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International Symposium on Bilingualism ISB14, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia,

Despite increased research on gender inequality in the academy, few papers report on how it manifests within precarious work in Higher Education (HE), especially amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. This multiple case study explored 34 academics’ experiences of precarity in 3 universities in London to unravel the challenges for these women using lengthy semi-structured interviews and opportunity and snowball sampling. It unravelled that it has intensified insecurities and discriminations - particularly for female academics - stemming from the neoliberal restructuring of the HE sector in Europe.

Responding to students’ request for the use of equitable formative assessment practices, this project used a dynamic assessment approach that has been developed within the Vygotskian sociocultural theory of learning (Vygotsky, 1978). It explored the value of peer mediation in the context of academic writing skills’ development among undergraduate BA Business management and Human Resource Management students in blended learning.

Responding to students’ request for the use of equitable formative assessment practices, this project used a dynamic assessment approach that has been developed within the Vygotskian sociocultural theory of learning (Vygotsky, 1978). It explored the value of peer mediation in the context of academic writing skills’ development among undergraduate BA Business Management students in blended learning.

According to research, Educational Digital Storytelling (EDS) is a pioneering, learning-oriented, technology-enhanced approach that allows students to develop a wide range of academic and professional skills (Yildiz Durak, 2018). Barrett (2019) claims that EDS combines four studentcentered learning strategies: student engagement, reflection for deep learning, project-based learning, and the effective integration of technology into instruction. EDS is also renowned because it promotes reflection (Jamissen et al., 2017) and collaboration.

The current study is a work in progress which wishes to explore the concepts and enactment of leadership and crisis management from the female leaders’ perspective since very few studies, if any, have explored whether inclusive leadership can help educational institutions when they must face unprecedented challenges in terms of crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic.

Despite increased research on gender inequality in the academy, few studies report on how it manifests within precarious work in Higher Education (HE) applying an intersectional lens (looking at race, ethnicity, and marital status). Moreover, few studies have examined the additional problems that precarious female “outsiders” encountered due to the Covid-19 pandemic (Kınıkoğlu and Can, 2021). This study will possibly argue that they were ostracized both formally and informally and exploited due to the ongoing neoliberalization of the HE sector.

The use of computer-mediated activity is undeniably helpful in making the language learning process more effective and meaningful among international learners in terms of developing their writing and professional skills. The growing interest in the use of portfolio assessment emanates from the consensus that it strengthens students’ learning, enhances lecturers’ roles, improves assessment process (Brown & Cheng, 2008), fosters self-regulated learning (Lam, 2017; Lee, 2017), enhances student motivation (Lee, 2017), and promotes reflection and metacognition (Lam, 2017).

This intervention aimed to enhance female international students’ learning experience and improve their writing performance by using a powerful technology-enhanced learning approach (Digital stories - DS) and an inclusive collaborative group assessment strategy (ICGA). ICGA was used to promote peer learning/mentoring and help female students better understand the assessment criteria and develop valuable professional skills i.e., negotiation.