When discussions take place about first-generation college students, often the focus is on how disadvantaged they are in comparison to their peers whose parents went to college. Research we recently conducted shows that first-generation college students experience another form of disadvantage that lasts long after they graduate – and that is: how much they earn. We are sociologists who […] … learn more→

The law of February 11, 2005 clearly sets the right of access for students with disabilities. In this context, the Ministry of Higher Education has prompted the signing of a charter “University / Handicap” with the Conference of Presidents of University (CPU), launched in 2007 and renewed in 2012 , providing for the establishment dedicated structures in the institutions. Their mission: […] … learn more→

Professional graduate degrees in the US have long been seen as the poor cousins of their academic counterparts. There is a persistent perception that degrees focusing on specific careers are formulaic, their content dictated by accrediting bodies and lacking in innovative thought or pedagogy. Higher education literature suggests that they do not contribute to intellectual […] … learn more→

High schools and high punishments are not guarantees against student violence. There are many historical examples of this fact, since the XVII th century to the contemporary period, and I made ample mention in Nonfiction violence at the School , published in 2007 by Fayard. Back on some of these episodes. A historical period for the example We will be satisfied […] … learn more→

I’ve mentioned before that political leanings are now part of the hiring process on some of our campuses: if you don’t follow the Social Justice ideology and all, everything, it entails, you can’t be hired. Yes, even in mathematics, you must be a social justice warrior to teach math, on some campuses. Now, not…everything…is wrong […] … learn more→

Since its inception in 2014, the research excellence framework has been fraught with controversy amid claims ranging from academic bullying to discouraging academic innovation. One thing that critics have failed to note, however, is how much of an obstacle REF represents for early career working-class researchers who are trying to break into their first long-term […] … learn more→

The case of the Durham PhD student, Matthew Hedges – who has been arrested and placed in solitary confinement on the charge of spying – exposes the extreme limits on academic freedom in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). But Hedges’s plight, while outrageous, is not altogether shocking for seasoned observers of the oil-rich Gulf monarchy. This year […] … learn more→

Visibility is a form of currency in academia. A rolling stone gathers moss as the proverb goes, and in my case moss = opportunities. Because of my profile, I get asked to keynote conferences, run workshops, contribute to books, be on grants and so on. Taking up these opportunities naturally leads to more conventional forms […] … learn more→

When the Roman poet, Juvenal, wrote the line “Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?” (Who will guard the guards?), it really meant, “Who will ensure that those who guard us do not overreach their authority?” But there is another sense of the question: Who will protect those who are meant to protect us? At higher education institutions […] … learn more→

Back in 2007, the world’s foremost body charged with assessing climate change stated with “very high confidence” that humans were a primary driver of climate change. But you may not get the message that humans are responsible for climate change if you peered into some of the most popular high school curriculum materials that were produced in […] … learn more→