Exploring ‘Student as Producer’: looking at the problem of student engagement

<p>As a School of Social and Political sciences, we have found that developing and embedding the ‘student as producer’ ethos has been a valuable way of critically engaging with current challenges within Higher Education. By enhancing and building upon the ‘student as producer’ agenda with students engaging both as researchers and contributors to the curriculum, within a number of current projects, this has served to challenge the student as passive consumer. Being partners in the producers of knowledge creates a more active student role through their application of skills to real live projects. Such pedagogical approaches to teaching and learning further identifies the importance of research informed teaching and directly impacts on ‘excellence’, employability and transferable skills, peer learning, student engagement opportunities and the wider experiences of students. In addition to this, it has an integral place in recognising students as creative resources, which generates a multi disciplinary culture of engagement and innovativeness towards learning. This paper will address some of our reflections from a number of student engagement projects and explore the potential of such pedagogical approaches to understand the ‘student voice’. It is very much about ‘re defining’ some of the conceptual aspects of the role of students in research engaged opportunities and initiatives, and identifies with their reflections on what being ‘engaged’, or ‘not engaged’, offers them. Engaging with the ‘student voice’ and understanding their values and recognition of skills within such research participation, illustrates moving beyond the employability agenda towards active participation and partnerships within and beyond the curriculum.</p>