eprintid: 10152089
rev_number: 13
eprint_status: archive
userid: 699
dir: disk0/10/15/20/89
datestamp: 2022-10-06 13:44:43
lastmod: 2023-02-01 07:11:31
status_changed: 2022-10-06 13:44:43
type: thesis
metadata_visibility: show
sword_depositor: 699
creators_name: Mitchell, Christopher James
title: Disturbing circles: investigating the public role of UK higher education through the emergence of Grand Challenges
ispublished: unpub
divisions: B14
divisions: J80
divisions: B16
divisions: UCL
note: Copyright © The Author 2021.  Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).  Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms.  Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request.
abstract: My research project reflects on the public role of UK higher education through an investigation into the emergence of Grand Challenges. Grand Challenges are initiatives that bring people together to identify and address global problems, such as those that relate to health, wellbeing, climate change, security and sustainability. Universities promote them as an opportunity to make connections, develop transferable skills and to make a difference in the world. My research investigates how the emergence of Grand Challenges informs the debate about the public role of UK higher education through a critical analysis of why Grand Challenges have emerged, who they are for, and how they should be designed. 
The research employs a methodological framework called critical realism, which involves identifying ‘generating mechanisms’ through an exploration of lived experiences and events. Within this framework, I use a combination of interviews and digital ethnography to identify three generating mechanisms that contribute towards the development of Grand Challenges in higher education. These relate to perceptions of precariousness, powerlessness and status. I use this analysis to reimage Grand Challenges by developing a new set of guiding principles. These principles are designed to help those in higher education to generate responses to complex global problems, to think together, to reflect on their obligations and to help people act in the world. They have already informed my own academic practice as a curriculum designer, and will be of value to those planning or participating in challenge-based education, as well as those developing higher education policy at the level of institution or sector.
date: 2022-07-28
date_type: published
oa_status: green
full_text_type: other
thesis_class: doctoral_embargoed
thesis_award: Ed.D
language: eng
primo: open
primo_central: open_green
verified: verified_manual
elements_id: 1965620
lyricists_name: Mitchell, Christopher
lyricists_id: CJMIT30
actors_name: Mitchell, Christopher
actors_id: CJMIT30
actors_role: owner
full_text_status: public
pagerange: 1-149
pages: 146
institution: UCL (University College London)
department: Education, Practice and Society, UCL Institute of Education
thesis_type: Doctoral
citation:        Mitchell, Christopher James;      (2022)    Disturbing circles: investigating the public role of UK higher education through the emergence of Grand Challenges.                   Doctoral thesis  (Ed.D), UCL (University College London).     Green open access   
 
document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10152089/2/ChrisMitchell_EdD_Thesis_Final2.pdf