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).
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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.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ed.D |
| Title: | Disturbing circles: investigating the public role of UK higher education through the emergence of Grand Challenges |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | 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. |
| UCL classification: | UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Education, Practice and Society UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education UCL |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10152089 |
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