Showing papers in "Higher Education Research & Development in 2023"

Validating and applying an adapted OSLQ to examine adult learners’ online self-regulation

Abstract: This study adapted and validated Barnard’s Online Self-Regulated Learning Questionnaire (OSLQ) to assess adult learners’ (n = 1302) online self-regulation, and examined its relation with attitude towards online learning and perceived online learning satisfaction. It was found that age and employment status were important demographic factors influencing adult learners’ online self-regulation. Specifically, middle- and late-career learners perceived themselves to be more self-regulated than early career learners, and self-employed learners perceived themselves to be more self-regulated than out-of-labour learners. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that online self-regulation contributed to adult learners’ perceived online learning satisfaction over and above attitude towards online learning and demographic variables. This suggests that online self-regulation is an important predictor of adult learners’ online learning satisfaction. Further, within the subscales of online self-regulation, it was found that the more participants set goals and sought help while learning online, the more satisfied they perceived their online learning. Implications for supporting adult learners’ online self-regulation and online learning were discussed.

Academic staff on their engagement with curriculum internationalisation: an organisational change perspective

Abstract: ABSTRACT Studies about curriculum internationalisation in higher education frequently report poor academic staff engagement hindering implementation in practice. However, such research does not consider the organisational context in which academics operate. This research applies an organisational change perspective to explore how the context affects the process of engagement and implementation and what to change (content). In a comparative case study of four disciplinary contexts in a West-European university from 2012 to 2020, we disclose the perceptions and experiences of twenty-nine academic staff through in-depth interviews. The academics explain how multiple contextual tensions and inadequate resource management complicate their engagement with curriculum internationalisation. Still, they also reveal evidence of many achievements and strong individual drivers with curriculum internationalisation. Our findings show how disciplinary contextual influences and dynamics create specific perceptions and experiences of curriculum internationalisation in each study programme. This article presents a comprehensive framework of organisational change to explain and facilitate academic staff engagement with curriculum internationalisation in disciplinary communities.

No human mobility: how is knowledge mobile in a context of internationalisation at a distance? a case study

Abstract: ABSTRACT The internationalisation of higher education has been challenged by the significant decline in international student mobility caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The emergence of internationalisation at a distance before COVID-19 paved a new avenue for the internationalisation of higher education, with the distinctive feature of knowledge mobility without human mobility. However, few studies have explored knowledge mobility in an internationalisation at a distance context. The ethnographic case study identifies three knowledge mobility channels – Information and Communication Technology (ICT), curriculum and virtual community of practice – and argues that the knowledge creation model SECI (Socialisation, Externalisation, Combination, and Internalisation) is inapplicable in the internationalisation at a distance context. Additionally, the absence of immersion in face-to-face interaction hinders internationalisation at a distance students’ identity construction, placing them at a disadvantage in acquiring tacit knowledge. The significance of cultural, linguistic and pedagogical contextualisation in the context is also emphasised.

Are some disciplines ‘hard to engage’? A cross-disciplinary analysis of university teachers’ approaches to internationalisation of the curriculum

Abstract: ABSTRACT Internationalisation of the curriculum (IoC) as an important element of internationalisation has seen many challenges. The literature shows that successful IoC cases are rare. Drawing on the concepts of powerful knowledge and ‘knowing’, we argue that a more comprehensive understanding of knowledge engagement in the IoC process is needed. Currently, engaging knowledge appears to be a barrier to IoC, particularly in hard disciplines such as science and engineering. This study investigated how faculty members from different disciplines engaged knowledge in their approaches to IoC through semi-structured interviews with 34 faculty members based in three Hong Kong universities. The findings show that engaging knowledge is indispensable to IoC because it provides theoretical foundations for ‘being’ and substantiates discussions on global issues using disciplinary lenses. Furthermore, faculty members from all disciplines show productive ways of engaging knowledge, whilst the differences lie in the expected role of ‘knower’ and the relationship between ‘knowing’ and ‘being’. Specifically, facilitating an intimate relationship between ‘knowing’ and ‘being’ through students’ own dispositions was featured in soft disciplines, whilst taking perspectives based on scientific principles was identified in hard disciplines.

A caring transformation of international education: possibilities, challenges and change

Abstract: ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has had profound impacts on all facets of international education. Not only has it highlighted the inadequacy of existing care arrangements but it has also created new care needs. There is increased recognition among policy makers and education providers that they need to understand and support the wellbeing of international students more effectively – and indeed with greater care. Drawing on sociomaterial theories of care, this article considers the possibilities of care as a guiding principle for orienting the transformation of international education in more productive directions. Its central contention is that a focus on care will be vitally important for fostering the wellbeing of international students and for creating an institutional environment that more successfully attracts, retains, and supports them. Yet more than this, it will be crucial for redefining and realising the ambitious aims of international education itself. This article substantiates these claims by offering three ‘sketches’ of how a focus on care might reframe international education policy, institutional support, and point to new directions in research on international student mobility.

Typologising internationalisation in UK university strategies: reputation, mission and attitude

Abstract: ABSTRACT Although internationalisation underpins many practices in higher education, its adopted approaches can be uneven between institutions and create ambiguous conceptualisations of how it is enacted in practice. Therefore, a whole-sector analysis can provide insight into whether spaces exist for new and innovative approaches to internationalisation, or whether they might be limited by structural inequalities and pressures in the sector. Using the UK as an illustrative case, our research has conducted a qualitative ideal-type analysis of 132 institutional approaches to internationalisation across the sector, as codified in university internationalisation strategy documents and through secondary quantitative data about key internationalisation metrics. Our typology developed three dimensions that shape internationalisation approaches: reputation, mission, and attitude. Our findings outline that universities use their understanding of their reputations and material contexts to determine their missions, and the combination of these shape the dominant emotional tone of strategic approaches to internationalisation. We outline how institutions, on the whole, shape their approaches to internationalisation to fit an existing status quo of global elitism, rather than highlighting new and innovative approaches to internationalisation. The UK case can provide an illustrative example for other diverse sectors in marketised and internationalising contexts.

A systematic review of Australian higher education students’ and graduates’ work readiness

Abstract: Hiring new graduates is a cost-effective method of recruiting high-potential talent into organizations. Despite recent focus on graduate employability in the Australian higher education (HE) sector, a discrepancy remains between employer expectations of graduate work readiness (WR), and graduate perceptions of preparedness to commence professional work. This has implications for curriculum development, including work-integrated learning (WIL) programs that aim to improve WR of students ensuring they have the necessary skills and attributes required for work. What comprises WR skills and attributes, however, has been conceptualized differently in the literature. This systematic review aimed to address the lack of consistent conceptualization of WR, and the tools used to assess WR, in the Australian HE sector. A systematic review of five databases returned 138 articles based on the inclusion criteria, of which 16 met eligibility for review. The included studies were synthesized to compare conceptualizations and assessment of WR. Findings confirmed differences in conceptualization of WR and the majority of studies adopted a multidimensional measurement approach, comprising discipline-specific and generic skills. We discuss implications of varied conceptualizations of WR and assessment of WIL activities to improve WR in the higher education context.

Students’ changing conceptualizations of university internationalization in Australia

Abstract: ABSTRACT Interrupted international mobility since 2020 emphasized the limited nature of focusing higher education internationalization on the recruitment of international students. Likewise, the term ‘internationalization’ has lost appeal as it connotes for some the imposing of Western approaches and colonialist assumptions about best practices. To assist universities as they reimagine international education in Australia, this article discusses a study that explored how students conceptualize an internationalized university and the importance they place on various strategies. Analysis compared the responses of those who commenced their studies pre-pandemic, at the start of the pandemic and mid-pandemic to explore the influence of the pandemic on students’ ideas. Findings suggest consistent beliefs that common internationally minded strategies and graduate skills are important; however, some university characteristics, such as a diverse student population, seem more strongly associated with ‘internationalization’ than others. Slight differences based on when students commenced their studies suggest that some characterizations of internationalization are more static while others might be outdated. Such insights can assist universities in restructuring their internationalization approaches for this current period of change or future crises.

Is teaching and learning in Chinese higher education classrooms internationalized? Perspectives from international students in China

Abstract: ABSTRACT While China has emerged as a leading host country for international students, it reinforces its determination to build a global knowledge system by integrating Chinese and Western epistemological traditions in teaching and learning to promote epistemic justice. The study aims to explore international students’ challenges to current approaches to teaching and learning in Chinese higher education institutions in relation to the internationalization of curriculum. The study employed a qualitative exploratory design and collected data using semi-structured interviews with 30 international students at two prestigious Chinese universities. Based on the thematic analysis, the results highlight that international students struggle with issues such as Chinese language-dominated instruction, lack of discussion and autonomy in the classroom, limited engagement with domestic (Chinese) students and insufficient practical or hands-on learning opportunities. These findings are analysed against common standards required for the internationalization of teaching and learning. These findings have implications for classroom pedagogy in higher education institutions in China to sustain the interest of international students.

Student empowerment for internationalisation at a distance: enacting the students as partners approach in virtual mobility

Abstract: ABSTRACT The popularisation of virtual mobility offers opportunities to reconsider power imbalances among different actors in higher education and to affirm the centrality of student agency and diversity. This article explores possibilities for applying the Students as Partners (SaP) approach to virtual mobility in order to empower students and foster reciprocal and ethical interactions. Drawing on interviews with students involved in an action research project, the article highlights the roles and perspectives of students in formulating authentic intercultural exchange experiences online. The findings suggest that application of the SaP framework reorganises students’ agentic capacities and allows them to flourish in a way which, in turn, shifts the power balance in international learning and contributes to the ongoing re-configuration of approaches to internationalisation beyond the educator/student binary.

Learning to unlearn: exploring the relationship between internationalisation and decolonial agendas in higher education

Abstract: ABSTRACT In this article we consider the resonances between internationalisation and decolonising initiatives in the university. Based on our own experiences, as white, British, female scholars, of engaging with both internationalisation and decolonising agendas through our two decades of research and practice in these fields, we consider the parallels between these two strong initiatives. We feel that there are many resonances and opportunities for learning across them and that there is potential strength and solidarity in outlining the ways in which these two agendas can be mutually supportive. Using a discursive approach embedded in literature in the field, we argue that setting internationalisation and decoloniality alongside each other may enable an understanding of culture, race and whiteness; knowledge production; positions and positionality which could inform ways forward for both agendas. Through our reflexive conversations in this article, we aim to illustrate the ways in which internationalisation may perpetuate coloniality and yet how it can advance the decolonial possibilities of higher education, suggesting that the circularity may be broken by learning to unlearn and finding a common language between the two agendas.

Internationalization of higher education in tumultuous times: transformative powers and problems in embattled Ukraine

Abstract: ABSTRACT Previous research has conceptualized and investigated internationalization of higher education in relatively stable and peaceful environments. Studies on internationalization in the context of war are largely absent. Using interviews and survey responses from Ukrainian professors and administrators affected by the Russian invasion of 2014–2022, this paper re-examines the premises of internationalization, and outlines key dilemmas facing universities in times of existential crisis. The study reveals that the transformative powers of crisis-driven internationalization redefine ontological and axiological foundations of universities. University stakeholders readjust their responsibilities to reduce human vulnerability, while international solidarity helps them mitigate fragility in the war-affected academia.

Categorizations of crisis: access to higher education in Canada as international students and forcibly displaced people

Abstract: ABSTRACT This paper critically examines two policy responses related to Canadian study permit processes that were adopted during two crises: the COVID-19 pandemic and the displacement of Ukrainian nationals due to war. We look at the expansion of the Student Direct Stream (SDS) to the Americas in 2021 and the creation of the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET) in 2022 to discuss the effects of these crisis responses on the access to higher education (HE) in Canada for international students and forcibly displaced people. In this study, we conduct a policy analysis that draws on Bacchi’s post-structural approach named ‘What’s the problem represented to be?’ (WPR). We use the WPR approach to answer the question: how are students constituted as policy subjects in policy responses to crisis? Findings indicate that the two responses are accompanied by power imbalances that deepen barriers to equity in the access to HE in Canada.

Nation-bounded internationalization of higher education: a comparative analysis of two periphery countries

Abstract: ABSTRACT Internationalization of higher education (IHE) has become one of the most prominent strategies in national policies and universities’ agendas during the past three decades. IHE provides numerous benefits to nations, institutions, and higher education stakeholders and plays a vital role in improving the quality of education and research. However, it is difficult to argue that all countries equally benefit from IHE; that is, power inequalities between countries in the world are reflected in universities’ efforts and outcomes regarding internationalization. To analyse the effects of national boundaries on IHE, this article presents qualitative research conducted in two European countries: Poland and Turkey. Thirty-six semi-structured interviews were conducted with international office professionals. The results revealed that IHE in Poland and Turkey, as examples of peripheral countries in terms of IHE, is restricted by political instability, economic impotency and socio-cultural legacies. These factors lead to a nation-bounded internationalization experience for higher education institutions and individual stakeholders in both countries. The results also revealed some differences between the two countries and it is argued that decentralized internationalization strategies designed based on nations’ unique characteristics are needed to drive the progressive values of IHE forward.

Humanising the internationalisation of higher education: enhancing international students’ wellbeing through the capability approach

Abstract: ABSTRACT The international student experience has strategically transformed the internationalisation of higher education globally. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, international student wellbeing has decreased. To enhance their wellbeing, we argue international students’ experience should be broadened to include community engagement, thereby increasing core capabilities for, by and with international students. Using Sen’s capability approach as a conceptual framework, we conducted a study in South Australia during the height of the pandemic. Partnering with one local non-for-profit organisation, we asked: ‘How have engagements with the local community affected international students’ capabilities to enhance their wellbeing?’ We offer critical interpretivist perspectives to report on a pilot study of 75 survey responses and 18 in-depth interviews. The findings identify diverse macro-structural forces that form a social context which has marginalised the students. Despite contingent and tenuous social relations and contexts, with support from the community outside the university, some students converted their capabilities to fortify their wellbeing. This study is critical given that the goal of re-strategising internationalisation of higher education begins from the students’ needs through an effective partnership between universities and communities.

Indigenous university pathways, WIL and the strengthening of aspirations: Robbie’s journey as a learner

Abstract: The underrepresentation of boys from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australian universities continues despite recent gains in widening participation. This article presents a case study documenting the transition of one Indigenous student, Robbie, from an underprivileged school located in the Western suburbs of Sydney to an urban Australian university. We focus first on his experience at university before considering how an opportunity with Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) influenced his confidence and motivation. Central to the analysis is the continual and contentious nature of Robbie’s identity work concerning the opportunities he encounters. In exploring Robbie’s journey as a learner, his experiences compel us to reflect on how facets of his learner identity change in relation to opportunities and what this may mean for how equity programmes provide support for vulnerable learners – specifically how we can improve outcomes for young men from underrepresented backgrounds.

Settler nation-building through immigration as a rationale for higher education: a critical discourse analysis

Abstract: ABSTRACT As education-migration (edugration) blurs the line between international student and immigrant recruitment in some jurisdictions, higher education admission is becoming linked to settler nation-building projects. Using critical discourse analysis, this article examines the Canadian higher education sector’s response to COVID-19 through pre-budget submissions to the House of Commons of Canada Standing Committee on Finance for the 2021 federal budget. Findings demonstrate how institutions instrumentalized international students to position themselves as valuable actors in Canada’s immigration regime and justify their requests for public financial support. In this way, nation-building through immigration – both globally, as an imperial power, and domestically, as a colonial power – is now a new societal role of higher education which is becoming hegemonic within institutions. This is significant because, as higher education’s purposes align with those of economic immigration, the sector not only fails to interrupt, but itself reproduces, systemic patterns of border imperialism and settler-colonialism. The article urges higher education institutions to (1) more deeply consider how a reliance on international student enrolment is impacting its societal roles, while also (2) avoid exceptionalizing the present by recognizing that higher education has long functioned in the service of the state as a colonial and imperialist power.

Scoping academic oracy in higher education: knotting together forgotten connections to equity and academic literacies

Abstract: ABSTRACT Although the importance of developing students’ academic literacies has been well-established, academic oracy has been forgotten. There is a paucity of attention to oracy in higher education, despite the key role played by students’ oral communication in academic achievement and graduate employability. This study offers a scoping review of the international scholarly literature that does exist, to explore how oracy has been framed and discussed in higher education, and whether connections have been made with the equity agenda to widen participation to traditionally under-represented groups. Following Arksey and O’Malley’s framework for scoping studies, the 31 papers reviewed suggest that oracy is framed in disparate ways, reflecting disconnected understandings of the range, breadth and possibilities for oracy teaching. An oracy as product perspective prevails in the studies, with oracy predominantly explored through monologic, monoglossic activities, assessments, and graduate attributes. The review has highlighted the need to recognise an oracy for learning perspective; to establish shared understandings of the features of oracy; and to embed the teaching of oracy practices that support all students, regardless of linguistic and educational background, within their disciplinary learning.

Conducting doctoral research in China: an exploration of international students’ motivation to study at Chinese universities

Abstract: ABSTRACT With the growing trend of globalisation and the internationalisation of higher education, China actively recruits more international students to study at Chinese universities. Notably, international doctoral students are a significant cohort in this trend. Although many studies have investigated international students’ learning experiences in China, few have explored their motivations to pursue doctoral degrees in China. To fill this gap, through the push–pull model, we explored the motivation of 55 international doctoral students from three Chinese universities. The findings show that various national, institutional, and individual factors comprehensively influenced their choice to pursue doctoral studies in Chinese universities. Their experiences also reflect that China is progressively establishing a systematic mechanism to attract international doctoral students by taking advantage of economic development and Chinese academic returnees. While these advantages attract international doctoral students to study in China, Chinese universities may still play an alternative role in international doctoral education. This study contributes to international higher education and doctoral education. Implications and suggestions for future studies are discussed.

‘Integration is not a one-way process’: students negotiating meanings of integration and internationalization at home (IaH) in Finnish higher education

Abstract: ABSTRACT Internationalization at home (IaH) policies in higher education institutions (HEIs) are rarely negotiated with and by students. Therefore, students’ takes on such policies could be missed opportunities for HEIs. This qualitative study investigates international and local students’ negotiations and meaning-making of integration and IaH as stated by institutional policies. The data consist of online forum entries and reports from small group discussions between 40 students in English medium master’s programs in Finland (Europe). The key concepts of ideology and imaginary serve as entries into data analysis, which consists of enunciative discourse analysis. The findings indicate a perceived hierarchy of mutual but not equal integration between university staff, local and international students. Furthermore, the categories of ‘international as guests’ and ‘local students as hosts’ are challenged by the participants. Local students are considered as ‘guests with more privilege’ and international students as ‘guests with less opportunities’. The responsibility to achieve IaH goals is perceived to be unequally distributed among these actors. Practical implications include reconsidering the categories of ‘international’ and ‘local’ students and how IaH policies could share the responsibilities to achieve their goals more equally among students and staff.

The higher education expectation scale: development and testing

Abstract: Excessive educational expectations are risk factors for poor mental health among students in higher education. However, the literature on educational expectations has largely focused on primary and secondary students with paucity among tertiary students. This study describes the development of a multidimensional scale measuring perceived educational expectations by tertiary students. Results show that students perceived expectations from four distinct sources: self, parents, educators/institutions, and culture. The final 28-item HEES multidimensional scale provides an opportunity in higher education literature to examine the weight of expectations and their impact on tertiary students’ academic performance and well-being.

The higher degree research student experience in Australian universities: a systematic literature review

Abstract: Higher Degree by Research (HDR) students are an important part of Australian university research culture. They contribute significantly to the generation of new knowledge, research outputs, industry engagement and the continual development of higher education. This article is the first to systematically review existing research to synthesise the key areas of HDR student experience within the Australian context. A systematic review of the literature was conducted following PRISMA protocols, and 7 themes were identified across the 68 papers included in the review. Themes reflected supervisory relationships, challenges for international students, engagement with research communities, balancing life contexts, administrative challenges, thesis by publication, and industry-based research. The overall findings suggest a need for universities to be more proactive in supporting the unique needs of HDR students in a changing educational context.

Educators’ lived experiences of encountering and supporting the mental wellness of university students

Abstract: Globally, there is an increasing prevalence of higher education students with mental health issues. Educators are guaranteed contact points, and students often seek their support to manage their mental wellness. However, there is limited research describing educators’ experiences of these interactions. This interpretive phenomenological study engaged 16 educators from an institution in Canada and Australia. Interviews were conducted to understand their lived experiences interacting with and supporting students with mental health issues. Data demonstrated that educators encountered students with challenges to mental wellness, most commonly around course assessments. These encounters caused strain on educators personally and professionally, which they responded to by adapting teaching practices to mitigate risks to student and educator wellbeing, compartmentalization and boundaries, and relational connection and support. Over time they evolved to manage this and incorporate this role into their teaching, with more confidence and less impact on themselves. This manuscript highlights the lived experiences of educators engaging with students with mental health stressors, and provides tangible examples of professional and personal modifications that mitigated the strain on the educator caused by these encounters.

Investigating how students’ learning environment, social and physical well-being influence their resilience and feelings of depression and loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands

Abstract: In response to COVID-19 pandemic-related social restrictions, university students have reported being more depressed, lonelier, and less resilient, potentially affected by changes within the academic system. The present study investigates how students' social and physical well-being affect their psychological well-being and additionally explores the role of the learning environment. To this end, we analyzed secondary data collected during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic with multiple regression and explorative analysis. Results indicate that social resources - in particular, the quality rather than the quantity - positively influenced students' psychological well-being. Engaging in physical exercise appeared beneficial, whereas consuming drugs remained a contradictory predictor. Emergency remote teaching appeared a main factor that predicted students' well-being. This powerful effect masked the positive influence the teachers could have had. Given the profound changes in the academic system due to persistent social distancing requirements, these insights could provide valuable input when designing a healthy post-pandemic learning environment.

Students’ ways of experiencing writing a bachelor’s thesis: a phenomenographic interview study

Abstract: A bachelor’s thesis can be characterized as a proof of basic research and a trajectory of academic writing. This study addresses students’ ways of experiencing the writing process at the halfway stage, a stage that has been ignored in research. In a phenomenographic interview-study design, semi-structured interviews with 15 nursing students were carried out. A phenomenographic analysis of the data represents an outcome space with four categories of ways of experiencing writing: A. Structure, B. Comparison, C. Shift, and D. Relation. The categories of ways of experiencing the writing of a bachelor’s thesis constitute a range of foci, from solitary writing and assurance of the textual structure to a shared understanding, discussion, and transformation. This study confirms that sharing the preparation of texts in groups at the halfway stage can promote academic and relational skills. Conclusions address the nature of academic writing at the halfway stage and discuss potential pedagogical implications of the transformation from writing for oneself to writing for others, across disciplines and beyond academic levels.

Theorising new possibilities for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning and teaching-focused academics

Abstract: Definitions and understandings of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), scholarly teaching, and research are multiple and often conflicting. Reflecting on Boyer’s intention for academic work to be recognised as overlapping and interconnected, in this paper we examine some of the commonly assumed models of Boyer’s scholarship of teaching and the creation of SoTL, in light of more recent arguments for SoTL to be recognised as part of research policies and frameworks. We explore the implications of these conceptions for academics with a mandate to engage with SoTL, such as teaching-focused academics. Through our analysis, we challenge the increasing interest in defining, separating and categorising academic work as ‘teaching-focused’ or ‘research-focused’ and work towards acknowledging the supercomplexity present in conceptualisations of research and SoTL. We suggest a shift in SoTL scholarly discourse from a shared to a nuanced understanding that recognises the variation in ways people practice SoTL as a strength. To this end, we offer a trifocal framework of supercomplexity, theoretical reconstruction and an ethic of care. This framework appreciates the plurality of SoTL ways of knowing and doing as an opportunity, opening new vistas of possibility for theory and practice.

Mapping academic practice: a Latourian inquiry into a set of lecture slides

Abstract: How is academic work accomplished within a curriculum that has been established through a digital education infrastructure, and what, exactly, does an academic member of staff do within this digital context? Reflecting on the empirical findings of a three-year ethnography of a distributed medical education curriculum delivered across two university campuses in Canada, this paper demonstrates that the ways in which work that has typically been characterized as academic is enacted within this curriculum, positioned as a socio-technological network, through a heterogeneous network of people and materials. Drawing on the philosophical anthropology of Bruno Latour, An Inquiry into Modes of Existence, this paper positions the individual academic member of staff as one amongst many network elements within the digital platform across which academic work is generated and circulated. The paper argues that studies of digitally-mediated higher education can equally rest on small and localized instances of practice as well as on cross-boundary or institutional explorations, and offers ways of thinking that are informed by Latour's philosophical anthropology.

‘Challenging from the start’: novice doctoral co-supervisors’ experiences of supervision culture and practice

Abstract: There is a widespread interest in doctoral supervision, yet novice doctoral co-supervisors’ experiences remain understudied. The aim of this qualitative study is to explore how supervision culture and practice are experienced by novices. This thematic analysis is based on focus groups and in-depth interviews with 23 novice co-supervisors from two Swedish research-intensive universities. The study reveals three dimensions related to the challenging experience of the supervision culture, namely closedness, dependence and competition. Moreover, the analysis proves that co-supervisors’ practices are embedded within the ‘hidden curriculum’, here defined as the unplanned and implicit support outside formal meetings and activities. Novice co-supervisors bridge the gap between main supervisors and doctoral students and make the path to the doctoral degree smoother when engaging in emotional, intellectual, practical and mediation support. This study has practical implications and suggests improvements for co-supervision that would also benefit the doctoral students.

Collegiality as collective affect: who carries the burden of the labour of attunement?

Abstract: Collegiality is at the heart of the academy’s collective endeavour. It is central to how we think about academic governance structures, academic cultures, as well as the norms guiding academic work. This paper examines the less-explored affective dimensions of collegiality, probing the relationship between the collegial affect and the power and hierarchy in modern corporate universities. Three interview accounts describing academic practices in Australian universities are analysed to examine collegiality as academics’ capacity to attune to certain collective affects. This analysis demonstrates how collegial relations can reproduce exclusion in universities. Alternative types of relations that are attentive to differences are then examined, charting possible new directions for a more inclusive academy.

Negotiating the temporal and spatial complexities: Chinese international students’ learning experience at home during the COVID-19

Abstract: Many Chinese international students had to or chose to leave their host universities, receiving online international higher education (HE) at ‘homes’ during the COVID-19. Inspired by the ‘glonacal’ mode of thought, this qualitative study interviewed 16 Chinese international students at ‘homes’ to explore the potential complexities of spatiality and temporality regarding their online international HE experiences during COVID-19. Physically separating from host universities, our participants lost the sense of belongingness to the campus and felt disconnected with their academic communities. Their stories revealed a different ‘money’ value between gaining and losing regarding online international HE experiences at ‘homes’, and the disadvantages they experienced at host countries/universities. Our participants experienced temporal flexibility, temporal conflicts and temporal asymmetry simultaneously. Such spatial and temporal complexities intertwined with each other, making international student experience (ISE) during the COVID-19 unique. This article contributes to understanding of ISE and internationalisation of HE for a post-pandemic era.