staff engagement. This paper reflects upon the…

In the United Kingdom, education studies degree courses offer students with a range of career plans both inside and outside the formal education system, a chance to study the foundations of education. The disciplinary nature of education studies has been debated from a variety of theoretical perspectives. This article explores the usefulness of…

Although there is increasing interest in how learning to become a researching professional is understood by students undertaking a professional doctorate of education (EdD), the topic remains under-researched and under-theorized. In this article, we provide a set of theorizations, starting with the purpose and distinctiveness of the professional…

This is a case study of one student's mobile device use in HE. We draw on data generated by extended interviews to illustrate the learning practices and dispositions the student, now a co-author, evidenced with his smartphone and other devices whilst producing a third-year undergraduate assignment. We describe the process of assembling a complex…

This article employs a reflexive methodology to critically examine the opportunities and challenges raised for a leader of a UK EdD programme when the home institution undertakes short periods of intensive teaching abroad--a model known as "flying faculty". The University of Derby had, until 2010-11, a large institutional partnership…

This article examines an innovative approach to the induction of students on an Education Doctorate programme by exploring the value of the pub quiz as a pedagogic device to support learning. The quiz took relatively little time out of a two-day induction programme and had the dual benefits of providing a stimulating and entertaining way of…

The changing nature of teaching and learning in an age of accessible technologies provides challenges and opportunities for the design of learning events. Working with a sample of undergraduate students of education in one UK higher education institution we use an exploratory, qualitative approach to investigate students' spontaneous uses of their…

Much of the research into higher education and its role in work-based learning (WBL), and especially in supporting undergraduate students on placements, has focussed on longer term internships and sandwich courses. Research has also focussed on subject areas that have traditionally been associated with the above; for example, Business, Health, and…

We report on a mixed-method study that compared students' perceptions of summative assessment across two distinct disciplines--education and mathematics, at two research-intensive institutions in the UK. The disciplines chosen represent opposing positions in Biglan's classification of academic disciplines, as well as having very different…

This article discusses the results of an investigation into selected MA in Education students' interpretation of feedback to their written assignments in a teaching and learning institution in the UK, using the framework of cultural capital and acculturation. A case study method was adopted to investigate four participants' thoughts and…

This paper reports on an action research project into the development of a "democratic feedback model" with students on an education studies programme at a post-1992 university in the UK. Building on work that has explored the dialogic dimensions of assessment and feedback, the research explored the potential for more…