Research Activity and the New Pedagogy: Why Carrying Out Research Is Essential for Effective Learning

Themodern-day university is a thoroughly complex affair that comprises of numerous interlocking research activities that inform the delivery of an equally complex portfolio of learning programs (Kerr, 1963; Krücken et al., 2007). This contemporary model of a university is a far cry from university education envisioned by the noted educational philosopher Cardinal John Henry Newman1. In his seminal paper on the nature and purposes of a University, Newman was clear that a university should be a place where students would acquire a liberal education that would enable them to graduate and to “. . . see things as they are, to go right to the point, to disentangle a skein of thought to detect what is sophistical and to discard what is irrelevant.” (Newman and Svaglic, 1982, p. 6). Although, Newman’s philosophy is at the heart of universities across the globe, the day-to-day reality of delivering his core principles within the context of a modern-day university is such that a casual observer might not see how a graduate should be able to develop the skills that Newman originally espoused. However, here we argue that by engaging students at the very heart of the research activity that is regularly carried out in a contemporary university it is indeed possible for Newman’s original vision to be realized. That said, it is worth considering Newman’s philosophy in the context of the period when there were very few universities, mostly of ancient origins, and were dedicated to the education of elite “gentlemen.” The curriculum was a loosely structured experience of academic teaching that centered on political debate, religious knowledge, and physical pursuits (de Ridder-Symoens, 1996). From the 1850s influenced by Newman and others, in the UK a small number of civic universities was created following the examples in the UK of Durham, Manchester, and London where students were prepared for their role in the world with science, engineering, and politics appearing on the curriculum. The relevance to the world of work was more clearly aligned with Newman’s original ideals with preparation for employment being delivered via critical thinking rather than professional knowledge. Following the Second World War, universities widened their recruitment pool and grew as a more egalitarian world was sought. There was a wider remit and a sense of state funded paternalism where students were the grateful recipients of whatever learning experience the university’s academics considered appropriate.Later there was a movement toward collectivist ideals of the 1960s where universities were seen by activists and some academics as being democratic communities of learning where students and staff had an equal role. In some ways, these ideas were the basis of widening participation in the 80s and 90s culminating for example in