http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/32863 2026-04-20T07:22:45Z 2026-04-20T07:22:45Z Tsouroufli, M Ferri, G http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/33011 2026-03-20T03:00:28Z 2025-04-30T00:00:00Z

Title: Guest editorial: Bordering, othering and reconceptualizing the inter/national subject in higher education Authors: Tsouroufli, M; Ferri, G Abstract: This special issue is concerned with a timely and seemingly neutralized issue; internationalization of higher education institutions and the making and unmaking of the “international” subject in the UK and across different social-cultural, national and political contexts. Our international/transnational/migrant standpoint and research track record in critical perspectives to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and Intercultural Communication respectively, sparked interest in this topic and is discussed in detail later in this editorial. In what follows we briefly discuss the introduction and current challenges of internationalization in the UK, its implementation in other Anglophone and non-Anglophone contexts, in an attempt to unravel the highly politicized assertions underpinning dominant discourses of internationalization and conceptualizations of “international” in different geo-political contexts. We contend that processes and practices of internationalization and discourses of “international” are in fact inherently antithetical rather than synergistic with social justice goals and largely endemic and epidemic to the neo-liberalized ethos, colonial structures and white patriarchal, capitalist regimes of higher education institutions. Critical internationalization research that problematizes the popular framing of internationalization in terms of economic, intellectual and multi/intercultural benefits and the formation of international academic staff and students as disembodied subjects–reduced to indicators of cosmopolitanism, enhanced human capital and global competitiveness–has potential to advance theorizations of difference and equality, and to inform, enrich and transform social justice agendas in higher education institutions. ...

2025-04-30T00:00:00Z Box, A Hossain, S http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/32736 2026-04-14T07:57:09Z 2026-02-23T00:00:00Z

Title: Computing reform: The exodus of ICT teachers Authors: Box, A; Hossain, S Abstract: The 2010s saw significant reform in ICT and computing education. ICT was written off as an irrelevant vocational subject, and effectively “scrapped.” Introduced in its place was the national curriculum computing programmes of study (Computing), with an emphasis on computer science. This blanket reform meant that secondary school “ICT” subject teachers were immediately required to teach “Computing.” This study’s findings demonstrate that ICT teachers felt unsupported throughout the reform process. Teachers have been unable to reconcile the identity of “Teacher of Computing” with their professional situations and have left teaching. This loss of teachers should be viewed as an “educational loss” of expertise and diversity in the computing classroom. It is recommended that teachers are given support to allow a reconnection with their previous “successful” professional identities. Good teachers should not be lost because of the rushed implementation of national reforms.

2026-02-23T00:00:00Z Wainwright, E McHugh, E Bhuyan, M http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/32673 2026-04-10T16:27:57Z 2026-02-25T00:00:00Z

Title: Feeding hungry students: geographies of on-campus free food provision across England Authors: Wainwright, E; McHugh, E; Bhuyan, M Abstract: In 2023, one in four UK universities was reported to be operating a food bank for their students amidst a ‘cost-of-learning crisis’. With nearly half of students facing financial difficulty, student food poverty has become a vital issue in contemporary higher education, with food banks marking an important addition to on-campus student support. This paper adds to the growing extant literature on food banks by empirically and conceptually examining the geographies of on-campus free food provision across English universities. We define free food provision for university students as food that is free at the point of collection and consumption and is based on presumed and/or evidenced student need. The paper draws on qualitative and quantitative data from a survey administered to all English universities to map provision across institutions and explore on-campus geographies of free food. It makes two important contributions to existing research. First and empirically, it moves the discussion of food poverty and educational institutions beyond a focus on schools and families with children. Second, and conceptually, it extends understandings of food poverty alleviation beyond food banks to consider a broader set of mechanisms through which support is given to those in need, with universities vitally positioned to tackle food poverty given their role in anchoring students in place. The paper concludes by questioning the longer-term commitment and sustainability of free food provision across universities in England at a time of financial uncertainty. Description: Short Abstract: In 2023, one in four UK universities was reported to be operating a food bank for their students amidst a ‘cost-of-learning crisis’. With nearly half of students facing financial difficulties, student food poverty has become a vital issue in contemporary higher education, with food banks marking an important addition to on-campus student support. This paper adds to the growing extant literature on food banks by empirically and conceptually examining the geographies of on-campus free food provision across English universities.; Data Availability Statement: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

2026-02-25T00:00:00Z Tsouroufli, M Walton, A Thompson, D http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/29815 2026-03-19T13:53:48Z 2024-09-13T00:00:00Z

Title: Gendered resistances and emotions to neo-liberalism in a post-1992 University in England Authors: Tsouroufli, M; Walton, A; Thompson, D Abstract: Purpose: In this paper we explore the gendered ways in which academic staff resistance and compliance is configured in a post-1992 University in England, including the emotions implicated in the navigation of neo-liberalisation and research intensification of their academic institution and its associated disciplinarian mechanisms. Design/methodology/approach: We draw on data from an interview study of a diverse sample of 32 academics of different gender, discipline and academic grade. Analysis informed by a feminist post-structuralist framework of power and discourse explored different forms of academic resistance and compliance; how the embodied academic subject was (re)negotiated within gendered discourses of neo-liberal research excellence and managerialism and the gendered emotions generated in processes of resistance and compliance. Findings: Institutional change and expectations to engage with research performativity generated fear, anxiety and anger. Female staff appeared to actively resist the masculinized research subject performing all hours work and individualism in the context of private and institutional gendered relations and labour. Male staff though actively resisted the feminization of higher education and the neo-liberal instrumentalization of caring and therapeutic cultures and ideologically resisted the surveillance mechanisms of higher education including the REF. Research limitations/implications: Our work contributes to scholarship problematizing the assumed neutrality of resistance and compliance and highlighting women’s symbolic struggle to (dis)identify with a masculine professional norm. In terms of theorising academic resistance to neo-liberalism and identity construction, further attention should be given to the mobilization and symbolic capital of academics and emotions positioned differently due to their gender and intersecting differences. Originality/value: Our study addresses a gap in the scholarship of academic resistance and compliance by advancing the understanding of gender inequalities and emotions implicated in the process of resistance and compliance against neo-liberalism.

2024-09-13T00:00:00Z