Home or away? Issues of “choice”, living arrangements and what it means to be a student

an article by Marion Bowl (University of Canterbury, New Zealand), Sandra Cooke (University of Birmingham) and Christine Hockings (University of Wolverhampton) in Widening Participation & Lifelong Learning Volume 10 Number 1

Abstract
This article explores first-year undergraduate students’ choice of living arrangements and how they may impact on their experience of university. Using data from the UK Economic and Social Research Council/Teaching and Learning Research project Learning and Teaching for Social Diversity and Difference, the authors explore the range of living arrangements which students may opt for, the reasons for their choices and the extent to which personal choices are mediated by structural factors. Whilst confirming the notion of stratification between the pre- and post-1992 universities in the study, the data also reveal the complexity and diversity of choice-making at an individual level. The article discusses how living arrangements may facilitate or constrain students’ engagement with and orientation to university life and study, and draws out the implications for universities and university teachers.

Hazel’s comment:
Decision-making is the province of the guidance practitioner and this article illustrates clearly the impact that such decision making has on the student in his or her life in higher education.

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