Exploring experiences of educational exclusion for engineering undergraduates: reflecting on the value of staff-student partnerships for researching sensitive topics

Abstract

This paper investigates the affordances of staff-student collaboration in exploratory research on a potentially ‘sensitive’ issue. Our work garners a better understanding of the relationship between students' narratives of school when they had been subject to forms of exclusion and subsequent Higher Education (HE) experiences. The harmful impacts of educational exclusion have been explored in the compulsory education sector but are unresearched in an HE context.   

Utilising a co-produced approach to exploratory research design, we worked with postgraduate students to survey and interview undergraduates in 6 HE institutions. We found that some students experienced exclusion at school and could describe and explain various types of exclusionary practices. They outlined many coping strategies and some described reticence to using official forms of support. While some students ‘moved on’ from these self-reported negative experiences, others talked of the enduring impacts of exclusion.   

We argue that a better understanding of exclusionary practices before attending university will enhance the understanding of students' attitudes towards the system and help enhance support.  We then reflect on the vital importance of the staff-student partnership in this project. Talking about exclusionary experiences is difficult enough, but even more so in overcoming their impact on getting a university place.