Education Research Conversations: Student-led research as a means of enhancing the autonomy of university students and contributing to institutional development
Facilitator: Joe Sykes- an assistant professor at Akita International University, in Japan, teaching English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and Multimodal Social Semiotics. His research interests include learner autonomy and identity in multicultural and multilingual contexts, which he addresses through participatory ethnographic, narrative and arts-based methods.
Autonomy is often stated as a goal of higher education, but universities have the potential to constrain as well as enable the autonomy of their students. In this Conversation about Educational Research, we will discuss how participatory research involving students can increase their autonomy by facilitating reflection on their relationship with their educational contexts, and by giving them a voice in the running of the institution. I describe an inquiry in which learner autonomy was both the focus and the outcome, as a point of departure for discussion on how student-led research could benefit the University of Westminster and its students.
For those who are engaged in working towards Advance HE fellowship, the content of this workshop aligns with and supports the following dimensions of the Professional Standards Framework:
Areas of Activity (A) which demonstrate that you:
· A1: design and plan learning activities and/or programmes of study
· A2: teach and/or support learning through appropriate approaches and environments
· A4: support and guide learners
Core Knowledge (K) which is needed to carry out the areas of activity:
· K1: how students learn, generally and within specific subjects
· K2: approaches to teaching and/or supporting learning, appropriate for subjects and level of study
· K3: critical evaluation as a basis for effective practice
Professional Values (V) which show how you:
· V1: respect individual learners and diverse groups of learners
· V2: promote engagement in learning and equity of opportunity for all to reach their potential
· V3: use scholarship, or research, or professional learning, or other evidence-informed approaches as a basis for effective practice
· V4: respond to the wider context in which higher education operates, recognising implications for practice