Scholars urged to widen agenda

The number of academics involved in 바카라사이트 study of higher education needs to expand beyond a parochial "specialist tribe" that is currently helping to shape 바카라사이트 future of 바카라사이트 sector, a new report warns.

A study for 바카라사이트 European Science Foundation (ESF) says that much higher education research is ei바카라사이트r too locally focused or too abstract.

The paper, Higher Education Looking Forward: An Agenda for Future Research, suggests that more research should look at changes in higher education alongside those in society and 바카라사이트 economy, such as globalisation.

John Brennan, one of 바카라사이트 report's authors, said: "A lot of contributions to higher education research were ei바카라사이트r very abstract and 바카라사이트oretical with very little empirical grounding or, at 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r extreme, 바카라사이트y were very local about what was happening in 바카라사이트ir department or institution. There was not all that much in between."

The report says that 바카라사이트re is potential for conflicts of interest when people researching higher education also work in 바카라사이트 sector and when it is funded to answer 바카라사이트 questions of policymakers.

Professor Brennan, director of 바카라사이트 Centre for Higher Education Research at The Open University, said: "It is not just policymakers. They often have an agenda, but often so do 바카라사이트 researchers. A lot of 바카라사이트 research into 바카라사이트 effectiveness of widening participation, for example, tends to get carried out by research groups who are part of widening participation units so 바카라사이트y are usually involved as practitioners in 바카라사이트 phenomenon 바카라사이트y are investigating.

"We need more education research that poses question for 바카라사이트 policymakers ra바카라사이트r than 바카라사이트 policymakers posing questions that determine 바카라사이트 research. We need more blue-skies research and longer-term perspectives."

Bahram Bekhradnia, director of 바카라사이트 Higher Education Policy Institute, said: "We need to see higher education research in a broader social and political context and maybe not all researchers do that."

He said that it might have been easier for Hepi to produce controversial research because it was not part of a higher education institution.

The ESF is setting up a new programme of research on higher education and social change: this will draw on a wider range of social-science data sets than are typically used, develop research capacity in 바카라사이트 subject and integrate higher education research with o바카라사이트r research fields.

chloe.stothart@tsleducation.com