Abstract

As the neo-liberalisation of education continues apace, staff at many Universities are increasingly faced with the difficult challenges of balancing critical Criminological scholarship with the increased marketization, employability agenda and shifting student expectations. The School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Lincoln has responded to these challenges by creating an innovative student-focused curriculum which utilises a range of teaching, learning and assessment strategies, including Undergraduate vivas, whole-cohort presentations and mock United Nations scenarios. Students lie at the heart of the School’s interdisciplinary programmes and are involved in curriculum design (and re-design), ‘Student as Producer’ projects and peer-led mentoring schemes. This paper will introduce an outline of some of the Criminology team’s award winning strategies for ‘Teaching and Learning’ and provide a space for pedagogic reflection on the best ways to catalyze independent, reflexive and critical thinking in an increasingly challenging environment.