Imperial College London
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Dr Tiffany Chiu

Central Faculty, Centre for Higher Education Research and Scholarship

Principal Teaching Fellow in Educational Development
 
 
 
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Contact

 

+44 (0)20 7594 8711t.chiu

 
 
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Location

 

S508Sherfield BuildingSouth Kensington Campus

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Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Wong:2019:10.1080/03075079.2019.1643302,
author = {Wong, B and Chiu, Y-LT},
doi = {10.1080/03075079.2019.1643302},
journal = {Studies in Higher Education},
pages = {497--508},
title = {Exploring the concept of ‘ideal’ university student},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2019.1643302},
volume = {46},
year = {2019}
}
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RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - This paper contributes to our understanding of the ‘ideal’ university student – a working concept that promotes a more transparent conversation about the explicit, implicit and idealistic expectations of students in higher education. Drawing on Weber’s theory of ideal types, we explore university staff and students’ conceptualisation of the ‘ideal’ student. Informed by 20 focus groups with 75 university staff and students, we focus on how the concept of ‘ideal’ student is perceived, challenged and negotiated. We argue that the ‘ideal’ student has important conceptual and practical implications for higher education, especially the importance of explicitness and the dangers of presumptions. The concept has the potential to bridge differences and manage expectations between lecturers and students, which have been stretched due to consumerism, by offering a platform where expectations of university students are elaborated. We present a working definition of ‘ideal’ university student, which, we argue, encompasses desirability, imperfection and realism.
AU  - Wong,B
AU  - Chiu,Y-LT
DO  - 10.1080/03075079.2019.1643302
EP  - 508
PY  - 2019///
SN  - 0307-5079
SP  - 497
TI  - Exploring the concept of ‘ideal’ university student
T2  - Studies in Higher Education
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2019.1643302
UR  - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03075079.2019.1643302
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/72774
VL  - 46
ER  -
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