This timely and rigorous edited collection discusses complex processes related to student experience and belonging in contemporary higher education worldwide. It brings together a variety of recent research that explores contemporary undergraduate student experience in and of higher education. Drawing on the case studies from the UK, the USA, Israel and China and a variety of university settings, the chapters problematise the complex processes of developing a sense of belonging in contemporary universities that are increasingly diverse in terms of student population but also heavily marketised. Further, they draw attention to the effects of marketisation on the changing interpersonal relationships in student experience. Above all, the themes covered in this issue promote an understanding of student experience and belonging as a dynamic, relational and non-linear process, intersecting with pre-existing social inequalities as well as market dynamics that forcefully continue to reshape the sector and university practices. This book provides a timely and academically rigorous account of contemporary student experience and belonging in the global context of higher education. Contemporary Dynamics of Student Experience and Belonging in Higher Education will be a key resource for scholars, practitioners and researchers of higher education, education policy and leadership, educational studies and research, and anyone interested in understanding and supporting students. It was originally published as a special issue of Critical Studies in Education.

The concept of belonging has been increasingly understood as the missing piece in diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in higher education. This book explores the need to recognize and account for institutional-level factors that shape academic belonging, thereby improving student experience and outcomes. Though recent scholarship has identified several factors that are associated with student belonging in academics, there is little research that addresses what faculty can do in concrete terms to promote belonging, particularly in the domains where they have the most influence. The 12 chapters in this volume introduce readers to an array of collaborative, cutting-edge efforts to develop pedagogies, programs, strategies, and environments that help students develop academic belonging; that is, a sense of connection, competence, and confidence in academic domains. This book is written for higher education faculty, administrators, and researchers who wish to enhance their students’ sense of academic belonging by taking informed, practical measures to make them feel valued and supported.

This cutting-edge Research Handbook presents a comprehensive overview of key developments in the field of student engagement, with particular reference to equity and diversity issues. Promoting a more holistic and inclusive understanding of engagement, it highlights key empirical findings alongside practical case studies, presenting valuable recommendations for the field. This title contains one or more Open Access chapters.

Mindful Educational Leadership unpacks the literature of mindfulness as it applies to K12 school leadership. Crossing disciplinary and theoretical boundaries, scholar and mindfulness coach Sharon Kruse explores mindfulness in three complementary research and philosophical traditions—contemplative, cognitive, and organizational—and applies it to school leadership. This book explores how these perspectives complement and inform each other and the ways in which understanding each can inform decision making, school/community engagement and responsiveness, and advancing equity in school organizations. Full of authentic examples, stories, and models of mindful leadership from real educators, this volume helps readers become more mindful and effective in their practice. An exciting resource for aspiring educational leaders, each chapter also includes supporting resources for study, practice, and reflection on key concepts.

Around the world, students in higher education suffer from and deal with psychosocial problems. This phenomenon is universal and seems to be increasing. A vast number of students enter higher education with problems like stress, anxiety or depression, or develop them during their student lives, due to, for example, loneliness, family crisis, mental health or study environment issues. Battling, belonging and recognition are the focal points of this book’s analyses, showing how students faced with psychosocial problems experience high degrees of stigma and exclusion in the academic communities and society as such. The book is based on research situated in a welfare society, Denmark, where students have relatively easy access to higher education and to public support for education as well as special support for students with psychosocial problems. Taking a student perspective, the book provides in-depth, qualitative analyses of what characterizes student life, which specific psychosocial and other problems students experience, how problems are constructed, represented and become significant in relation to studying, and, not least, how students deal with them. It will be of great interest to researchers, academics and postgraduate students in the fields of educational psychology, sociology of education and higher education. It will also be of interest to supervisors and administrators in higher education.

This timely volume sets out the author’s novel concept of the Organic model of internationalisation, developed using participants’ perceptions, lived experiences, and recommendations for a better sustainable future of HE, and explores its broader application in the context of higher education. Using the qualitative IPA (Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis) approach, chapters showcase the lived experiences and subjective perspectives of individuals around the paradox that internationalisation presents, the distorting effects of institutional power, and the market- and ethics-based concerns of internationalisation in higher education. Drawing on an in-depth empirical study conducted using participant observation and interviews with participants from three UK universities, the book proposes a framework for redefining the global discourse of HE through the Organic model and urges the need for a compromise between profit and ethics to the benefit of both organisations and individuals. The book thoroughly discusses racist practices and introduces the concepts of “xeno-racism” and “angelism” , ensuring that the proposed approach is authentic and responsive to the diverse experiences of the student body. Showcasing a model with international potential and ramifications, this book will appeal to researchers, academics, and postgraduate students in higher education, internationalisation, and international study mobility. Practitioners and policymakers may also benefit from the volume.

This updated second edition unpacks the discussions surrounding the finest qualitative methods used in contemporary educational research. Bringing together scholars from around the world, this Handbook offers sophisticated insights into the theories and disciplinary approaches to qualitative study and the processes of data collection, analysis and representation, offering fresh ideas to inspire and re-invigorate researchers in educational research.

Increasing attention and representation of multiraciality in both the scholarly literature and popular culture warrants further nuancing of what is understood about multiracial people, particularly in the changing contexts of higher education. This book offers a way of Preparing Higher Education for its Mixed Race Future by examining Why Multiraciality Matters. In preparation, the book highlights recent contributions in scholarship – both empirical studies and scholarly syntheses – on multiracial students, staff, and faculty/scholars across three separate yet interrelated parts, which will help spur the continued evolution of multiraciality into the future.

In the wake of the #AbolishGreekLife and other calls for racial justice, the role of identity development also becomes ever increasingly important as we consider how to make the sorority/fraternity more inclusive for our students. In the end, it may really be the power of inclusion on college campuses that leads to many of the educational goals that we yearn for in student growth: the formal and informal social interactions, bonded in reflective learning, that help build social and academic success. In this we can celebrate together, especially those of us who have romanticized so many “bright college years.” This text is a response to a call for existential exploration as an attempt to critically revivify our understanding of the sorority/fraternity experience as it contributes specifically to students’ identity development and learning. The text is grouped around centering their experiences through three A’s: Amplifying Voice, Affirming Identity, and Advancing Belonging to highlight the identity experiences of the diverse spectrum of fraternity and sorority members across the intersections of identity so often excluded from the literature. Chapters in this text attempt to foreground how the fraternity/sorority experience explicitly contributes to these areas of student development across multiple identities including race, ethnicity, culture, gender identity, social class, and ability. Authors critically interrogate systems of oppressions that subjugate marginality from those with intersectional identities to recognize the larger challenges facing the sorority/fraternity movement as an attempt to disrupt these systems to better identify influences on identity development. ENDORSEMENTS "Pietro Sasso and associates are leading a game-changing conversation about the impact of fraternity and sorority communal experiences on student identity. Pietro Sasso and the contributing authors of this robust text successfully endeavor to inform practice through critical analysis, framing important questions, and offering pragmatic solutions that are timely, relevant, and practical in both the academy and the fraternal system. This book is a "must-read" for anyone seeking to understand or have a relevant impact on the intersections of sense of belonging, identity development, and sorority & fraternity life." — Jason L. Meriwether, Campbellsville University "In their most recent book examining contemporary sorority and fraternity life, Sasso, Biddix, and Miranda have curated discerning chapters that expand existing scholarship by exploring the impact of fraternity and sorority membership on identity development, belonging, and student voice through critical lenses. This book should be on the bookshelf of all higher education administrators and faculty." — Gavin Henning, New England College