I am a Lecturer in Human Geography at Plymouth University. My research interests are in the Geographies and mobilities of higher education and students.
Recent conceptualisations of place have sought to reconsider place as being the sedentary equival... more Recent conceptualisations of place have sought to reconsider place as being the sedentary equivalent to mobility, instead recognising its dynamism and its potential for evoking powerful emotional responses. These notions hold particular resonance in the realm of higher education, with discussions emerging of the important influence place may hold for students as they progress through University. While this has been recognised from the perspective of 'mobile' students, what is less clear is how these notions of place might influence the trajectories of 'local' students, specifically how feelings of place disruption or identity dislocation might spill out into their non-student lives and their wider sense of 'being' students (or non-students) within what are often highly emotive and memory-laden places. This is important as the process of 're-sensing' place through the lens of a student may challenge long established conceptions of the city for 'local' students.
Since the introduction of the post-1992 university, various, and ongoing, higher education policy... more Since the introduction of the post-1992 university, various, and ongoing, higher education policy reforms have fuelled academic, political, media and anecdotal discussions of the trajectories of UK university students. An outcome of this has been the dualistic classification of students as being from either 'traditional' or 'non-traditional' backgrounds. An extensive corpus of literature has sought to critically discuss how students experience their transition into university, questioning specifically the notion that all students follow a linear transition through university. Moreover, there is far more complexity involved in the student experience than can be derived from just employing these monolithic terms. This research proposes incorporating students' residential circumstances into these debates to encourage more critical discussions of this complex demographic. Drawing upon the experiences of a sample of students from a UK 'Post-1992' university this research will develop a profile for each accommodation type to highlight the key characteristics of the 'type' of student most likely to belong to each group. In doing
Across the social sciences there is recognition that place is becoming increasingly important in ... more Across the social sciences there is recognition that place is becoming increasingly important in the research encounter. This paper contributes towards research in this area through an investigation into the lived experiences of higher education students. Whilst there is growing academic attention paid towards what have been termed 'student geographies', there has been relatively little attention towards the methods that we might utilise in investigating students' experiences and understanding of University towns and cities and here we employ 'Walking interviews' to explore these. Accompanying them 'in the field' allowed us to explore students' narratives 'in place' while seeing firsthand how some of the multi-sensual and multi-layered experiences of place might be captured and interpreted. We argue that such place-based interviews may allow us to 'get into the gaps' of student experiences and understand how students' dynamic relationships with place shape their conceptions and narrations of their term-time location.
It has become increasingly clear that social activities play an important role for many UK underg... more It has become increasingly clear that social activities play an important role for many UK undergraduate students in informing identity and place attachment through interactions with their term-time location. While attention has been given to the ways in which students construct 'exclusive geographies' through self-segregation from non-students, there has, thus so far, been very little discussion of how students' identities may be affected by their changing activity spaces and how this may blur the boundaries between student and non-student spaces. Exploring these transformations over the duration of the degree is important as they highlight how identity performances may be influenced by students' transitions through University and their changing mobility patterns. This paper will address this by considering: (1) how first year activity spaces may constitute a student bubble for new undergraduates; (2) how, in subsequent years, these activity spaces adapt as students hone their social practices and explore environments less associated with student-life, and (3) how 'local' student's activity spaces can become complex as they contemplate locating their multiple identities during term-time.
Studies of the 'geographies of students' have become increasingly prevalent across the social sci... more Studies of the 'geographies of students' have become increasingly prevalent across the social sciences and are particularly concerned with the predilection for young UK University undergraduates to be mobile in their institutional choice. A more recent focus within this work has been upon student identities, with attention given to how the spaces in which students move to and settle in can have both positive and negative consequences for the evolution of the student identity, and how such identities are often framed within the context of social activities; learning environments; friendship networks or other socio-cultural factors. This paper contributes to these discussions by considering the role of student accommodation – a site which often remains on the periphery of discussions of student identities – in offering students opportunities to construct, adapt and manage their student identities. This adds to the important contemporary geographies of student accommodation which are currently debating, among others, purpose-built student accommodation and the broad housing 'careers' and strategies of students. In contrast, this paper explores the micro-geographies of student accommodation (and more specifically, the bedroom) to highlight its value in providing young, mobile students with an anchor within which they can draw together their learner, social and domestic dispositions into one geographical location.
This research, conducted with groups of undergraduate students before and after a European fieldw... more This research, conducted with groups of undergraduate students before and after a European fieldwork exercise, critically examines the pedagogic value of fieldwork and its ability to provide students with transferable skills. This is achieved using Anderson and Erskine's (2014) lens of tropophilia – the aesthetic connection between people and place – to explore the influence of 'being' in the field upon affective learning. In doing so, this research suggests (1) that encouraging students to recognise how their own affective skills may influence the types of knowledge(s) that are produced on fieldtrips and (2) that people-place connections have the ability to inspire students to become more self-reflexive about their position(s) as learners.
Recent discussions of the geographies of students have drawn attention to the trajectories of UK ... more Recent discussions of the geographies of students have drawn attention to the trajectories of UK students electing to leave home for university. Whilst such debates recognise these important mobilities, little has been discussed as to how students interact within their term-time accommodation. Through a qualitative study of the living arrangements of UK students, this paper will demonstrate that much can be drawn from focusing upon the micro-geographies of non-local students within their term-time homes. Student accommodation is more than simply somewhere to live. Student homes are intensely dynamic places, perhaps more so than family homes as they contain multiple, disconnected identities. This research contributes to research on the geographies of the home by unpacking how house-sharers in transition interact with each other, how they transfer their identities from one home to another, how they delineate their territory and whether they integrate or withdraw within their term-time accommodation. This paper will address this by exploring (1) how students negotiate their habitualised behaviours in shared spaces and (2) how these behaviours become spatialised through the configuration and maintenance of boundaries.
Our homes are important spaces through which emotions are produced, performed and regulated. They... more Our homes are important spaces through which emotions are produced, performed and regulated. They carry significant material and symbolic value and are inscribed with meaning and belonging that are often crucial in shaping and (re)producing collective and individual identities. Yet while research has explored the role of the home in the co-production of familial values, networks and behaviours, less is understood of the emotional geographies of accommodation occupied by non-related adults – defined here as 'peer-sharing'. This paper responds to this gap by exploring how peer-shared living-spaces are emotionally constructed through a case study of students living in a UK university's halls of residences. In doing so, this paper examines how (1) the morphology of shared living-spaces contributes towards the production of sharers' emotions, (2) emotions become inscribed upon home-spaces through place-making activities and (3) diversity is enacted through the emotional work of sharers and how this is performed through friendship in shared living-spaces. This analysis concludes by emphasising the important role of emotions in co-producing different spaces, activities, knowledges and experiences among peer-sharers and how peer-sharing might be both performed in and influenced by living spaces.
Recent investigations into 'student geographies' have recognised the complex ways in which studen... more Recent investigations into 'student geographies' have recognised the complex ways in which students from different backgrounds go about 'fitting in' among their peers within University managed accommodation. Halls have been characterised in the literature as highly pressurised spaces in which multiple (and potentially conflicting) identities can perpetuate disadvantage through incongruous accessibility to student-centric social activities and behaviours. This paper joins these debates by critical examining Universities' 'Student Accommodation' webpages alongside qualitative interviews in order to question notions of halls being inclusive and encouraging a cultural mix. Using Bourdieu's reading of social capital this paper suggests that, while these spaces may perpetuate disadvantaged access to social capital, some students may transcend this, drawing on other forms of non-student social capital which legitimises their position among their peers in halls. This adds to previous discussions of 'difference' by highlighting the power of social capital in transforming individuals' positions within social groupings.
In recent years a growing body of literature has emerged relating to what may be termed 'student ... more In recent years a growing body of literature has emerged relating to what may be termed 'student geographies'. In synthesising this literature pertinent to the geographies of higher education students, including their movements, [im]mobilities and identities, this paper seeks to achieve two objectives. First, to move beyond traditional geographical boundaries by incorporating important discussions from across the social sciences and second, to transcend inward/outward dichotomies in order to achieve a clearer understanding of the mobilities and concentrations of what is a complex and diverse social group. The paper explores the different scales which have been focussed on in this literature – from that on national and international student movements, through to those focussing on the more local geographies of students' experiences of HEIs and their university location.
In recent years interest has emerged regarding the geographies of higher education students, part... more In recent years interest has emerged regarding the geographies of higher education students, particularly in patterns of mobility and dispersion. While anecdotal rhetoric suggests a 'typical student' exists within UK institutions, what resonates is the notion that students are inherently heterogeneous, experiencing University in differing ways and times according to their circumstances and year of study. This paper uses 'walking interviews' conducted with University of Portsmouth students as a way of unpacking in more detail how 'non-local' students might go about interpreting their sense of place within their term-time location. This methodology was designed specifically to ensure discussions of 'sense of place' remain directly in the context of the city and recognises the adaptive relationships students have with their term-time locations. This is important as there is a tendency within the literature to focus solely on the transition into University, ignoring that students often experience pressures throughout their degree pathway. These pressures can be linked to various social and spatial changes, such as insecurities regarding fitting in amongst unfamiliar peer groups or a lack of confidence concerning engagement with academic and non-academic practices, and draws attention to the non-linearity of students' associations with their term-time location.
In recent years a growing body of literature has emerged concerning the mobilities of students, s... more In recent years a growing body of literature has emerged concerning the mobilities of students, specifically relating to the interactions between local and non-local students which can accentuate unequal access to education; social interactions and learner outcomes. Central to much of this literature is a sense that being mobile in institutional choice is the most appropriate and expected approach to successful University life. Conversely, local students, disadvantaged by their age, history, external commitments and immobility, are thought to be unlikely to share the same 'student experiences' as their traditional counterparts, leading to feelings of alienation within the student community. This paper will seek to problematise this binary by examining the experiences of a group of local and non-local students studying at the University of Portsmouth using Bourdieu's reading of habitus and capital. This is useful as it provides a more critical insight into how students' [dis]advantaged learner identities are [re]produced through their everyday sociability. Moreover, these findings extend previous discussions of first year transitions by questioning the influence of accommodation upon the formation of identities and the initial experiences of 'being', or 'becoming' students. This paper also seeks to extend previous theoretical tendencies which privilege identity formation through mobility rather than stasis.
Recent conceptualisations of place have sought to reconsider place as being the sedentary equival... more Recent conceptualisations of place have sought to reconsider place as being the sedentary equivalent to mobility, instead recognising its dynamism and its potential for evoking powerful emotional responses. These notions hold particular resonance in the realm of higher education, with discussions emerging of the important influence place may hold for students as they progress through University. While this has been recognised from the perspective of 'mobile' students, what is less clear is how these notions of place might influence the trajectories of 'local' students, specifically how feelings of place disruption or identity dislocation might spill out into their non-student lives and their wider sense of 'being' students (or non-students) within what are often highly emotive and memory-laden places. This is important as the process of 're-sensing' place through the lens of a student may challenge long established conceptions of the city for 'local' students.
Since the introduction of the post-1992 university, various, and ongoing, higher education policy... more Since the introduction of the post-1992 university, various, and ongoing, higher education policy reforms have fuelled academic, political, media and anecdotal discussions of the trajectories of UK university students. An outcome of this has been the dualistic classification of students as being from either 'traditional' or 'non-traditional' backgrounds. An extensive corpus of literature has sought to critically discuss how students experience their transition into university, questioning specifically the notion that all students follow a linear transition through university. Moreover, there is far more complexity involved in the student experience than can be derived from just employing these monolithic terms. This research proposes incorporating students' residential circumstances into these debates to encourage more critical discussions of this complex demographic. Drawing upon the experiences of a sample of students from a UK 'Post-1992' university this research will develop a profile for each accommodation type to highlight the key characteristics of the 'type' of student most likely to belong to each group. In doing
Across the social sciences there is recognition that place is becoming increasingly important in ... more Across the social sciences there is recognition that place is becoming increasingly important in the research encounter. This paper contributes towards research in this area through an investigation into the lived experiences of higher education students. Whilst there is growing academic attention paid towards what have been termed 'student geographies', there has been relatively little attention towards the methods that we might utilise in investigating students' experiences and understanding of University towns and cities and here we employ 'Walking interviews' to explore these. Accompanying them 'in the field' allowed us to explore students' narratives 'in place' while seeing firsthand how some of the multi-sensual and multi-layered experiences of place might be captured and interpreted. We argue that such place-based interviews may allow us to 'get into the gaps' of student experiences and understand how students' dynamic relationships with place shape their conceptions and narrations of their term-time location.
It has become increasingly clear that social activities play an important role for many UK underg... more It has become increasingly clear that social activities play an important role for many UK undergraduate students in informing identity and place attachment through interactions with their term-time location. While attention has been given to the ways in which students construct 'exclusive geographies' through self-segregation from non-students, there has, thus so far, been very little discussion of how students' identities may be affected by their changing activity spaces and how this may blur the boundaries between student and non-student spaces. Exploring these transformations over the duration of the degree is important as they highlight how identity performances may be influenced by students' transitions through University and their changing mobility patterns. This paper will address this by considering: (1) how first year activity spaces may constitute a student bubble for new undergraduates; (2) how, in subsequent years, these activity spaces adapt as students hone their social practices and explore environments less associated with student-life, and (3) how 'local' student's activity spaces can become complex as they contemplate locating their multiple identities during term-time.
Studies of the 'geographies of students' have become increasingly prevalent across the social sci... more Studies of the 'geographies of students' have become increasingly prevalent across the social sciences and are particularly concerned with the predilection for young UK University undergraduates to be mobile in their institutional choice. A more recent focus within this work has been upon student identities, with attention given to how the spaces in which students move to and settle in can have both positive and negative consequences for the evolution of the student identity, and how such identities are often framed within the context of social activities; learning environments; friendship networks or other socio-cultural factors. This paper contributes to these discussions by considering the role of student accommodation – a site which often remains on the periphery of discussions of student identities – in offering students opportunities to construct, adapt and manage their student identities. This adds to the important contemporary geographies of student accommodation which are currently debating, among others, purpose-built student accommodation and the broad housing 'careers' and strategies of students. In contrast, this paper explores the micro-geographies of student accommodation (and more specifically, the bedroom) to highlight its value in providing young, mobile students with an anchor within which they can draw together their learner, social and domestic dispositions into one geographical location.
This research, conducted with groups of undergraduate students before and after a European fieldw... more This research, conducted with groups of undergraduate students before and after a European fieldwork exercise, critically examines the pedagogic value of fieldwork and its ability to provide students with transferable skills. This is achieved using Anderson and Erskine's (2014) lens of tropophilia – the aesthetic connection between people and place – to explore the influence of 'being' in the field upon affective learning. In doing so, this research suggests (1) that encouraging students to recognise how their own affective skills may influence the types of knowledge(s) that are produced on fieldtrips and (2) that people-place connections have the ability to inspire students to become more self-reflexive about their position(s) as learners.
Recent discussions of the geographies of students have drawn attention to the trajectories of UK ... more Recent discussions of the geographies of students have drawn attention to the trajectories of UK students electing to leave home for university. Whilst such debates recognise these important mobilities, little has been discussed as to how students interact within their term-time accommodation. Through a qualitative study of the living arrangements of UK students, this paper will demonstrate that much can be drawn from focusing upon the micro-geographies of non-local students within their term-time homes. Student accommodation is more than simply somewhere to live. Student homes are intensely dynamic places, perhaps more so than family homes as they contain multiple, disconnected identities. This research contributes to research on the geographies of the home by unpacking how house-sharers in transition interact with each other, how they transfer their identities from one home to another, how they delineate their territory and whether they integrate or withdraw within their term-time accommodation. This paper will address this by exploring (1) how students negotiate their habitualised behaviours in shared spaces and (2) how these behaviours become spatialised through the configuration and maintenance of boundaries.
Our homes are important spaces through which emotions are produced, performed and regulated. They... more Our homes are important spaces through which emotions are produced, performed and regulated. They carry significant material and symbolic value and are inscribed with meaning and belonging that are often crucial in shaping and (re)producing collective and individual identities. Yet while research has explored the role of the home in the co-production of familial values, networks and behaviours, less is understood of the emotional geographies of accommodation occupied by non-related adults – defined here as 'peer-sharing'. This paper responds to this gap by exploring how peer-shared living-spaces are emotionally constructed through a case study of students living in a UK university's halls of residences. In doing so, this paper examines how (1) the morphology of shared living-spaces contributes towards the production of sharers' emotions, (2) emotions become inscribed upon home-spaces through place-making activities and (3) diversity is enacted through the emotional work of sharers and how this is performed through friendship in shared living-spaces. This analysis concludes by emphasising the important role of emotions in co-producing different spaces, activities, knowledges and experiences among peer-sharers and how peer-sharing might be both performed in and influenced by living spaces.
Recent investigations into 'student geographies' have recognised the complex ways in which studen... more Recent investigations into 'student geographies' have recognised the complex ways in which students from different backgrounds go about 'fitting in' among their peers within University managed accommodation. Halls have been characterised in the literature as highly pressurised spaces in which multiple (and potentially conflicting) identities can perpetuate disadvantage through incongruous accessibility to student-centric social activities and behaviours. This paper joins these debates by critical examining Universities' 'Student Accommodation' webpages alongside qualitative interviews in order to question notions of halls being inclusive and encouraging a cultural mix. Using Bourdieu's reading of social capital this paper suggests that, while these spaces may perpetuate disadvantaged access to social capital, some students may transcend this, drawing on other forms of non-student social capital which legitimises their position among their peers in halls. This adds to previous discussions of 'difference' by highlighting the power of social capital in transforming individuals' positions within social groupings.
In recent years a growing body of literature has emerged relating to what may be termed 'student ... more In recent years a growing body of literature has emerged relating to what may be termed 'student geographies'. In synthesising this literature pertinent to the geographies of higher education students, including their movements, [im]mobilities and identities, this paper seeks to achieve two objectives. First, to move beyond traditional geographical boundaries by incorporating important discussions from across the social sciences and second, to transcend inward/outward dichotomies in order to achieve a clearer understanding of the mobilities and concentrations of what is a complex and diverse social group. The paper explores the different scales which have been focussed on in this literature – from that on national and international student movements, through to those focussing on the more local geographies of students' experiences of HEIs and their university location.
In recent years interest has emerged regarding the geographies of higher education students, part... more In recent years interest has emerged regarding the geographies of higher education students, particularly in patterns of mobility and dispersion. While anecdotal rhetoric suggests a 'typical student' exists within UK institutions, what resonates is the notion that students are inherently heterogeneous, experiencing University in differing ways and times according to their circumstances and year of study. This paper uses 'walking interviews' conducted with University of Portsmouth students as a way of unpacking in more detail how 'non-local' students might go about interpreting their sense of place within their term-time location. This methodology was designed specifically to ensure discussions of 'sense of place' remain directly in the context of the city and recognises the adaptive relationships students have with their term-time locations. This is important as there is a tendency within the literature to focus solely on the transition into University, ignoring that students often experience pressures throughout their degree pathway. These pressures can be linked to various social and spatial changes, such as insecurities regarding fitting in amongst unfamiliar peer groups or a lack of confidence concerning engagement with academic and non-academic practices, and draws attention to the non-linearity of students' associations with their term-time location.
In recent years a growing body of literature has emerged concerning the mobilities of students, s... more In recent years a growing body of literature has emerged concerning the mobilities of students, specifically relating to the interactions between local and non-local students which can accentuate unequal access to education; social interactions and learner outcomes. Central to much of this literature is a sense that being mobile in institutional choice is the most appropriate and expected approach to successful University life. Conversely, local students, disadvantaged by their age, history, external commitments and immobility, are thought to be unlikely to share the same 'student experiences' as their traditional counterparts, leading to feelings of alienation within the student community. This paper will seek to problematise this binary by examining the experiences of a group of local and non-local students studying at the University of Portsmouth using Bourdieu's reading of habitus and capital. This is useful as it provides a more critical insight into how students' [dis]advantaged learner identities are [re]produced through their everyday sociability. Moreover, these findings extend previous discussions of first year transitions by questioning the influence of accommodation upon the formation of identities and the initial experiences of 'being', or 'becoming' students. This paper also seeks to extend previous theoretical tendencies which privilege identity formation through mobility rather than stasis.
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