Call now closed- thanks for all your submissions!

You are kindly invited to submit an abstract for consideration for a Special Issue of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education on the theme of liberating learning, grading and caring in the empathetic university.

Closing date for 500-word abstracts: 15 February 2024     
Decisions communicated: Week beginning 4 March 2024

Full invited submissions due:14 June 2024

Expected publication date:Winter 2024/25

JLDHE is an open-access peer-reviewed journal that provides a forum for researchers writing about educational practices and theoretical and methodological approaches to learning in higher education.

This JLDHE Special Issue invites contributions from colleagues who are interested in exploring ways to liberate staff and students from some of the constraints that can often hinder genuine collaboration, connection, and joyful learning experiences. Through this issue we hope to share experiences of the policies, practices and pedagogies of wellbeing, joy, and care that often exist in tension with the rules, regulations and requirements of curriculum design and assessment. 

A forthcoming one-day conference, Freedom to Learn, co-hosted by King’s College London and University College London on 5 April 2024, offers an additional opportunity for colleagues to attend an in-person event to join this conversation, but attendance and participation at the conference are not required to submit to the journal issue.   

The journal issue will include the following themes:

1. Rekindling a joy of learning: For example, you might explore the historical and potential value of learning for its own sake; investigate the role of joy in higher education in the context of student mental health and wellbeing; or consider pedagogical practices that foster innovation for a joyful learning and teaching experience.

2. Decentring grades: For example, you might address the resistance and barriers to moving beyond traditional grading systems; share scalable solutions from individual classes to entire institutions; or debate the necessity of a grading revolution versus gradual change.

3. Caring and compassionate pedagogies: For example, you might assess the emphasis on content versus a compassionate and caring pedagogical approach; evaluate current efforts in integrating care and compassion in learning designs, teaching, and assessments; or identify potential pitfalls and further actions that could be taken to promote a more humane education system.

4. Myth-busting the modern academy: For example, you might challenge conventional arguments that resist change in academia; discuss whether traditional pedagogies favour economies of scale over quality education; or consider real-world examples of how structures either impede or foster innovation and transformation in higher education.

Please follow the JLDHE Submission Preparation Checklist and the JLDHE Style Guide when preparing your 500-word abstract and please indicate in this MS Form which format your full submission would follow. JLDHE welcomes contributions in the following forms:

• Opinion pieces (including policy implications and recommendations) – up to 2,000 words
• Brief communications (including cross-cultural and international perspectives) – up to 1,000 words
• Research Papers (including empirical studies and theoretical perspectives and frameworks) – up to 5,000 words
• Case Studies (including practical applications and strategies) – up to 3,000 words

Potential contributors could include, but are not limited to:

• Academics
• Academic, Researcher, People and Learning Developers
• Professional Services colleagues in areas such as employability, widening participation, technology, library etc.
• Graduate and Postgraduate teaching assistants
• Co-authored submissions between staff and students.

Please submit your 500-word abstract by 15 February 2024 to the Guest Editors via this MS Form.

You may contact Rebecca Lindner at rebecca.lindner@kcl.ac.uk or Martin Compton at martin.compton@kcl.ac.uk if you have any questions about the themes or formats for submission.

Thank you – we look forward to receiving your submissions and wishing you a happy and restful holiday.

Guest Editors:

Dr Rebecca Lindner, Senior Lecturer in Education Leadership Development, King’s College London (lead guest editor)

Dr Martin Compton, Senior Lecturer in Programme, Module & Assessment Design, King’s College London

Maria O’Hara, Lecturer, Assessment Advisor, King’s College London

Dr Abdullah Sodiq, Lecturer, Assessment Advisor, King’s College London

Hâf Rees, Student Outcomes Senior Officer, King’s College London

Abbi Shaw, Learning Technology Lead, Faculty of Arts & Humanities, University College London

Dr Cathy Elliott, Vice Dean (Education), Faculty of Social & Historical Sciences, University College London

Dr Rachel Morley, Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts & Humanities, University College London

JLDHE Editors:

Lead Editor: Dr Alicja Syska
Assistant Editor: Dr Lee Fallin