'A real rollercoaster of confidence and emotions': Learning to be a university student.

Christie, H., Tett, L., Cree, V. E., Hounsell, J. and McCune, V. (2008) 'A real rollercoaster of confidence and emotions': Learning to be a university student. Studies in Higher Education, 33(5), pp. 567-581. (doi: 10.1080/03075070802373040)

Abstract

Accounts of emotion and affect have gained popularity in studies of learning. This article draws on qualitative research with a group of non-traditional students entering an elite university in the UK to illustrate how being and becoming a university student is an intrinsically emotional process. It argues that feelings of loss and dislocation are inherent to the students' experiences of entering university, and that 'coming to know' a new community of practice is an emotional process that can incorporate feelings of alienation and exclusion, as well as of excitement and exhilaration. A broader understanding of how students learn then depends not just upon the individual's emotional commitment to developing a new learning identity, but on the emotional interaction between the student and the learning environment of the university.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: McCune, Dr Velda
• Authors: Christie, H., Tett, L., Cree, V. E., Hounsell, J., and McCune, V.
• Subjects: L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB2300 Higher Education
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Education > Social Justice Place and Lifelong Education
• Journal Name: Studies in Higher Education
• Journal Abbr.: Stud. high. educ.
• ISSN: 0307-5079
• ISSN (Online): 1470-174X