The research-education nexus: Engaging students in research and inquiry

[HEALEY, Mick (Prof)]

Colleagues may be interested in this recently published open-access book.

 

At over 70,000 words, with more than 65 boxed mini-case studies and over 450 references, this report, for the University of Westminster, UK, presents a thorough and detailed analysis and guide covering the last 25 years on how engaging students in research and inquiry supports and sustains the research-education nexus. It updates and builds on the highly cited 2009 HE Academy publication by Mick Healey and Alan Jenkins.

 

The book offers both a scholarly review and a practical guide to the strategies and practices that support the development and implementation of the research-education nexus internationally, through the active engagement of students in research and inquiry. It explores the complexity of the research-education nexus, also commonly referred to as the research-teaching or teaching-research nexus.

 

The publication addresses a broad spectrum of themes, including disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches, professional and work-based learning, community engagement, knowledge exchange, and innovations in learning and teaching. It contributes to the global discourse on higher education, exploring the evolving roles of students as researchers, inquirers, partners, scholars, producers, and agents of change. Increasingly, students are viewed as active participants within the research and educational communities of their institutions.

 

It aims to inform and inspire dialogue among academics, professional staff, institutional leaders, academic developers, and students about embedding student research and inquiry in educational practices. These conversations need to be responsive to disciplinary, institutional, and national contexts. The debates will raise critical questions about the future of higher education in the mid-21st century, amid growing global uncertainty, polarisation, and supercomplexity, as well as the challenges of marketisation and treating students as consumers. Themes include the democratisation of knowledge, the flattening of traditional academic hierarchies between staff and students, inclusivity, and the transformative potential of emerging technologies.

 

It can be downloaded from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/394463281.

 

Professor Mick Healey

Higher Education Consultant and Researcher,

Emeritus Professor University of Gloucestershire,

Visiting Professor University of Westminster,
The Humboldt Distinguished Scholar in Research-Based Learning McMaster University,

International Teaching Fellow University College Cork.