Introduction

Abstract

The concept of a learning transition is increasingly being used in higher education to identify key stages such as the first-year undergraduate experience and progression from undergraduate to postgraduate study. This book focuses on such transitions and suggests, firstly, that the notion of a transition is under-theorised and, secondly, that movements between these stages are complex and entwined with a range of other transitions. Current learning, teaching and assessment approaches do not take into account the range of student experiences of transitions and tend to focus on the here and now. In this book, we draw on a study of student transitions that we conducted both to unpack the concept of transition and to develop pedagogic strategies to enable learners to progress their learning careers. Furthermore, we focus on issues that are now central to the concerns of higher education researchers and policy-makers, those of teaching, learning and assessment. These are not fully understood, with the result that inadequate and inappropriate models are used in research accounts and policy forums.