Dear colleagues,
We’re seeking offers to undertake blind peer-review of the following submissions to the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education (JLDHE).
These submissions include our requests for reviewers for our forthcoming special issue on the reach, value, and impact of Learning Development. Submissions associated with the special issue are indicated below. We warmly welcome—indeed encourage!—reviewers from across the community to contribute.
If you would like to complete a review of one of the submissions, please email the designated editorial contact below.
If you haven’t reviewed for us before, please include a brief description of your interest in the topic, your relevant qualifications, expertise and/or experience in relation to the submission (up to 200 words). This might include your knowledge of the subject and/or your experience acting as a peer reviewer for academic papers or as an author or researcher in the field.
Please also join our register of reviewers and list your interests via http://journal.aldinhe.ac.uk/index.php/jldhe/user/register.
New reviewers are very welcome! We provide a developmental environment for those interested in this important community service. Why not try something new today?
| No. | Type | Title and abstract | Editorial contact |
| 2013 | Paper | Factors influencing perceptions of the Vevox interactive tool within higher education psychology lectures The purpose of this investigation was to look at factors which may influence psychology undergraduate students’ perceptions of Vevox, an interactive tool used within lectures. 103 psychology undergraduate students completed an online questionnaire in relation to their own perceptions of Vevox alongside questionnaires relating to mental health, resilience, personality and motivation. Results were analysed using correlations and a standard multiple regression. Findings demonstrated that intrinsic motivation was the only factor to predict positive perceptions of Vevox, however, there were relationships between Vevox perceptions and depression, amotivation and resilience. While the evidence suggests that a student’s intrinsic motivation may directly impact their perceptions of Vevox, further research is warranted on the mental health challenges of undergraduate students and different types of resilience. Implications and future research have been suggested in light of this. | Craig Morley: c.morley@mmu.ac.uk |
| 2016 | Case study | SPECIAL ISSUE Beyond linguistic preparation: learning development insights from a Kazakhstani EAP course English for Academic Purposes (EAP) foundation courses are often narrowly positioned as preparatory linguistic support. This overlooks their broader role in students’ transition into higher education (HE). Drawing on an autoethnographic case study, this study reconceptualises EAP foundation courses as structured sites of learning development. The researcher analyses reflective diary entries and programme artifacts using thematic analysis framed through the lenses of academic literacies and the hidden curriculum. The study examines how the course supports students’ development of criticality, self-regulated learning, and academic integrity. Findings suggest that EAP plays a significant role in fostering critical thinking and academic integrity through explicit communication of expectations, constructive curriculum alignment, and sustained teacher support. However, the development of self-regulated learning presents a more complex and uneven picture, with limited student progress despite structured opportunities on offer. The study highlights the importance of unpacking the hidden curriculum by making implicit academic expectations more visible, while also recognising the limitations of structural provision alone. It argues for a more explicit pedagogical focus on enabling students to understand and enact academic literacies. These insights contribute to a broader reconceptualisation of EAP as a central component of student transition into HE. | Steve Briggs: steve.briggs@beds.ac.uk |
| 2058 | Paper | SPECIAL ISSUE Impact in Learning Development: how might critical discourse analysis help us to understand existing interpretations in the field? Discourse regarding ‘impact’ is increasingly prevalent in higher education (HE) and within the emerging field of Learning Development (LD). This is not surprising given the growing emphasis on accountability, measurement, and ‘performativity’ in a neoliberal HE system (Ball, 2021). Whilst studies in LD have attempted to explore the import of impact, the body of literature conceptualising it is sparse. This perhaps stems from the ‘wicked problem’ of impact; it is a necessary requirement, yet it is slippery and contested. Drawing on similar discursive analysis undertaken by Ryan et al. (2020) in the field of teacher education, this opinion piece seeks to explore how critical discourse analysis (CDA) might be used as one methodological approach to shed light on ‘how impact is understood, talked about and acted upon’ (p. 28) in LD. Analysing a JLDHE paper, it illustrates how CDA might offer meaningful ways forward for conceptualising impact within LD. | Steve Briggs: steve.briggs@beds.ac.uk |
| 2009 | Opinion piece | Beyond skills acquisition: identity formation as a pedagogic practice in the transition from doctoral student to researcher Doctoral education is often framed as skills acquisition, yet becoming a researcher involves more than mastering techniques or completing a thesis. It requires the cultivation of researcher identity, including confidence, belonging and intellectual autonomy, shaped through supervisory, pedagogic and institutional practices. In this pedagogical opinion piece, we argue that researcher identity amongst diverse postgraduate research students does not emerge automatically through exposure to research activity, nor can it be reduced to competence frameworks alone. Drawing on reflective practice and our combined experience as culturally diverse doctoral researchers, supervisors and learning developers across multiple UK institutions, we explore how supervisory practices shape the transition from ‘student’ to ‘researcher’. We highlight how imposter feelings, privilege and belonging are institutional and pedagogic concerns and propose five supervisory practices and a greater role for learning developers in supporting equitable researcher identity development. | Paula Villegas Verdu: pvv1@st-andrews.ac.uk |
| 1941 | Paper | Exploring the readiness of Kurdish EFL teachers for AI-based evaluation The present study aims to explore the impact of artificial intelligence in feedback and assessment processes within Kurdish EFL educational settings emphasizing the teachers’ viewpoints. The researchers employed a mixed methods approach to obtain the objectives of the study. Data were collected through survey questionnaires through (142) and semi-structured interviews from 20 university Kurdish EFL teachers. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 27.0, employing one-way ANOVA to compare the mean scores across academic levels of education and teaching experience. The findings indicated that lecturers viewed AI as useful in feedback and assessment, particularly in terms of its usefulness and impact, although perceptions of fairness, trustworthiness, readiness, and acceptance remained cautious. Differences by academic qualification were found only for perceived usefulness and impact, with teachers holding Master’s and PhD degrees expressing more positive views than those with Bachelor’s degrees. Qualitative results showed that ChatGPT was perceived as helpful for grammar, vocabulary, and revision support, but teachers remained concerned about its higher-order accuracy, students’ overreliance, academic integrity, and the need for teacher mediation. | Laura Dyer: L.V.Dyer@leeds.ac.uk |
| 2035 | Case study | ‘Like I was actually running a business’: simulation-based learning to address student engagement in higher education Persistent challenges of low engagement and surface learning continue to affect higher education, particularly in lecture-dominated business and management courses. This case study examines the design, implementation, and evaluation of a semester-long business simulation introduced into undergraduate strategic management modules at a transnational university campus. Grounded in experiential learning theory, the intervention replaced discussion-based seminars with a structured, competitive simulation emphasizing iterative decision-making, teamwork, and reflection. Using a mixed-methods approach—including instructor observation, assessment analysis, and end-of-course surveys—the study explores impacts on engagement, metacognitive awareness, and perceived relevance of learning. Findings indicate increased sustained attention and deeper application of strategic concepts for most students, though outcomes varied by team dynamics and facilitation quality. The case contributes practice-based insights into simulation-based pedagogy at scale, highlighting both pedagogical benefits and implementation challenges. | Vic Boyd: Victoria.Boyd@cityofglasgowcollege.ac.uk |
| 1982 | Paper | From reactive to strategic learning support: practitioner action research on learning strategist practice This practitioner-led action research study examines students’ experiences with Learning Strategist (LS) sessions and how structured support influences self-regulated learning development in a Canadian post-secondary context. Using survey responses and aggregated session logs, the study explores perceived benefits, engagement patterns, and factors shaping service use. Findings indicate high student satisfaction and perceived gains in time management, study strategies, goal setting, and stress management. Engagement was often episodic, with most students attending only one or a few sessions; however, this appeared to reflect strategic, need-based use rather than disengagement. Implementation of a structured Learning Strategist Appointment (LSA) framework improved the clarity, application, and continuity of learning strategies across sessions. The study highlights the value of designing learning support for both immediate impact and flexible follow-up. | Craig Morley: c.morley@mmu.ac.uk |
| 2072 | Paper | SPECIAL ISSUE No gaps: implementing and evaluating a whole-institution approach to closing outcome gaps in higher education Addressing outcome disparities in higher education to reduce inequality remains a priority for UK institutions. Traditional learning development interventions often struggle to demonstrate impact due to the indirect causal links between staff-focused activities and student outcomes. This case study introduces No Gaps, a strategic, whole-provider intervention implemented at the [Name of University], designed to close equity outcome gaps. The initiative raises awareness and develops interventions within academic departments through a structured five-stage delivery process and aligns departmental actions with strategic priorities. Central to this approach is cross-institutional collaboration, data and evidence, student voice and a multi-layered Theory of Change (ToC) framework operating at both institutional and departmental levels, alongside integration into the University’s annual quality enhancement cycles. Using a ToC overcomes many of the challenges of evaluating learning development, making the relationship between interventions with staff and longer-term impact on students explicit, and providing early insights into progress towards longer-term goals. No Gaps provides a scalable, transferable model for higher education institutions. Utilising ToC, mixed methods and multi-level outcome indicators over phased timeframes, it offers a robust approach to the evaluation of complex learning development interventions. It can serve as a model for other learning development interventions operating across the whole institution. | Steve Briggs: steve.briggs@beds.ac.uk |
| 2048 | Opinion piece | The student-facing AI ambiguity tax: why Learning Development must treat GenAI guidance as an equity intervention Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is now embedded in students’ academic work, yet institutional guidance often remains abstract, inconsistent, or difficult to apply at the assessment level. This opinion piece argues that higher education has underestimated the student-facing AI ambiguity tax: the cognitive, emotional, ethical, and equity burden students carry when they must interpret unclear expectations about acceptable AI use, authorship, disclosure, and assessment risk. While AI literacy remains necessary, it is insufficient if students are left to translate broad principles such as ‘responsible use’ into high-stakes assessment decisions alone. Positioning this ambiguity as a Learning Development issue, the article argues that GenAI guidance should be treated not merely as policy, but as pedagogy. It proposes the CLEAR framework, through which Learning Developers can help students clarify task permissions, locate learning purpose, evidence process, articulate authorship boundaries, and reflect before disclosure. | Vic Boyd: Victoria.Boyd@cityofglasgowcollege.ac.uk |
| 2055 | Case study | Designing equitable access to academic skills resources This case study focuses on the institutional redesign and planned migration of Learning Development (LD) resources within a post-1992 university. It documents a strategic review of LD resources and the development of a more coherent digital infrastructure intended to strengthen the reach, value, and conditions for impact of LD resources. | Vic Boyd: Victoria.Boyd@cityofglasgowcollege.ac.uk |
| 2070 | Opinion piece | What should remain human in higher education? A human-centric pedagogy for the age of generative AI Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is rapidly reshaping higher education by enabling students to generate content, receive feedback, and perform increasingly sophisticated academic tasks. Current institutional responses have largely focused on AI literacy, ethical use, and responsible adoption. While these responses are important, this opinion piece argues that they are insufficient because they do not address a more fundamental educational question: what should remain distinctly human in the learning process? Drawing on perspectives from higher education and learning development, the article argues that the growing integration of GenAI risks conflating academic performance with learning and reinforcing efficiency-driven views of education. In response, it proposes a human-centric pedagogy that prioritises the development of judgment, reflection, creativity, responsibility, and human relationships. Rather than rejecting AI, this perspective seeks to ensure that technological innovation remains aligned with the developmental purposes of higher education and the cultivation of meaningful human learning. | Vic Boyd: Victoria.Boyd@cityofglasgowcollege.ac.uk |
N.B. it is essential to be respectful of the writers of submissions to our journal, especially when they are at the draft stages. Please do not comment publicly on the list or elsewhere on any aspect of the paper titles or abstracts above.
We look forward to hearing from you!
With warm wishes on behalf of the Editorial Board,
Chad
Dr Chad McDonald
Managing Editor, Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education