A narrative study of ‘student socialisation’ from the perspective of academics within an International foundation study centre within an English Russell group university campus

Abstract

The ‘marketisation of higher education' concept has gained significant currency in recent years. Marketoriented reforms in higher education, including the introduction of tuition fees, competition between institutions, and the increasing emphasis on student choice, have all characterised change within higher education, as universities and colleges have faced challenges related to funding, global expansionism and increasing institutional competition. Nevertheless, debate continues as to what extent academics have adapted to such significant change, especially within how students in one context learn to be students preparing for a different context, educationally and socio-culturally. The research reported in this paper originated from personal practice as a teacher-educator within an International Foundation Centre (IFC). Integrating theory relating to Socialisation, Internationalisation, and the Business of Education, together with appropriate conceptual analysis, configures a suitable research methodology based on Narrative design. The study's participants were a group of IFC teachereducators, and the research took place over a period of two academic years, 2020-2022, that critically spanned COVID-19, so the findings revealed a complex interplay of expectations and changing relationships that occurred directly because of the Pandemic. Narrative testimony and documentary data revealed that the experiences of academics as they worked with students’ progress, their academic skill development, and their approaches to how they were endeavouring to develop specific skill and knowledge portfolios were changing quite significantly. Students expressed socio-cultural differences in their forms of engagement and learning, employability experiences, and involvement with related opportunities when reflecting on their disciplinary learning journeys. Moreover, the richness of social-relational experiences reported by the educators was becoming more significant in mediating student progress and achievement. The study findings illuminate the risks in the competitive dynamics of Russell Group universities and their dependent reliance on the recruitment of non-EU international students. The points of originality of this study are an exploration of the growth of an under-researched institutional formation in the marketisation of higher education in the United Kingdom, the international pathway provider. It is also original in reflecting an analysis of changes from the staff's perspective concerning changing conceptualisations of student hood and consequent student socialisation in an International Foundation centre context. Implications for educator development are identified, as are policy indications for higher education institutions.