Suchergebnisse

Student Politics and Protest : an Introduction / Rachel Brooks -- Campaigning for a Movement : Collective Identity and Student Solidarity in the 2010/11 UK Protests against Fees and Cuts / Alexander Hensby -- Student Struggles and Power Relations in Contemporary Universities : The Cases of Italy and England / Lorenzo Cini -- Neoliberal Discourses and the Emergence of an Agentic Field : the Chilean Student Movement / Carolina Guzman Valenzuela -- Affinities and Barricades : A Comparative Analysis of Student Organizing in Quebec and the USA / Rushdia Mehreen and Ryan Thomson -- Student Politics and the Value(s) of Public Welfare / Gritt Nilsen -- The Politics of Higher Education Funding in the UK Student Movement 1996-2010 / Debbie McVitty -- Student Power in 21st Century Africa : The Character and Role of Student Organising / Thierry Luescher-Mamashela -- Students' Associations : The New Zealand Experience / Sylvia Nissen and Bronwyn Hayward -- "If Not Now, Then When? If Not Us, Who?" : Understanding the Student Protest Movement in Hong Kong / Bruce Macfarlane -- Student Mobilization during Turkey's Gezi Resistance : From the Politics of Change to the Politics of Lifestyle / Begüm Uzun -- Network Formation in Student Political Worlds / Joseph Ibrahim and Nick Crossley -- Conclusion / Rachel Brooks

Drawing on interviews with 26 higher education 'policy influencers' from six European countries (Denmark, England, Germany, Ireland, Poland, and Spain), this article considers the ways in which students were commonly understood by this particular group of social actors. It argues that, although a number of the characteristics of contemporary students identified by the interviewees are evident across many nation-states within Europe, they were frequently discussed and explained in terms of very distinct 'national narratives', with policy influencers often making reference to their country's specific history and culture. The implications of such narratives for European higher education and geopolitical relations more generally are explored.

Higher education (HE) students have often been viewed as important political actors in wider society, stemming largely from their activities in the 1960s. Nevertheless, like much of the literature on youth political participation, research has rarely explored the extent to which student political participation varies across nation-states. This article begins to redress this gap by drawing upon data collected from focus groups with undergraduate students in England and Ireland, alongside an analysis of relevant policy documents from both countries. Overall, we argue that, whilst English and Irish students expressed similar desires to be politically active, they differed in the extent to which they felt empowered to do so and the perceived scope of their influence. Similar differences were evident, to some extent, in the way in which students' political activity were seen by policymakers. These cross-national differences are explained with reference to contextual factors and, in particular, variation in the degree of HE marketisation in the two countries. There is also evidence to suggest that students are sensitive to the way in which they are constructed in policy, which affects their sense of selves as political actors.

Within the extant literature on patterns of mobility of higher education students to and from Europe there is some recognition that these differ across geographical space – in relation to variations in national uptake of the European Union's Erasmus scheme, for example. However, strong similarities are also often identified – about the way in which mobility is desired by students, higher education institutions and national governments, and how this is stimulated, in part, by various European initiatives such as the commitment to forging a European Higher Education Area. Moreover, while scholars have critiqued normative expectations of mobility – pointing out, for example, that not all students have the necessary social, cultural and economic resources to support a period of study abroad – there has been less critical focus on the way in which constructions of the 'mobile student' vary spatially. This article draws on a dataset of 92 policy documents from six European nations to argue that, while some convergence is notable, particularly in relation to the ways in which student mobility is placed centre-stage within internationalisation strategies, key differences are also evident – with respect to: the scale of desired mobility; the characteristics of the imagined 'mobile subject'; the extent to which social justice concerns are brought into play; and the prioritisation given to outward mobility. These raise important questions about the degree of 'policy convergence' across Europe and the ostensible homogenisation of European higher education systems around an Anglo-American model.

This article investigates the ways in which students are constructed in contemporary English higher education policy. First, it contends that, contrary to assumptions made in the academic literature, students are not conceptualised as 'empowered consumers'; instead their vulnerability is emphasised by both government and unions. Second, it identifies other dominant discourses, namely that of 'future worker' and 'hard-worker'. These articulate with extant debates about both the repositioning of higher education as an economic good, and the use of the 'hard-working' trope across other areas of social policy. Third, it shows that differences are drawn between groups of students. Contrasts are drawn, for example, between international students, juxtaposing the 'brightest and best' with those who are considered 'sham'. Finally, it argues that the figure of the 'vulnerable' student and 'thwarted consumer' feed into broader government narratives about its policy trajectory, legitimising contemporary reforms and excusing the apparent failure of previous policies.

Historically, university cultures have been described as masculine in orientation, and the 'ideal learner' as male, white, middle class and unencumbered by domestic responsibility. Nevertheless, more recent work has highlighted certain spaces within the higher education sector which, it is argued, are more welcoming of female students and those with family commitments. While there may now be more institutional spaces open to student-parents and others with caring responsibilities, we know little about whether similar change has been wrought in the domestic sphere. Drawing on interviews with 68 student-parents, this article explores the various strategies UK students with dependent children used to find time and space, within the home, to pursue their studies. By comparing these to the strategies used by student-parents at Danish universities, the article considers the extent to which differences in gender norms and state policy with respect to both higher education and childcare affect day-to-day familial practices.