Abstract
This article considers the ways in which a group of postgraduate
students position themselves in a multicultural classroom at one
university in the UK. Research indicates that postgraduate
students actively negotiate and renegotiate their learner
identities and belonging in the context of higher education
environments and develop new subject positions. The study
examines students’ constructions of their own identities as
learners and considers their changing identities from the
perspective of agency. Our data collected from focus groups and
one-to-one interviews with students prior to the outbreak of the
Covid-19 pandemic, comprise a large proportion of non-UK/EU
students, amongst whom Chinese students are the single largest
constituency. Findings show that students’ experience of learning
is constitutive of the identification work they do during lectures
and group-work to position themselves as participants of HE, and
in the process, practice othering of students belonging to non-traditional participants in UK higher education.
students position themselves in a multicultural classroom at one
university in the UK. Research indicates that postgraduate
students actively negotiate and renegotiate their learner
identities and belonging in the context of higher education
environments and develop new subject positions. The study
examines students’ constructions of their own identities as
learners and considers their changing identities from the
perspective of agency. Our data collected from focus groups and
one-to-one interviews with students prior to the outbreak of the
Covid-19 pandemic, comprise a large proportion of non-UK/EU
students, amongst whom Chinese students are the single largest
constituency. Findings show that students’ experience of learning
is constitutive of the identification work they do during lectures
and group-work to position themselves as participants of HE, and
in the process, practice othering of students belonging to non-traditional participants in UK higher education.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1- 17 |
| Journal | TEACHING IN HIGHER EDUCATION |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 18 Jul 2022 |