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Professor Murray Saunders

Professor

Degree: PhD Curriculum and Social Change

Associated research centres and groups: Centre for Higher Education Research and Evaluation, Centre for Social Justice and Wellbeing in Education, Lancaster Literacy Research Centre

Current Teaching

I teach on the Department's Doctoral Programme. The module is called the Education, Learning and Working. The following gives an idea of its aims and content.

Learning outcomes

Course members will be able to:

· Engage critically with developments in the nature of work and employment that impact on academic practices in universities around the world

· Critically appraise policy-making that has implications for the relationship between employment and higher education practice deploying appropriate concepts and theories

· Engage in effective management of work oriented enhancement of teaching, research or other university functions

· Conduct rigorous research in the area of the higher education and work interface

· Write a journal article of significance to a wide readership in the higher education and work interface

Content

1. Theories of the relationship between higher education, work and the economy

2. Global trends in higher education work linkages

3. Policy and policy-making in the employment, work and higher education interface

4. Learning through work and economic practice

5. Evaluations of work related curricular designs

6. Graduate destinations and higher education practice

7. Higher education as a public or private good

Research Interests

Co Director of HERE@lancaster , and Chair of Evaluation in Education and Work. I have acted as a consultant to, and undertaken a wide range of evaluation projects for, the British Council, DfES [Department for Education and Skills], DFID [Department for International Development], ESRC [The Education and Social Research Council], HEFCE [Higher Education Funding Council] and a variety of regional agencies. I have carried out evaluation and research projects in a wide range of cultural contexts, including in Asia: China, Japan, Singapore and India; in Africa: Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and Ethiopia; in Latin America: Mexico and Chile: In the Middle East: Jordan as well as other member states of the EU and Russia.

I enjoy promoting and developing evaluation practice as past president and Council member of the UK Evaluation Society, Board member and past President of the European Evaluation Society, chair of the co-ordinating committee for the establishment of the IOCE (International Organisation for Cooperation in Evaluation) and current vice president [ and I am associate editor of the only international multidisciplinary academic journal in the field - Evaluation. I have worked closely with local and programme evaluations nationally and internationally on the TVEI, DELTA, SOCRATES and Education Action Zone initiatives, mainly associated with informal learning.

Since 2002 I have workedon the PALETTE project which is a EU funded initiative working on learning support for different kinds of community of practice. I have co-directed the LTSN [Learning and Teaching Support Network] evaluation in the UK, the first phase evaluation of which was completed in December 2002 and the CETL programme Evaluation which was completed in 2008. I wasCo-Director of the SFC [Scottish Funding Council] funded evaluation of the new Scottish HE Quality Enhancement Policy which finished in December 2010.Along with colleagues in CSET, I am also involved in the evaluation of the UK's 'Skills for Life' policy.

I am currently undertaking a collaborative project under the auspices of the IOCE and UNICEF to enhance the role of evaluation asociations' participation in civil society world-wide. The web link for this initiative will be launched in March 2012. Work for the British Council currently involves the review and evaluation of higher education partnerships.

I am also interested in the way School Farms are used as a learning process and have been awarded (March 2012), along with Mason Minnitt (honorary research fellow of the Department of Educational Research) a Knowledge Exchange Fellowship to further this work.

Research programme during the last 12 years

Director of the British Council Evaluation Development Project [Case studies of Hong Kong, Ghana and Poland] funded by the British Council £19,000 1997

Also for BC -

· Evaluation of Designing, shopping Eating Project Hong Kong 1998.

· Evaluation design and planning, Ghana, Poland and Hong Kong 1999.

· Evaluation of Creative Industries Export Promotion, Singapore, Japan 2000.

· Evaluation Capacity Building in HE, Ethiopia 2000.

· Evaluation Children's Rights Mexico 2001.

· Evaluation Governance Interventions Chile, 2001.

· Evaluation Design for the Education Support Project UNWRA, Jordan 2001-2007 on-going.

· Evaluation capacity building English Peace Keeping Project 2001

· Higher Education Partnerships 2011

Director of the King's Fund Management Development Evaluation Programme Funded by the King's Fund £29,000 1997

Co Director of the HEINE Project: Government intervention in Higher Education Funded by TSER [EU] £120,000 1997

Co-Director of the Cumbrian Small Schools Research Support Project Cumbrian LEA 1998 £6000

Director of the Equam Project [Quality and Environmental Management Project] under the Leonardo Initiative Funded by the EU 1998 £12000

Director of the Learnett Project under the Socrates InitiativeFunded by the EU 1998 £12000

Director of the Evaluation of Education Action Zone: Barrow2000-2005 £100,000

Director of the World Challenge Evaluation 2000-2002 Funded by World Challenge £25000

Director of the RECRE@SUP project on innovations in HE2001-2002 Funded by Socrates [EU] £12000

Director of the Evaluation of the EQUEL project 2002-2004 Funded by the EU £30000

Co proposer and manager of the LTSN National Evaluation 2001-2002 Funded by HEFC £200,000

Co-director of the LTSN second phase evaluation 2004 Funded by HEFC £50000

Consultant to the Subject Centre Review Committee 2004 Funded by HEFC

Co-Director of the SHEFC Quality Enhancement Framework Evaluation 2003-2006 300,000

Co-Director of the Skills for Life evaluation of the Learner's Experience, 2003-2006, 391,000

Co- - Director of the ELAC project: evaluation capacity building 2004-2006, £40000

Director of the KTP project on partnership learning 2004-2007, £135000

Director of the evaluation of the national CETL programme in England, Wales and Northern Ireland 2007 -2008 £130,000

Director of the evaluation of the London Refugee Policy 2008 -2009 £50,000

Director of the Widening Participation Evaluation programme, HEFCE, 2008 £114.281.00

Director of the Scottish Funding Council Quality Enhancement Strategy 2008-2012: £495,000

Some key publications over the last 12 years:

Journal articles

Helsby G, Knight P and Saunders M [1999] Preparing Students for the New Work Order: the Case of Advanced General Vocational Qualifications British Education Research Journal Vol 24, No1 pp 63-79

Knight P, Helsby G and Saunders M [1999] Independence and Prescription in Learning: Researching the Paradox of Advanced General Vocational Qualifications British Journal of Education Studies Vol 46 No1 pp 46-58

Saunders M [1999] Organisational culture and the use of electronic support for occupational learning in the Journal of Computer Assisted Learning Vol 14 no2 pp 36-51

Saunders M and Machel J [2000] Quality, Qualifications and the attribution of value in work based learning in Quality Management and Qualification Needs Koper J and Zaremba H J [Physica Verlag Heidelburg] pp227-242

Bonamy J., Charlier B., Saunders M., [2001], Producing quality in diversity: how a training network elaborates its quality system, Education Permanente, n° 147, 2001-2, p.131-139

Charlier B., Bonamy J., Saunders M., [2002], Understanding innovation (Chap. 2) in : Charlier B., Peraya D., 2002, Understanding educational technologies: analyses of cases, theories of reference, guides for action [De Boeck], pp.45-67

Saunders M, Joel Bonamy and Bernadette Charlier (2004) The evaluative research of complex projects in e-learning: the case of the 'EQUEL' (e-quality in e-learning) project. Published in the proceedings of the Networked Learning Conference 2004 eds Sheena Banks et al ISBN:1-86220-150-1 pp 733-745

Bonamy J., Charlier B., Saunders M., (2001), "Produire la qualité dans la diversité: comment un réseau de formation construit sa qualité", Education Permanente, n°147, 2001-2, p.131-139

Saunders M, Bonamy J and Charlier B (2005) Using evaluation to create 'provisional stabilities': bridging innovation in Higher Education change processes in Evaluation: the International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, Vol. 11, No 2, pp 37-55

Saunders M (2006) The presence of evaluation theory and practice in educational and social development: toward an inclusive approach in London Review of Education Vol. 4, No 2, July 2006, pp. 197-215

Saunders, M (2006) From 'organisms' to 'boundaries': the uneven development of theory narratives in education, learning and work connections in Journal of Education and Work, Vol 19, No 1pp 1-27, Volume 11, Number 1, Spring 2005

Saunders M (2006) Do we hear the voices? The 'presence' of evaluation theory and practice in social development, Keynote Address AES International Conference Adelaide South Australia13-15th October 2004 published in Evaluation: the International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, Volume 12, Number 2, April 2006 pp 251-263

Saunders, M., (2011) Capturing effects of interventions, policies and programmes in the European context: a social practice perspective in Evaluation: the International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, Vol. 17, No 1, pp 89-103.

Saunders, M., (2011) "Experimentation and development through the CETL programme: connections between education, learning and working", Higher Education, Skills and Work-based Learning, Vol. 1 Iss: 3

Chapters in books

Quality Management and Qualification Needs Koper J and Zaremba H J [Physica Verlag Heidelburg] pp227-242

Charlier B., Bonamy J., Saunders M., [2002], Understanding innovation (Chap. 2) in : Charlier B., Peraya D., 2002, Understanding educational technologies: analyses of cases, theories of reference, guides for action [De Boeck], pp.45-67,

Saunders M., Charlier B., Bonamy J., [2002], The dynamics of innovation, (Chap. 3) in : Charlier B., Peraya D., 2002, Understanding educational technologies: analyses of cases, theories of reference, guides for action [De Boeck] pp.68-76

Charlier B., Bonamy J., Saunders M., 2002, "Apprivoiser l'innovation", (Chap. 2) in : Charlier B., Peraya D., 2002, Apprendre les technologies pour l'éducation : analyses de cas, théories de référence, guides pour l'action, De Boeck, à paraître, pp.45-67,

Saunders M., Charlier B., Bonamy J., 2002, "Les dynamiques de l'innovation", (Chap. 3) in : Charlier B., Peraya D., 2002, Apprendre les technologies pour l'éducation : analyses de cas, théories de référence, guides pour l'action, De Boeck, pp.68-76, à paraître

Saunders M, Joel Bonamy and Bernadette Charlier (2004) The evaluative research of complex projects in e-learning: the case of the 'EQUEL' (e-quality in e-learning) project. Published in the proceedings of the Networked Learning Conference 2004 eds Sheena Banks et al ISBN:1-86220-150-1 pp 733-745

Saunders M (2005) Beginning an Evaluation with RUFDATA: Theorizing a Practice Based Approach to Evaluation in Evaluation Research Methods Volume 11 Eds. Stern E (Sage London) pp 294-311

Saunders M (2009) The Scottish way: a distinctive approach to enhancement: introduction in Enhancing Learning, Teaching, Assessment and Curriculum in Higher Education: Theory, Cases, Practices. Buckingham: Open University Press. Pp 57-63

Saunders M (2009) Commentary on the Scottish way: a distinctive approach to enhancement: introduction in Enhancing Learning, Teaching, Assessment and Curriculum in Higher Education: Theory, Cases, Practices. Buckingham: Open University Press. Pp 93-103

Saunders M, Bamber V Trowler P (2009) Making sense of enhancing learning, teaching assessment and curriculum in Enhancing Learning, Teaching, Assessment and Curriculum in Higher Education: Theory, Cases, Practices. Buckingham: Open University Press. Pp 183-196

Saunders M (2011) Setting the Scene: the four domains of evaluative practice in Higher Education in Saunders M., Trowler P and Bamber V., (Eds) Reconceptualising Evaluation in Higher Education: the practice turn (McGraw-Hill)pp. 1-28

Saunders M (2011) The national programme of Centres for Excellence for Teaching and Learning (CETLS) in England and Northern Ireland: a theory driven evaluation of change in Higher Education in Saunders M., Trowler P and Bamber V., (Eds) Reconceptualising Evaluation in Higher Education: the practice turn (McGraw-Hill) pp. 116-125

Saunders M (2011) Programmatic Evaluative practice in Higher Education: design diversity and degrees of programme alignment in Saunders M., Trowler P and Bamber V., (Eds) Reconceptualising Evaluation in Higher Education: the practice turn (McGraw-Hill) pp.107-116

Saunders, M (2012) Imperatives for academic practice: catalysts for sustained change in, Trowler, P, Saunders, M, Bamber, V (Eds) Tribes and territories in the 21st Century (Routledge Abingdon, Oxford) pp 167 - 175

Saunders, M (2012) Transformations from without and within the displines in, Trowler, P, Saunders, M, Bamber, V (Eds) Tribes and territories in the 21st Century (Routledge Abingdon, Oxford) pp 167 - 175

Books

Trowler P, Saunders M, Knight P (eds) [2004] Change thinking, change practices: A guide to change for heads of department, subject centres and others who work middle-out [LTSN Generic Centre, York] pp 40

Bamber, V, Trowler, P, Saunders, M, and Knight, P (April 2009) Enhancing Learning, Teaching, Assessment and Curriculum in Higher Education: Theory, Cases, Practices. Buckingham: Open University Press. Pp230

Saunders M, Trowler P, Bamber V (2011) Reconceptualising Evaluative Practices in Higher Education: the practice turn (McGraw-Hill, Open University Press)

Trowler P, Saunders M Bamber V (2012) Academic tribes and territories in the 21st Century (Taylor and Francis)

Recent Keynote Presentations

1. Lisbon conference on Evaluation and social capital building: conference leader and designer (800 participants, Lisbon October 4th 2008)

2. Keynote at the Evaluation capacity building on 'Use and usability of evaluation outputs' (CEPA, Leicester 28thOct 2008)

3. UK CETL Evaluation Framework Consultation (28 July 2009) National College for School Leadership: keynote 'How do we know CETL outputs have effects?'

4. Keynote at the Evaluation capacity building on 'Use and usability of evaluation outputs' (CLIP, London 4th November 2008)

5. Speaker at High Level seminar on change in HE Teaching and Learning (Sydney Australia 4/5th December 2008)

6. Keynote at the SHEEC conference on outputs from QEF evaluation (Edinburgh 23rd January)

7. Keynote at the Pedagogic Research Workshop De Montfort University (11th March 2009)

8. Keynote at Norwegian Evaluation Society Launch: 'Trends in European Evaluation' (Oslo 27th May 2009)

9. Main speaker and designer of the Fribourg International Seminar on evaluative practice in Higher Education (Fribourg 4/5th June 2009)

10. Keynote at Critical Voices in Critical Times, ECE International Conference: 'Changing practice in HE: national policies, enhancement cultures and personal impetus' (Manchester 16th September 2009)

11. Keynote at Network of Evaluation Societies of Europe meeting in Muenster, Germany 8th October 2009): 'Building Evaluation expertise in Europe'

12. Keynote at launch of Slovak Evaluation Society: 'Trends in European Evaluation' (Bratislava 22nd October 2009)

13. Keynote at Romanian Evaluation Society Eastern European regional symposium; 'Using RUFDATA to plan usable evaluation outputs' (Bucharest (26th November 2009)

14. Keynote at 6th European Conference on Evaluation of Cohesion Policy: New methods for cohesion policy evaluation: promoting accountability and learning. "Capturing Effects of interventions, policies and programmes" (Warsaw 1st December 2009)

15.Keynote address to Ministry Of Finance Portugal: 'Evaluation and good Governance - Models and practice Conference' "Evaluation as a means for good governance" (Lisbon, 12th March 2010)

16. Keynote address on Evaluation use and usability: theoretical foundations and current state of international thinking at the Joint Meeting of DG REGIO Evaluation Network and ESF Evaluation Partnership Gdansk 8 July 2011 on the occasion of the Polish take-up of the EU presidency.

Potential Doctoral Proposals

• Educational policy implementation and change;
• Work and the curriculum;
• National and international policy evaluation, evaluation theory and method, evaluation of complex change processes e.g. e-learning.
• Informal learning in communities,

Career details

I have directed or co-directed some 40 separate evaluation and research projects over the last 20 years in areas of change, policy and strategic development and vocational education. In the HE environment I have worked (as both evaluator and developer) on six R&D projects which have tested various types of learning support in international consortia of HEIs [Higher Education Institutions].

I was Head of the Department of Educational Research, Lancaster University from 1997-2000. I currently hold visiting professorship in Evaluation at Freibourg University, Switzerland.

Other honours include:

1979/80 Honorary Fellow, University of Dar Es Salaam

1989/90 Visiting Professor, University of Edgerton, Kenya

1989/90 Visiting Professor, Federal College of Asaba, Nigeria

1990-present Director: CSET

1990-1994 Visiting Professor, University of Science and Technology, Beijing

1996Visiting Professor, University of Edgerton Kenya

1996Visiting Professor, TV University, Kunming, China

1997-2000 Head of Department: Educational Research

1995--2007 Elected Council member UKES

1998/2000 Elected President, UK Evaluation Society

2002-2004Elected Chair of the planning committee for the formation of the International Organisation for Cooperation in Evaluation (IOCE)

2005-2008 Visiting Professor, University of Fribourg

2006-2008 Elected Board member of the European Evaluation Society (EES)

2007-2009 Elected President of the EES

2010-present Board of Trustees of the IOCE

2012-03-02 Vice president of the IOCE

Eprints Publications Repository and Bibliographic Database

Murray Saunders has 16 selected publication records listed on this webpage. Use links to access abstracts and full text where available. View all records to sort by date, type and title. For all ePrints records go to http://eprints.lancs.ac.uk

Associated Keywords: Change, Development, Education, Evaluation, Higher education HE, Higher education policy, Policy, Training

View all research activities, ePrints, news and events associated with Murray Saunders.

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