Hi Will
Congratulations on your new job - it sounds like an exciting role. I had a look on the RAISE site and was interested in the definition of 'engagement' there (reproduced below). I like the focus on identity and the empowering implication that it has - I've always thought Learning Development work was also 'identity work' - but one of the things I hope for in our uses of the term 'engagement' - and also 'participation' - is that we can direct activities using these labels towards democratising HE - promoting student involvement in curriculum design and assessment activities, helping to set standards for graduate-level practice that are meaningful and inclusive as well as scholarly and rigorous.
One of the things I worry about is the appropriation of the language of engagement by the managerial class in HE (of which I am one!) for corporate purposes - see 'Participation: The New Tyranny?' Cooke and Kothari, 2001. Lesley Gourlay may also have some interesting things to say about this in Huddersfield at the next ALDinHE conference...
So - more power to your elbow, Will! And I hope in your new job you are able to promote engagement work that brings students to the fore in (re)shaping HE
From http://raise-network.ning.com
"Recently we have agreed a working definition of student engagement:
Student engagement is about what a student brings to Higher Education in terms of goals, aspirations, values and beliefs and how these are shaped and mediated by their experience whilst a student. SE is constructed and reconstructed through the lenses of the perceptions and identities held by students and the meaning and sense a student makes of their experiences and interactions. As players in and shapers of the educational context, educators need to foster educationally purposeful SE to support and enable students to learn in constructive and powerful ways and realise their potential in education and society (RAISE 2010)."
John Hilsdon
Head of Learning Support and Wellbeing
Plymouth University
On 6 Dec 2013, at 16:57, "William Carey" <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote:
**Apologies for any cross-posting**
Hi all,
I’ve recently moved roles at The University of Manchester to one explicitly focused on Student Engagement and wondering who else is out there.
As a less than(!) ‘part-time’ contributor to this forum for a number of years, I know there are many observers on the list who may:
i) Have direct involvement with institutional policy/practice related to Student Engagement
ii) Know someone who does (either long standing or new to their university)
Having attended the great RAISE conference<http://raise-network.ning.com/> this year (with huge thanks again to the conference team), I know there is a fantastic community of practitioners, policy makers and others(!) out there who are involved in various ways and it would be great to find out a bit more of what you do / where you’re based, particularly if you didn’t know/weren’t able to attend RAISE.
To save flooding the list with responses, I’m happy to collate responses and feedback to those people who are interested.
Have a great weekend,
Will
William Carey l Teaching and Learning Adviser (Student Engagement) l Teaching and Learning Support Office l Directorate for the Student Experience l John Owens Building l The University of Manchester l Oxford Road l Manchester, M13 9PL l
Tel +44 (0) 161 275 3299 l Fax +44 (0) 161 275 7354 l www.manchester.ac.uk<http://www.manchester.ac.uk/>
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