Catherine Glaister

This case study is based on research begun for an MA dissertation in Human Resource Management and subsequently developed. It follows the government’s decision that from September 2012, UK universities would be able to increase their tuition fees from a maximum of £3000 to £9000 per year. The project aimed to investigate the impact of this on student aspirations to attend university from the perspective of the students themselves, and in particular British Pakistani students of lower socio-economic status. Two case study Secondary schools were chosen and qualitative data were collected from sixth form students aged between 17 and 18 years and engaged in the process of making decisions on their futures. Data collected from focus groups with students were triangulated with semi-structured interviews with careers and teaching staff, a literature review, and a range of statistical data. This case study is primarily concerned with the use of focus groups to capture the student voice and particular reflection on their use for young people in an educational setting. Focus groups were videoed and then transcribed, generating rich, in-depth data. This was felt to be an effective way of eliciting a range of student perspectives on the impact of the fee increase on their aspirations. Students engaged enthusiastically with discussion of the issues with a range of strong views and emotions being expressed during the focus groups. The vast majority of students remained positively oriented to university but displayed high levels of financial anxiety across the sample.

Against an international backdrop of an ideological shift in responsibility for tuition fees from the state to the individual, the study explores the impact on aspirations amongst minority groups, specifically British Pakistani students of lower -socio economic status, of the significant increase in tuition fees in the UK from 2012. An inductive approach has generated rich data capturing the student voice. Two schools have been chosen as depth case studies with focus groups and interviews with students and staff generating primary data which has been triangulated with secondary data and a literature review. The vast majority of students have high levels of financial anxiety but remain positively orientated to university irrespective of socio-economic status or ethnicity. The fee increase has impacted strongly on subject choice with bias towards vocational subjects and little consideration of the self within the decision making process. Focusing at the learning level, the impact of fee increases on subject choices suggests the need to maximise employability offerings within both vocational and non-vocational options. Students lack support in optimising HE choices and managing anxiety, with potential for educators in schools and universities to contribute.

The Covid 19 pandemic requires critical re-evaluation of the way Higher Education can help students maximise their learning to adjust and adapt to a new reality. This requires a holistic approach which extends beyond consideration of student learning in formal settings to understanding the role informal learning can play. Whilst research exists on informal independent learning, less focus has been placed on how students collaborate informally as part of their learning process. In this study interviews with HE students in Spain and the UK offer insight into variable but beneficial informal collaborative learning (ICL) practices. The value attributed to ICL emphasises its potential contribution to the current educational landscape and the merit of recognising it as a distinct concept. Further, uneven access and the role of learner maturity signal the potential for universities to enhance learning and increase access by playing an active a role in developing ICL skills and personal networks.

Purpose This paper analyses student perspectives on the contribution that teaching anticipatory reflection can make to the development of their reflective practice. The project explores lived student experiences of anticipatory reflection, and the value students attribute to these in helping them bridge the transfer gap between reflective learning and reflective practice. Design/methodology/approach An interpretivist approach is taken whereby student reflections on their experiences of practicing anticipatory reflection in a workshop setting were analysed using template analysis, to understand the value attributed to these. Students were guided through a series of exercises including visualisation of future events and the nature of future practice as well as reflective writing. Findings Students identified multiple benefits of being taught and practising anticipatory reflection. Specifically, high levels of realism, personal relevance and engagement were reported, as well as increased confidence, self-efficacy, and self-belief. In addition, the development of empathy, and increases in self awareness were common benefits of working through the process of anticipatory reflection. Originality In contrast to existing retrospective approaches, here we focus on the future, using anticipatory reflection to inform pedagogical approaches enabling students to experience anticipatory reflection in a classroom setting. The positive value attributed to experiencing anticipatory reflection suggests that the temporal focus in teaching reflection should evolve to incorporate prospective approaches which have a valuable role to play in bridging existing transfer gaps between reflective learning and practice.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to argue that human resource development (HRD) needs to embrace and include futures and foresight learning (FFL) as a new addition to its field of theorising and practice. The question to consider is: How can FFL become a new feature of HRD? A key part of the authors’ argument is that the inclusion of FFL will enable HRD to add to the success of any organisation and make a vital contribution to the management of people at work. Design/methodology/approach This paper firstly considers some of the debates surrounding the meaning of HRD. The authors suggest that instability of the time serves to disturb any comforts that have been created in HRD and that there is a need to consider how there might be different futures for what we still call HRD in research, practice and praxis. This paper then considers how FFL might become one possibility for expanding the existing boundaries of HRD. The authors characterise futures and foresight as a learning process, which provides new but complementary features to what is already considered as HRD. This paper will show how FFL can lead to organisation's success and the way this can be achieved. Findings There is a wide variety of meanings of the term HRD; however, HRD is still cast as a “weakened profession” which has to play a subservient role to others in the workplace. Over the last 15 years, the expansion of the meaning of HRD has been seen as evidence of its evolving and emerging nature and development based on a co-creation with other disciplines. This creates a space for FFL, defined as an ongoing learning process to find predictable, probable, possible and/or a variety of long-term futures. FFL embraces three key processes of scanning, futuring and reconfiguring, all of which contain a high potential for participants and others to learn as they proceed, providing outcomes at each stage. FFL has been shown to enhance organisation performance and success and HRD interventions can play a key part in implementation. This represents a significant opportunity for the HRD profession to move from weakness towards strength. Research limitations/implications For HRD researchers, while FFL is not yet on its radar, the authors would argue that the uncertainties of the future require that more attention be given to what might lie ahead. Indeed, HRD researchers need to ask the question: What is the future of HRD research? In addition, if the authors’ call for FFL to be included in the practice of HRD, such practice will itself provide new pathways for HRD research. Further research questions might include: To what extent is FFL practiced in organisations and what role do HRD practitioners play in delivery? How does FFL impact on organisation behaviour and outcomes? What new products and services emerge from FFL? What new skills are required to deliver FFL? Can FFL enhance the status of HRD practitioners in the work place and its role in decision-making? and How can the HRD profession develop as a hybrid profession with respect to machine learning (ML)/artificial intelligence (AI)? Practical implications FFL produces outcomes that have importance for strategy, HRD practitioner can learn to facilitate FFL by action learning and in leadership development programmes. FFL offers a significant opportunity to enhance the importance of HRD in organisations and beyond. FFL offers those involved in HRD a significant opportunity to transfer ideas into practice that have an impact on organisation sustainability. HRD can play a significant role in the design and delivery of ML and AI projects. Originality/value This paper concludes with a call for embracing FFL as a challenging but important addition to how we talk about learning at work. The authors argue that FFL offers a significant opportunity to enhance the importance of HRD in organisations and beyond. At its centre, FFL involves learning by people, groups, organisations and machines and this has to be of concern to HRD.

Purpose This paper explored the workplace culture in small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in the Leeds City Region. The paper looked at perceived leadership expectations vs self-assessment of leadership characteristics and mindsets, as well as workplace culture respective to hierarchy and organisational supportiveness of SMEs as workplaces. Design/methodology/approach A mixed-methods approach was deployed, consisting of a survey with SMEs and 14 interviews with women working in SMEs. Since the survey yielded a low response, results were analysed summatively, and a cross-tabulation was used to provide insight into data and inform future research. Survey questions were then used to inform the interview questionnaire to explore findings in depth. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the interview data. The research was informed by studies conducted on women in mass communication industries, Bourdieu’s habitus theory and industry research on alpha organisational cultures. Findings Findings revealed that self-assessments of leadership characteristics and mindsets lean towards those typically perceived as feminine, whereas assessments of which characteristics are needed to become a leader lean towards those typically perceived as masculine. However, at the same time, the workplace culture was assessed positively, and women reported a lack of hierarchy and a positive and friendly atmosphere in SME workplaces. Practical implications Women reported more positive perceptions of the workplace culture than those found in other studies conducted generally or on larger corporations, thus opening questions about whether things are different in SMEs and better for women. Issues with leadership characteristics and mindsets are present in SMEs, but they do not seem to affect women’s career progression or satisfaction with employment. Organisations that are not SMEs should consider these findings to develop more inclusive policies to foster a positive perception of their workplace culture. Originality/value The authors analysed the workplace culture in SMEs using Bourdieu’s habitus, previous research in mass communication industries and industry research on alpha culture and applied it to study the workplace culture and leadership in the context of SMEs, thus extending research in sociology and communication to study SMEs. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first paper to do so.

This paper analyses women’s views and perceptions of networking and the changes in networking practice since the COVID-19 pandemic. The study focuses on a largely unexplored area of women in small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) using a case study from the Leeds City Region, England, UK. An online questionnaire was disseminated to 65 participants (51 women and 14 men), and interviews with 14 women working in SMEs were conducted. A three-tier thematic analysis was used to analyse each dataset individually, and then a joint thematic analysis was conducted. Findings show that networking is mainly assessed negatively and as something that affects work-life balance, causes communication issues, and is largely difficult and not particularly useful. Post-pandemic, a lot of networking is done online with the rise of LinkedIn network, mentioned in the positive context, opening a question of whether LinkedIn networking could solve issues with harassment and work-life balance.

This paper analyses women’s views and perceptions of networking and the changes in networking practice since the COVID-19 pandemic. The study focuses on a largely unexplored area of women in small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), using a case study from the Leeds City Region, England, UK. An online questionnaire was disseminated to 65 participants (51 women and 14 men), and interviews with 14 women working in SMEs were conducted. A three-tier thematic analysis was used to analyze each dataset individually, and then a joint thematic analysis was conducted. The findings show that networking is mainly assessed negatively and as something that affects work-life balance, causes communication issues, and is largely difficult and not particularly useful. In the post-pandemic era, a lot of networking is done online, with the rise of the LinkedIn network, mentioned in a positive context, raising the question of whether LinkedIn networking could solve issues with harassment and work-life balance.