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Topic · Education

Higher Education Learning Practices

Higher Education Learning Practices is a research topic within Education. Science Explorer counts 27k research works in it since 1950. 23.6% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers focuses on the recognition, validation, and accreditation of prior learning in higher education, particularly in the context of competency-based education. It explores policies, practices, and challenges related to acknowledging informal, non-formal, and formal learning experiences of adult learners. The cluster also delves into the implications for lifelong learning and the role of prior learning assessment in shaping educational pathways.

  • Recognition
  • Prior Learning
  • Higher Education
  • Competency-Based Education
  • Validation
  • Informal Learning
  • Non-Formal Learning
  • Policy and Practices
  • Lifelong Learning
  • Adult Education
Research works
27k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
6.4k
per year above
Top-10% rate
23.6%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+10%
the tick is no change

Which countries lead Higher Education Learning Practices research?

By volume, the United States and China publish the most (823 and 448 works in 2022–2025).

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 United States 823 works
  2. 2 China 448 works
  3. 3 Indonesia 402 works
  4. 4 United Kingdom 374 works
  5. 5 South Africa 266 works
  6. 6 India 247 works
  7. 7 Australia 241 works
  8. 8 Malaysia 139 works
  9. 9 Canada 137 works
  10. 10 Germany 129 works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

United States: 25.7%China: 14.0%Indonesia: 12.5%United Kingdom: 11.7%6 others listed: 36.2%26%largest
United States823 · 25.7%China448 · 14.0%Indonesia402 · 12.5%United Kingdom374 · 11.7%6 others listed1,160 · 36.2%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Higher Education Learning Practices research?

By volume in 2022–2025, University of South Africa publishes the most Higher Education Learning Practices research, followed by Yogyakarta State University and University of Johannesburg.

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 University of South Africa South Africa 38 works
  2. 2 Yogyakarta State University Indonesia 27 works
  3. 3 University of Johannesburg South Africa 26 works
  4. 4 State University of Padang Indonesia 22 works
  5. 5 University of Hong Kong Hong Kong 21 works
  6. 6 Indonesia University of Education Indonesia 20 works
  7. 7 Addis Ababa University Ethiopia 20 works
  8. 8 University of Debrecen Hungary 19 works
  9. 9 Universiti Teknologi MARA Malaysia 18 works
  10. 10 Deakin University Australia 18 works

Who are the leading researchers in Higher Education Learning Practices?

The most-cited researchers publishing on Higher Education Learning Practices include Linda Darling‐Hammond.

  1. 1 Linda Darling‐Hammond 2.4k citations

Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.

Where is Higher Education Learning Practices research done?

The largest centres of Higher Education Learning Practices research in 2022–2025 are London (United Kingdom), Melbourne (Australia), Budapest (Hungary) and Beijing (China). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Bloemfontein.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 London United Kingdom 70 works
  2. 2 Melbourne Australia 68 works
  3. 3 Budapest Hungary 65 works
  4. 4 Beijing China 61 works
  5. 5 Pretoria South Africa 58 works
  6. 6 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia 48 works
  7. 7 Johannesburg South Africa 47 works
  8. 8 Yogyakarta Indonesia 45 works
  9. 9 Jakarta Indonesia 42 works
  10. 10 Bangkok Thailand 42 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. BloemfonteinZA · 27.1 works16×
← less than its size predictsmore →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Higher Education Learning Practices than the world average.

See Higher Education Learning Practices on the map

Where is the best place to study Higher Education Learning Practices?

Among universities, judged by research, Nazarbayev University, University of the Free State and University of Hong Kong score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%50%100%mean 47.24%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →Nazarbayev University: 8, 71.9%University of the Free State: 17, 56.7%University of Hong Kong: 20, 69.2%Deakin University: 18, 63.0%Education University of Hong Kong: 14, 49.9%University of South Africa: 38, 25.5%Yogyakarta State University: 27, 25.1%Dublin City University: 9, 38.9%The Open University: 15, 43.2%Addis Ababa University: 20, 29.0%Nazarbayev UniversityUniversity of Hong K…Deakin UniversityUniversity of the Fr…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1Nazarbayev University Kazakhstan 66.571.9%9.7×8
2University of the Free State South Africa 66.356.7%12.1×17 +35.3%
3University of Hong Kong Hong Kong 64.669.2%4.1×20 +39.1%
4Deakin University Australia 62.663.0%6.9×18 +31.4%
5Education University of Hong Kong Hong Kong 58.649.9%16.5×14 -39.6%
6University of South Africa South Africa 57.925.5%15.0×38 -7.7%
7Yogyakarta State University Indonesia 57.425.1%8.0×27 +1027.1%
8Dublin City University Ireland 56.038.9%9.8×9 +107.5%
9The Open University United Kingdom 55.943.2%17.4×15 +2.4%
10Addis Ababa University Ethiopia 55.829.0%14.3×20

Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.

Is Higher Education Learning Practices research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 10% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2024. The fastest-growing topics are Higher Education Learning Practices.

19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.