Researching the socio-cultural context of learning: 'where many paths and errands meet?'

Not so long ago the notion of culture was only mentioned in Higher Education in relation to international students. Culture seemed to be primarily what someone else had, ‘the other’, and the idea of culture was perhaps too often used to explain away difficulties in interacting in an educational setting with those from other nations. It appears that we may have moved on from this position and that there is an increase in research that underlines the importance and value of a socio-cultural approach to understanding teaching, learning and assessment in Higher Education. Again this work is not just applied to understanding the cultural and social context of international students, although this is in itself is a fascinating and significant inquiry that has been a focus across continents throughout the last few years.