Outputs (55)

Investing in degree apprenticeships: Analysing experiences through Conservation of Resources Theory (2023)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Taylor-Smith, E., Smith, S., & Bratton, A. (2023, December). Investing in degree apprenticeships: Analysing experiences through Conservation of Resources Theory. Presented at 2023 SRHE International Research Conference, Birmingham, UK

Degree apprentices have reported finding work-life-study balance challenging. This study uses the Theory of Conservation of Resources (COR) to investigate the resources invested and gained by apprentices in the achievement of their goal of a degree w... Read More about Investing in degree apprenticeships: Analysing experiences through Conservation of Resources Theory.

Students’ gendered experiences of male-dominated Computing and Engineering courses (2023)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Taylor-Smith, E., Smith, S., & Fabian, K. (2023, December). Students’ gendered experiences of male-dominated Computing and Engineering courses. Presented at 2023 SRHE International Research Conference, Birmingham, UK

How does it feel to be in a gender minority on a STEM programme? Does it have an impact on individual students? Via an online survey (n=255), undergraduate students on Computing and Engineering programmes were asked whether they felt that gender had... Read More about Students’ gendered experiences of male-dominated Computing and Engineering courses.

Women into Tech: understanding barriers, making connections (2023)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Taylor-Smith, E., Smith, S., Shankland, C., & Kolberg, M. (2023, June). Women into Tech: understanding barriers, making connections. Paper presented at 2023 Horizons in STEM, Swansea, UK

Computing and technology need a better gender balance. BCS report that, in 2021, only 22% of all IT specialists in the UK were women and their median hourly pay was 13% less than male employees. Further, according to HESA data, only 21% of students i... Read More about Women into Tech: understanding barriers, making connections.

‘I can’t really say as my course is 90% male’: students perceptions of gender impact on computing and engineering degrees (2023)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Taylor-Smith, E., Smith, S., & Fabian, K. (2023, June). ‘I can’t really say as my course is 90% male’: students perceptions of gender impact on computing and engineering degrees. Paper presented at 2023 Horizons in STEM, Swansea, UK

In UK higher education, the majority of computing and engineering students are men. HESA (2023) records the proportion of women studying ‘Computing’ and ‘Engineering and technology’ as 22.78% and 20.47% respectively. Lack of women is a problem for bo... Read More about ‘I can’t really say as my course is 90% male’: students perceptions of gender impact on computing and engineering degrees.

Mobilising more women into computing (2022)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Taylor-Smith, E., Shankland, C., Smith, S., & Barr, M. (2022, December). Mobilising more women into computing. Paper presented at Mobilities in Higher Education: SRHE International Conference 2022, Online

According to HESA data, UK universities' computing departments continue to suffer from a gender imbalance, where at present only 21% of students are female. This imbalance can deter women and non-binary people from applying and also be challenging fo... Read More about Mobilising more women into computing.

Apprentices' longitudinal perspectives of the tripartite collaboration at the heart of degree apprenticeships (2022)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Taylor-Smith, E., Smith, S., & Fabian, K. (2022, September). Apprentices' longitudinal perspectives of the tripartite collaboration at the heart of degree apprenticeships. Paper presented at Organisational Learning, Knowledge and Capabilities, OLKC 2022, Trollhättan, Sweden

Purpose: In degree apprenticeships, the tripartite collaboration between the apprentice, the employer, and the university is key to success. As the apprentices are at the centre of the degree, their lived experience and reflections are essential to... Read More about Apprentices' longitudinal perspectives of the tripartite collaboration at the heart of degree apprenticeships.

Transactional distance in the context of online and blended learning (2022)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Fabian, K., Smith, S., Taylor-Smith, E., & Meharg, D. (2022, September). Transactional distance in the context of online and blended learning. Paper presented at Association for Learning Technology Annual Conference, Manchester

Moore’s (1993) transactional distance theory recognises that communications and psychological distance between learner and teacher are affected by course structure, dialogue between lecturers and students, and learner’s autonomy. These factors affect... Read More about Transactional distance in the context of online and blended learning.

Participant-centred planning framework for effective gender balance activities in tech (2022)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Taylor-Smith, E., Barnett, C., Smith, S., Barr, M., & Shankland, C. (2022, September). Participant-centred planning framework for effective gender balance activities in tech. Presented at The United Kingdom and Ireland Computing Education Research (UKICER) conference from the UK ACM Special Interest Group in Computing Science Education Chapter (UKICER 2022), Mountmellick, Ireland

The gender imbalance in the tech industry [21], mirrored in computing education [13], is problematic in terms of providing appropriate products and services for the whole population. This lack of diversity and inclusion is also self-perpetuating thro... Read More about Participant-centred planning framework for effective gender balance activities in tech.

How are we positioning degree apprenticeships? Analysis of adverts (2021)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Fabian, K., Taylor-Smith, E., & Smith, S. (2021). How are we positioning degree apprenticeships? Analysis of adverts. In SRHE International Conference on Research into Higher Education

Degree apprentices are recruited by employers, rather than universities, reflecting their status as paid employees, first and foremost. This study analysed job adverts for IT degree apprenticeship roles to investigate the: skills, attributes, and qua... Read More about How are we positioning degree apprenticeships? Analysis of adverts.

Computing students' attitudes to environmental sustainability education (2021)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Smith, S., Egan, C., & Plum, K. (2021, June). Computing students' attitudes to environmental sustainability education. Paper presented at Horizons in STEM Higher Education, Online

Students have voiced concerns that their university courses do not equip them with sufficient information to understand the challenges of environmental sustainability. Although some universities (notably UWE and Keele, among others) have made signifi... Read More about Computing students' attitudes to environmental sustainability education.