Undergraduate Experiences of the Research/Teaching Nexus Across the Student Life Cycle

• In Event: Assessing and Supporting College Students' Cognitive Capacities

Abstract

The interconnections between research and teaching in Higher Education is usually termed ‘the research/teaching nexus’ (RTN), exploring the association between research outputs of staff and teaching evaluations; the student experience of the nexus; and the differences between institutional types and disciplines. Drawing on the results of a three-year qualitative study that followed 40 students through the student lifecycle, this paper explores how undergraduates in an English university experienced the RTN, how those experiences developed over time, and how these changes can be variously enabled or constrained. Situating the findings in the context of the ‘post-truth’ society and the uncertainty of employment futures, the paper highlights how the nexus can often serve to exclude students as much as it includes.

Authors

• Tom W Clark, University of Sheffield

• Rita Hordosy, University of Nottingham