Belonging with, not to: Cultivating Agency and Belonging through a Students-as-Partners Project in the Open University, UK

Higher education is grappling with the challenge of fostering student belonging and agency in an increasingly consumerist environment. The Students-as-Partners (SaP) approach emerges as a powerful response, offering a liminal space where students and faculty co-create knowledge, dismantle traditional hierarchies, and act as change agents together. We report a SaP project in which two students from under-represented groups engaged in scholarship of inclusive practice in distance learning. The key research questions were: Do student interns increase their sense of belonging, including being part of a wider university community, not limited to module or programme? Do interns consider their employability to increase via such roles? The project findings suggest that when power relationships are explicitly addressed within students-as-partners projects, student partners develop agency, employability-related skills and sense-of-belonging. SaPs can facilitate a paradigm shift from belonging to an institution towards belonging with individuals and diverse communities. Such investment in building equitable relationships among staff and students, affords opportunities for student partners to contribute richly to teaching, learning design, student experience and policy. By fostering agency through shared expertise and inclusive co-creation, SaP offers a transformative pathway towards a more vibrant and equitable learning environment for all

Lost in Transition – The Island of Susak (1951–2001)

The isolated population of the Island of Susak was thoroughly studied by a multidisciplinary team of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts in early 1950’s. Recently, a team of scientists revisited the island. This paper describes the main characteristics of the transition process during which a massive exodus occurred with 90% of the island’s population migrating to New Jersey, USA. We summarise the differences in lifestyle, economy, social structure and sense of identity between the historic (1950’s) and contemporary (2001) Susak population. We applied contemporary methods (analysis of microsatellite DNA polymorphisms) to investigate local myths about extreme levels of inbreeding and genetic homogeneity among the Susak islanders. Analysis of short-tandemrepeat (STR) loci showed that Susak displayed characteristics of a small homogeneous breeding isolate. The average heterozygosity was found to be low compared to outbred populations. The signature of a recent severe bottleneck could be detected. Analysis of 8 markers located on Xq13–21 in 71 individuals suggested extensive level of linkage disequilibrium (LD). A migrant study was designed to investigate the effects of large environmental changes (Susak vs. USA) and inbreeding (Susak vs. Croatian general population) on some biologically important quantitative traits, such as blood pressure and serum lipids. The results confirmed the positive correlation between inbreeding level and blood pressure that has been reported in the literature on several occasions. The last remnants of this traditional island community will soon be lost forever

Lost in Transition – The Island of Susak (1951–2001)

The isolated population of the Island of Susak was thoroughly studied by a multidisciplinary team of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts in early 1950’s. Recently, a team of scientists revisited the island. This paper describes the main characteristics of the transition process during which a massive exodus occurred with 90% of the island’s population migrating to New Jersey, USA. We summarise the differences in lifestyle, economy, social structure and sense of identity between the historic (1950’s) and contemporary (2001) Susak population. We applied contemporary methods (analysis of microsatellite DNA polymorphisms) to investigate local myths about extreme levels of inbreeding and genetic homogeneity among the Susak islanders. Analysis of short-tandemrepeat (STR) loci showed that Susak displayed characteristics of a small homogeneous breeding isolate. The average heterozygosity was found to be low compared to outbred populations. The signature of a recent severe bottleneck could be detected. Analysis of 8 markers located on Xq13–21 in 71 individuals suggested extensive level of linkage disequilibrium (LD). A migrant study was designed to investigate the effects of large environmental changes (Susak vs. USA) and inbreeding (Susak vs. Croatian general population) on some biologically important quantitative traits, such as blood pressure and serum lipids. The results confirmed the positive correlation between inbreeding level and blood pressure that has been reported in the literature on several occasions. The last remnants of this traditional island community will soon be lost forever

Poster: Credit Transfer in Learning: our students’ perspectives

Introductory PowerPoint slide explaining the project.</p

Living &amp; Learning in the Present and Future

This workshop will explore the mechanisms by which employability-related practices can enhance students’ current development as independent self-authoring learners and their future development as useful members of society. Students and staff from the University of St Andrews will present a synopsis of successful local initiatives, which have embedded employability within the curriculum and developed relationships between co-curricular learning and formal study. Participants will engage in round-table discussions, sharing their experiences, opinions and strategies on: accreditation/recognition of co-curricular learning; students as partners in curricular reform for employability enhancement; how employability is embedded within departmental curricula; and institutional support (or lack thereof) for skills-based learning

What do students in higher education do and what do they value?

A survey of undergraduate biology students at the University of St Andrews provides evidence that both formal and informal learning are valued by students, but there are differences in the extent to which such value is manifest in student activities. Comparisons between students with with different entry qualifications, indicated that those with "A" Levels spent more hours in attending classes; private study and social engagement via volunteer groups; sports societies and creative arts. Those with Scottish Highers spent longer hours on online social networks. As we are a Scottish university, these outcomes might be expected due to the nature of students electing to study at greater distance from their home. Such data do not provide evidence of weakness in the Scottish Education System. Our survey highlighted one point for concern: level of study is positively correlated with the number of hours spent in earning. Whilst earning can be essential, and is itself an opportunity for learning, authors such as Callender (2008) provide evidence that employment has a negative impact on achievement. When class hours are reduced in favour of individual pursuit of literature and opportunities for project collaboration, students use the hours gained to increase hours in employment; they do not increase their hours in private study.PreprintPeer reviewe