Registration Term 3 Seminar 25-26
Ambition and the Excellence Premium: How Student Ambition Moderates Threshold Returns to Perceived Pedagogical Quality: Evidence from China
Dr Amira Elasra, (Economics)
The educational production function framework models student skill development as a function of teaching and assessment inputs, yet little is known about threshold effects in human capital belief formation or how student ambition moderates these relationships. Using three-wave data from 1,968 Chinese university students (2022–2025) and complementary qualitative staff interviews, we estimate the relationship between perceived pedagogical quality and skill development beliefs, testing for heterogeneity by ambition. We identify convex returns concentrated at the upper quality tail. Students perceiving "Very High" quality pedagogy report 23–30 percentage point higher skill beliefs than lower-tier peers, with the largest gains (13 –16 points) between "High" and "Very High". Teaching and assessment exhibit strong complementarity. Critically, ambition moderates these relationships asymmetrically. Ambitious students receive amplified returns from their perception of Very High teaching quality (19–20 points) but compensate for Low assessment quality—sustaining confidence where evaluation signals are weak. However, compensation collapses at Very Low assessment quality. Qualitative interviews reveal that perceived excellence comprises concrete practices, while structural constraints limit equitable distribution. Findings imply pedagogical excellence generates heterogeneous, threshold-based returns grounded in observable institutional practices, with direct implications for quality initiatives and human capital theory.
The Impact of Technology-Enhanced Learning on Students with Learning Differences in Higher Education: challenging the norm
Professor Fabio Aricò, Centre for Higher Education Research Practice Policy and Scholarship (CHERPPS), University of East Anglia
This talk presents findings from qualitative research exploring how technology-enhanced learning (TEL) is experienced by undergraduate students with specific learning differences (SpLDs) and/or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), alongside the perspectives of their lecturers. Drawing on interview data, the study challenges assumptions that TEL is inherently inclusive, showing that its benefits are uneven and shaped by pedagogy, institutional practices, and context. The session highlights implications for inclusive pedagogy, staff development, and TEL policy in higher education, while also reflecting on the pedagogical research design and methodological choices underpinning the study.