“I’ll do this no matter if I have to fight the world!”

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of the paper was to explore students’ learning experiences in culturally diverse urban higher education environments. Design/methodology/approach – The project used an action research method approach with a mixed-method collection of data. The data consist of a survey of undergraduate students from the two different faculties, business and science, in two London institutions (n = 393) and ten focus groups (consisting of 92 students) as well as participant observations. The survey was based on an adapted version of the National Survey on Student Engagement (NSSE) developed in the USA. The authors also piloted the use of Facebook as a learning tool and monitored the effects on communication between students and between lecturers. Findings – The authors identified statistical significance in the items that addressed the development of students’ relationships with others and found that there was a link with specific students’ profiles, that is those students who were non-native speakers of English who were less likely to engage with “others” and the learning environment. Focus groups highlighted the importance of communities of practice and that these communities aided students in developing what can be seen as resilience outcomes. Originality/value – The findings from the research indicated that resilience can be seen as key to increasing engagement and communication for students. The piloting of social media across a module at each research site indicated that such a tool can be useful in addressing issues of communication, but the introduction of such tools needs to be generated through the students.

Lost in transition: Student journeys and becoming—Deliberations for a post‐COVID era

“…The significance of these different student journeys and the need for universities to support the successful transition of its students as part of that journey has been noted by others (Bamford et al, 2015). The cultural plurality of the educational space adds an additional dimension to the transition process that individual practitioners seem unable to respond to without an institutional framework.…”

“…This a view is supported by Meeuwisse et al (2010) who found that for students from minority ethnic backgrounds and those who are first generation in HE, the quality of the interactions was strongly indicative of academic progress and success. Bamford et al (2015) findings support the embedding of experiential learning activities into the curriculum to build the community dynamic of the curriculum.…”

“…The community dimension appears to be of a greater import in scaffolding the transitions that students make, particularly in the urban institution where community for students is a much more constructed affair. Students, particularly first year students, described the barriers that many academics created, albeit unintentionally, and the importance of peer support groups (Bamford et al, 2015; Thomas, 2013).…”

“…This may be particularly true of those who come from the more non‐traditional backgrounds, such as those from migrant family backgrounds, whether that be first, second or third generation migrants, and those who are first in the family into HE. Although it is acknowledged that third generation migrant students are regarded as home students, the classification has been included in this way here drawing on research identifying in two London institutions, nearly half of the respondents to a survey (n = 393) were non‐native speakers of English (Bamford et al, 2015). Jindal‐Snape and Ingram (2013) identify in their ELT model that language can be a major academic stressor for students.…”