How do estranged students experience higher education? A longitudinal comparative case study of two UK universities

在英国高等教育(HE)政策中，越来越多地强调扩大参与度(WP)措施，并将重点从接触到整个学生的生活方式转移。大学应该能容纳“非传统”学生群体，对这些学生经历的研究领域也在不断扩大。然而，有一群学生很少讨论“疏远学生”，即那些与父母“没有沟通关系”的学生。最近的研究表明，这些学生可能在高等教育中苦苦挣扎，缺乏经济、社会和文化资本。近年来，英国慈善机构独立组织致力于在全国范围内提高人们对家庭疏远的认识，并改善大学对疏远学生的支持。为了探索他们在高等教育中的经历，本项目提出了一个纵向比较案例研究，对两所大学12名二年级疏远的学生进行为期一年的跟踪调查。这项研究将通过一系列半结构化访谈和日记条目，考察参与者对自己作为学生的看法、他们的经历以及他们所在的大学为他们提供的支持方面的差异。将使用布尔迪奥框架进行叙事分析。通过与独立的合作，这项工作预计将为慈善机构的实践提供参考，也将为大学、全国学生联合会和英国政府的实践提供参考。最终，本研究的目的是支持疏远的学生在高等教育中有积极的体验。

In UK higher edcuation (HE) policy, there is an increasing emphasis on widening participation (WP) measures, and a shift in focus away from access to the whole 'student's lifestyle' approach. Universities are expected to accommodate for 'non-traditional' student groups, and there is a growing field of research into the experiences of these students. However, one group of students rarely discusses are 'estranged students', those who have 'no communicative relationship' with their parents. As recent research has indicated, these students may struggle in HE, lacking financial, social and cultural capital. In recent years, UK charity Stand Alone has worked to increase awareness of family estrangement nationally, and improve university support for estranged students. To explore their experiences in HE, this project proposes a longitudinal comparative case study to follow 12 second-year-estranged students for one year at two universities. This study will examine differences in how the participants perceive themselves as students, their experiences, and the support offered to them by their university, through a series of semi-structured interviews and diary entries. Narrative analysis using a Bourdieusian framework, will be employed. Through collaboration with Stand Alone, this work is expected to inform the charity's practice, but also the practice of Universities, the National Union of Students, and the UK Government. Ultimately, this research aims to support estranged students to have a positive experience in HE.