This paper examines the discourse of belonging in relation to retention strategies for part-time, mature undergraduates in English higher education, through a sociomaterial, spatial lens. The paper argues that the dominant institutional narratives of the ‘typical’ or ‘authentic’ student as young, full-time and residential serve to position part-time, mature undergraduates on the periphery of higher education, restricting their access to the means of belonging recognized and validated in institutional contexts. The paper outlines key questions to guide empirical investigation of belonging for part-time, mature undergraduates, exploring how themes of power, space and belonging can be engaged within a multiple case study approach. Overall, the article emphasizes the spatiality of institutions and the experiences of part-time, mature undergraduates as positioned within institutional narratives and practices, as well as exploring how they negotiate and imagine their own sense of belonging.
Thomas, K. (2015). Rethinking belonging through Bourdieu, diaspora and the spatial. Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning, 17(1), 37–49. https://doi.org/10.5456/WPLL.17.1.37
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