Belonging in a learning community: The re-imagined university and imagined social capital

Older, online and first: Recommendations for retention and success

“…Previous research (Quinn, 2005;Read, Archer, & Leathwood, 2003) has indicated how students from diverse backgrounds may have little sense of belonging within the university environment. Mature-age learners may be "disadvantaged by an identity that is marginalised and detached from student networks or sociality and information" (Mallman & Lee, 2014, p. 4).…”

“I ‘feel’ like I am at university even though I am online.” Exploring how students narrate their engagement with higher education institutions in an online learning environment

“…Angelino and Natvig (2009) argue that effectively engaging students early in their program is a key strategy to reducing student attrition. Forging positive connections with teaching staff and fellow students has also been demonstrated internationally to play a significant role in student satisfaction, persistence and academic success (Coffman & Gilligan, 2002;Quinn, 2005). How best to do this in an online environment is still under consideration with limited higher education research focusing on the students themselves (Krause, 2005;Palmer, O'Kane & Owens, 2009).…”

Conflicting philosophies of inclusion: the contestation of knowledge in widening participation

“…Reay et al (2001a, b) and Bowl (2001), key writers in the widening participation field, suggest that universities, as a result of their white middle-class ethos or 'institutional habitus', are still unwelcoming places for disadvantaged students. Quinn (2003Quinn ( , 2005a and Quinn et al (2005a, b) extend the argument by stating that there needs to be a radical transformation in the view of what is involved in a university education. These authors see most existing widening participation initiatives as based on a 'deficit model' of students.…”

“…It is seen as the universities' job to change so as to become more attractive to non-traditional students. Any attempt to identify difficulties intrinsic to the students, such as the desirability of their acquiring knowledge or skills, is seen as 'pathologising' non-traditional students, or as seeing them in terms of a 'deficit' model (Bowl, 2004;Quinn, 2005a;Thomas, 2005). Reay et al (2001a, b) and Bowl (2001), key writers in the widening participation field, suggest that universities, as a result of their white middle-class ethos or 'institutional habitus', are still unwelcoming places for disadvantaged students.…”