References

Students, community and belonging: an investigation of student experience across six European countries

“…Unsurprisingly, feelings of ‘standing out’ were frequently mentioned by participants who would be considered ‘non-traditional’ students, that is, those who are often excluded from the spaces of higher education. For example, as a very large majority of those who enter higher education in Spain are typically under the age of 25 (Brooks et al, 2022 ), it was difficult for mature students like the interviewee at HEI2 to develop a sense of belonging in the institution: ‘There is a certain rejection of age as much by the students as by the lecturers. It require[s] a lot [of efforts] to be accepted’ (Spain, HEI2).…”

“…Students interviewed in England and Ireland tended to place more emphasis than their peers in other countries on the importance of the university or ‘within university’ community in their sense of belonging. To some extent, this can be related to the influence of a residential model of higher education in these countries, where students are expected to leave their parental home for their studies and live in dedicated student accommodation or shared private housing (Brooks et al, 2022 ; Whyte, 2019 ). For instance, one focus group participant at HEI2 in England highlighted how a collegiate structure of her institution (where students belong both to the university and to a college or hall) gave a double sense of community:…”

“…Like their counterparts in England and Ireland, the temporal boundaries of being a student were defined narrowly (often attached to formal education). However, they differed from them with respect to longstanding traditions of living in the parental home throughout degree programmes and reliance on parents for their support while in transition to adulthood (Brooks et al, 2022 ; Chevalier, 2016 ). For this reason, being part of a university community may be considered by Spanish participants as both less important (if social support is being provided elsewhere) and less frequently experienced (if less time is spent within university spaces).…”

“…Importantly, the level of emphasis students place on community in their feelings of belonging appears to be influenced by differences in what it means to be a student in each country, which is reflective of its cultures, structures and norms. In England and Ireland, there is a stronger sense of belonging to the university or ‘within university’ community than the other countries not least because of tight temporal and spatial boundaries around what constitutes students and student life (Brooks et al, 2021 , 2022 ). Little recognition of this variation in extant literature points to the need to be more sensitive to the relative importance of the university or ‘within university’ community in a sense of belonging on multiple – national, institutional and individual – levels (see also Vytniorgu, 2022 ).…”

Independent learner as the ideal – normative representations of higher education students in film and television drama across Europe

“…Brooks, 2020 ; Burke et al, 2017 ; Danvers, 2018 ). A handful of studies have examined student representations in newspapers (Brooks et al, 2022 ; Finn et al, 2021 ), but notably absent is research on film and television. Only two recent UK-based studies have explored student constructions in British television (Calver & Michael-Fox, 2021 ; Silverio et al, 2021 ), both emphasising the role of television texts in framing what it means to be a student.…”