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Steve Woodfield

Senior Researcher (Higher Education Policy and Management)
Vice-Chancellor's Office
s.woodfield@kingston.ac.uk

Steve Woodfield is a Senior Researcher in the Higher Education Policy and Management Research Group. Steve has 12 years experience in the design, management and application of socio-economic, educational, business and consumer, research projects. He joined Kingston University in 2007 after spending five years as a Research Fellow in the Centre for Policy and Change in Tertiary Education at the University of Surrey. Steve has also worked the market research sector, and as a researcher in medical education at King’s College London.

Steve’s current research focuses mainly on:

  • internationalisation in higher education (particularly international student recruitment; international partnerships and networks; quality assurance; international strategy development; and measuring institutional internationalisation);
  • leadership and management in UK higher education; and
  • other broader UK higher education policy issues.

He has recently been involved in a variety of projects focused on the impact of internationalisation on policy and institutional practice in higher education for sponsors including UUK, the Higher Education Academy, UNESCO, the Commonwealth of Learning and Million+. Another recent research project focused on the role of top management teams in higher education for the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education

Academic qualifications

  • 1997–1999: MA Applied Social and Market Research, University of Westminster
  • 1993–1994: MA Political Philosophy (The Idea of Toleration), University of York
  • 1990–1993: BA(Hons) Politics, University of Hull         

Professional memberships and affiliations

  • Association of University Administrators (AUA)
  • Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE)
  • The European Higher Education Society (EAIR)
  • The UK and Ireland Institutional Research Network (HEIR) (Steering Group Member)
  • Ranmore Consulting Limited (Ranmore Fellow)

Previous experience

  • March 2002–June 2007: Research Fellow, Centre for Policy and Change in Tertiary Education, University of Surrey
  • July 2000–February 2002: Senior Research Executive, Enteleca Research and Consultancy Ltd, Richmond, Surrey
  • January 1999–July 2000: Research Executive, Research International (Consumer Division), London
  • November 1995–December 1998: Research Assistant/Project Administrator, Guy’s, King’s and St Thomas’ School of Medicine, London

 

Research interests

  • International higher education
    • National-level international policy and strategy analysis
    • National approaches to capacity-building in tertiary education
    • Quality assurance and regulation in cross-border and transnational education
    • Trends in international student mobility
    • The development of internationalisation strategies at the institutional level
    • The impact of international collaboration and partnerships (at national and institutional level)
    • The growth of private, for-profit and not-for profit higher education worldwide
  • Leadership, management and governance in higher education
    • Senior level leadership and management structures
    • Strategy development and implementation
    • Institutional research models
    • Research management structures
  • Other UK higher education policy themes
    • The development of private provision and public-private partnerships
    • Student satisfaction and the student experience
    • Flexible learning and e-learning

Consultancy

Steve links his research activities with practice through undertaking institutional research activities for Kingston University and consultancy for other higher education institutions related to internationalisation and globalisation in higher education.

Current projects

  • The growth of private and for profit higher education providers in the UK (2009)
    Researchers: John Fielden (CHEMS Consulting), Professor Robin Middlehurst and Steve Woodfield. Commissioned and funded by Universities UK’s Longer Term Strategy Group. The project focuses on the scale and scope of private sector providers in the delivery of higher education in the UK, and will assess how their role might develop in the future.
  • Trends in International Mobility: A comparative study of four European countries (2008–2009)
    Researcher: Steve Woodfield. Commissioned and funded by CIRIUS (part of the Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation). Desk-based research on trends in international student mobility at higher education level. The research focuses on a comparative investigation of national strategies and policies and institutional activities in a small selection of European comparator countries of a similar size and profile to Denmark (Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden).
  • Responding to Globalisation through Transnational Tertiary Education: Examining Policy and Educational Choices in India (2006–2009)
    Researchers: Professor Robin Middlehurst and Steve Woodfield. Funded by UNESCO and the Commonwealth of Learning (COL). This is an extension of the research project ‘The Role of Transnational, Private and For-Profit Provision in Meeting Global Demand for Tertiary Education: mapping, regulation and impact’ (see below) through developing a case study on the impact of cross-border education in India and writing a policy report on policy issues related to cross-border education.

Selection of recent publications:

  • The Observatory on Borderless Higher Education (Becker R, Lasanowski V, Goreham, H, and Olcott Jnr. D) and Kingston University (Woodfield S and Middlehurst R) (2009). An Analysis of National and Institutional Approaches for Attracting International Students and Facilitating Internationalisation in the United Kingdom and Selected European Countries. London. UK Higher Education Europe and International Units. Available here (subscription required).
  • Woodfield S, Middlehurst R and Fielden J (2009). Universities and international higher education partnerships: making a difference. London: Million+. Available here (PDF).
  • Middlehurst R, Goreham H, and Woodfield S (2009). ‘Why research leadership in higher education? Exploring contributions from the UK’s Leadership Foundation for Higher Education’. Leadership: Special Issue: Leadership in Higher Education: Facts, Fictions and Futures, 5(3), pp. 311-329.
  • Woodfield S (2008). Review of UK-US Higher Education Partnerships: Desk Research. A research report to the British Council (British Council internal publication).
  • Woodfield S and Kennie T (2008). ‘Teamwork’ or ‘Working as a Team’? The Theory and Practice of Top Team Working in UK Higher Education’. Higher Education Quarterly, 62(4), pp 397–415.
  • Kennie T and Woodfield S (2008). The Composition, Challenges and Changes in the Top Team Structures of UK Higher Education Institutions. London: The Leadership Foundation for Higher Education. Available here (PDF, registration required).
  • View complete list of recent publications

 

 

 

HE Policy and Practice Research at Kingston University