26. “It’s about transforming lives!”: Supporting students in post pandemic higher education

Vicki Trowler

Four black and white drawings placed under a title that reads: Itís About Transforming Lives! The first depicts people sitting in front of computers in a shared study space. The second shows people near or on the stairs of a university building. The third one shows a view of the university building seen from the stairs. The fourth one shows a parking lot side view, with Vicki Trowler's name written in the bottom-left corner of the image.

“When one thinks of ‘a student’, what springs to mind is often a young person from within the country, entering university directly from school with the appointment school-leaving qualifications; this imagined student has no job or other responsibilities to distract them from their studies, no dependents or extended family to care for, and no disabilities. They identify unproblematically with the gender they were assigned at birth, and this predisposes them to select an appropriate programme of study and to participate in stereotypical student pursuits…” (Trowler, 2017) My PhP study challenged those assumptions. I enlisted 23 volunteers who were studying at universities in Scotland, who self-identified as “non-traditional” in their own study contexts, to explore how they perceived their own engagement as well as their universities’ attempts to engage them, and tracked them over the course of a calendar year. Reasons for volunteering included age, socio-economic background, nationality/ ethnicity / “race”, religion, caring responsibilities, gender, first-in-family to participate in HE, LGBTQIA+ issues, disability status, family estrangement, care experience, and non-standard entry qualifications — with students seldom presenting only a single reason. This chapter revisits unpublished data from my PhP study, bringing it into conversation with current concerns to reflect on what makes HE “good?” When is HE “good?” How might we, working or studying in HE, help to ensure that it stays (or becomes) “good” - when there are so many challenges. Pseudonyms used in this chapter were chosen by the participants at the time, and images and objects used (e.g. the smiley mask chosen by Alex, or the meeting minutes covered in food chosen by Courtney) were selected by participants to characterise their engagement with their universities. To those students, and others I’ve interviewed and worked with since, my ongoing gratitude.

Six-panelled sequence of a comic strip, with Vicki Trowler as a character surrounded by speech bubbles with texts reading: ìMy name is Vicky and Iím a Higher Education researcher.ì, ìIíve studied in South Africa and Scotland, and worked in Higher Education in South Africa and the United Kingdom.ì, ìMy work has focused on social justice in Higher Education, in various forms and contexts.ì, and ìThis chapter draws on unpublished data from interviews and observations conducted during my Doctor of Philosophy study (Trowler, 2017), between 2012 and 2016. Each student depicted here has been anonymised, using pseudonyms they chose at the timeì.

Text on top that reads: Students volunteered to participate in the study in response to posters in student areas on campuses in Scotland, seeking students who identified as ìnon-traditionalî in their study contexts. The focus of the study was on student engagement, but conversations ranged widely. This chapter will bring their reflections on how universities could better meet the needs of students like themselves, into conversation with the post-pandemic Higher Education landscape. This text is followed by perspective text reading ìBack then:î with the time period 2012-2016 put in parentheses on a pinned piece of paper torn out of a spiral notebook. A sequence of four panels presenting statistical data, with the last individual frame showing a desktop and a laptop on a table, with a speech bubble that reads: Moving beyond data, studentsí voices provide illumination for many of todayís Higher Education challenges. Another text, placed near the bottom-right corner of the frame, reads: So, in the present day.

Four-panelled sequence of a comic strip, with Trowlerís character having a speech bubble saying ìYumna, what would you like to share about your experience?î followed by a bubble speech with the answer reading ìThe assumptions the stereotypes. Itís like theyíre not seeing me, they just see the veil. And then Iím either an object of pity, or an object of fear.î Another three-panelled sequence introduced by text that reads: Thereís an assumption that Iím not serious about my studies, that I just want a degree so I can get a better husband. And that because I dress modestly, I donít have opinions to share, so I never get asked in class. Iím quite shy, so Iím not going to shout out, like some, but it would be nice to be asked sometimes. And for people to listen properly when I speak, not assume what Iím going to say. One of the panels shows someoneís hand cutting a phone wire with scissors. The next one presents Trowlerís character with a thought bubble that reads: Some of the techniques we used during remote teaching allowed anonymity and facilitated participation. We mustnít lose that! The last panel has a text that reads: How are you feeling right now?

Four-panelled sequence with Trowlerís character having a speech bubble asking ìWhat experience would you like to share, Blair?î followed by a bubble speech with the answer that reads: I did grow up in a home that was ìworking classî, or, at least, where I grew up, the community had been working class when there had been work. Another three-panelled sequence introduced by text that reads: This uni is just a factory designed to press out human resources for the economy. To ìupskillî us so we can ìadd valueî to the national bottom line. But Iím not stopping at this. Iím at uni to learn, to develop myself, not for some vocational purpose of getting a better-paying job! Then a panel showing a text written on a wall that reads: wrote on the wall. That! The next panel presents Trowlerís character with a thought bubble that reads: Finding work matters, of course. But we mustnít crush studentsí aspirations through our own assumptions.

Four-panelled sequence of a comic strip, the first panel showing Trowlerís character with a speech bubble saying: Courtney, tell me about your experience. The next panel shows Courtney with a speech bubble that reads: I deferred going to uni until my kids were old enough to go to nursery. The last panel of the sequence shows Courtney speaking in front of other persons seated near a projector screen with a text that reads: Library opening times. Another three-panelled sequence introduced by text that reads: In class, they treated us like kids! And the systems were so hostile to student parents. We had to campaign to get library hours extended. There is just always a tension between being a student, and being a parent. As a parent, you know what has to come first. But the uni doesnít see it that way. It would be much fairer to everyone if they could be more flexible. Then a panel focused on Trowlerís character with a thought bubble that reads: During the pandemic, universities had to become flexible around teaching, learning and assessment. We mustnít lose what we learned about how diverse the needs of students are!

Four-panelled sequence of a comic strip, the first panel showing Trowlerís character with a speech bubble saying: Uche, what experiences do you want to share? The next panel shows a speech bubble that answers: When your extended family choose you to be here, it is not just for yourself. It is for them, too. You cross the river, but you are carrying them all with you. Another three-panelled sequence introduced by text that reads: Here it is safer. But there are other dangers. No one tells you what is the thing to do, or to say. Itís a test, everything is a test, to see how well you fit in. If you can pass then you can stay. Otherwise, this is not the place for you. The next panel displays a text that reads: Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated. The following panel shows Trowlerís character with a thought bubble that reads: Family can be a source of support, but also of pressure, to some students. Fear of failure can be debilitating. We need to provide appropriate support, and to help translate assumptions about cultural capital.

Four-panelled sequence of a comic strip, the first panel showing Trowlerís character with a speech bubble saying: Alex, do you have experience you’d like to share? The next panel shows a speech bubble that answers: The uni doesn’t know… when you fill out forms asking if you consider yourself disabled, I always say no. It’s like, if I say yes, there will be questions. Another three-panelled sequence introduced by text that reads: “Calling it disability service… do I really want to be ‘that crazy chick’ who needs special help, can’t I just take my pills and not have everyone staring at this huge label? If you walk in there, Into that building everyone will know… We’re here, but we’re hidden. Sometimes we’re discovered, when things go wrong, but a lot of the time we manage to carry on, undetected.” The next panel displays a smiley emoji with text that reads: Alex - smiley maskThe following panel shows Trowlerís character with a thought bubble that reads: During the pandemic, our teaching and assessment became more compassionate. We recognised the frailty in ourselves and others. As things snap back to how they were before, we need to recall this compassion in our relationships with students and colleagues — and ourselves.

Four-panelled sequence of a comic strip, the first panel showing Trowlerís character with a speech bubble saying: Andy, you have some experience to share? One of the next panels shows Andy sitting on bench, with speech bubble that answers: When weíre learning about like social problems and everyoneís like ìwhy donít they just get a job?î and stuff and you know ëcos you been there. Another three-panelled sequence introduced by text that reads: In a sense you canít really go home, once youíve left. You can visit, but the place you visit isnít really ìhomeî, not because itís changed, but you have. What you think is home now isnít that. Itís something else, somewhere else. Or maybe someplace you havenít gone yet, some place you still have to create. The next panel shows a view from a railway station. Then a panel showing Trowlerís character with a thought bubble that reads: Higher Education is ìgoodî when it is fair, when it is compassionate, when it nurtures aspirations and when it recognises and supports students who may be going through profound transformation.

One-panelled sequence showing students sitting and talking to each other. A speech bubble that reads: Higher Education is good when everyone can have the same chance of success. Another speech bubble that reads: Itís about transforming lives!

References

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hooks, b. (1994). Teaching to transgress: Education as the practice of freedom. Routledge.

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Trowler, V. (2017). Nomads in contested landscapes: Reframing student engagement and non-traditionality in higher education [Doctoral dissertation, University of Edinburgh].

Trowler, V., Allan, R. L., & Din, R. R. (2019). “To secure a better future”: The affordances and constraints of complex familial and social factors encoded in higher education students’ narratives of engagement. Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning, 21(3), 81-98. https://doi.org/10.5456/WPLL.21.3.81