Student Emotions Matter
Understanding and Responding to Taught Postgraduate Student Experience through the lens of Well-Being
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14297/jpaap.v8i1.426Keywords:
taught postgraduate student experience, well-being, emotion, action researchAbstract
Increasingly, the taught postgraduate student experience is being recognised as a complex journey influenced by a multiplicity of interconnected factors that are institution-related, discipline specific, and socio-culturally informed. This emergent recognition of the complexity of being a TPG student underpinned the research study reported in this paper; well-being was conceptualised as central to the student experience and interconnected with five facets of the student journey. It was explored through the lens of emotion and as an independent variable. Guided by principles of pragmatism, the study followed an action research approach seeking the perceptions of TPG students engaged in academic study and in turn reports the findings relating to their student experience. This paper reports on findings from year 1 (2017-18 academic year) of a 3-year longitudinal study. Data were collected in 2 phases using an online survey followed by focus group interviews and then underwent thematic analysis. Our findings reinforce and further inform the understanding that the TPG student experience is uniquely complex. Through our exploration we have come to understand TPG student experience as an emotionally rich process influenced by three dimensions of the student journey, degree of connectedness; effectiveness of supports; and quality of communication, that elicit threat or challenge appraisals based on perceived demands and coping resources, triggering emotion responses that impact well-being, and learner engagement.
Keywords: taught postgraduate student experience, well-being, emotion, action research
References
References
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Beer, C., & Lawson, C. (2017). The problem of student attrition in higher education: an alternative perspective. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 41(6), 773-784.
Boekaerts, M. (1993). Being concerned with well-being and with learning. Educational Psychologist, 28(2), 149-167.
Boud, D. (1990). Assessment and the promotion of academic values. Studies in Higher Education, 15(1), 101-111.
Brown, R. (2018). Research Handbook on Quality, Performance and Accountability in Higher Education. In Hazelkorn, E., Coates, H., & McCormick, A., 35 Changing Patterns of Accountability in the UK: from QA to TEF. (pp. 457-470). Northampton, MA.
Callison, D. (2007). Action research. School Library Media Activities Monthly, 23(10), 40.
Cann, A. (2014). Engaging students with audio feedback. Bioscience Education, 22(1), 31-41.
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2002). Research Methods in Education. London: Routledge.
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2018). Research Methods in Education (Eighth edition). Abingdon: Oxon.
Coneyworth, L., Jessop, R., Maden, P., & White, G. (2019). The overlooked cohort?– improving the taught postgraduate student experience in higher education. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 1-12. DOI: 10.1080/14703297.2019.1617184
Crosling, G., Heagney, M., & Thomas, L. (2009). Improving student retention in higher education: improving teaching and learning. Australian Universities' Review, The, 51(2), 9.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2008). Hedonia, eudaimonia, and well-being: an introduction. Journal of Happiness Studies, 9(1), 1-11.
Yvonne Feilzer, M. (2010). Doing mixed methods research pragmatically: Implications for the rediscovery of pragmatism as a research paradigm. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 4(1), 6-16.
Fisher, A. J., Mendoza-Denton, R., Patt, C., Young, I., Eppig, A., Garrell, R. L., Douglas, C. R., Nelson, T. W., & Richards, M. A. (2019). Structure and belonging: Pathways to success for underrepresented minority and women PhD students in STEM fields. PloS one, 14(1), e0209279. Retrieved from https://authors.library.caltech.edu/92244/1/journal.pone.0209279.pdf
Gale, T., & Parker, S. (2014). Navigating change: a typology of student transition in higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 39(5), 734-753.
Gunn, A. (2018). Metrics and methodologies for measuring teaching quality in higher education: developing the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF). Educational Review, 70(2), 129-148. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00131911.2017.1410106
Hardwick, L., & Worsley, A. (2011). The invisibility of practitioner research. Practice, 23(3), 135-146.
Henard, F., & Roseveare, D. (2012). Fostering Quality Teaching in Higher Education: Policies and Practices. An IMHE Guide for Higher Education Institutions, 7-11. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/education/imhe/QT%20policies%20and%20practices.pdf
Heussi, A. (2012). Postgraduate student perceptions of the transition into postgraduate study. Student Engagement and Experience Journal, 1(3), 1-13.
Houghton, A. M., & Anderson, J. (2017). Embedding mental wellbeing in the curriculum: maximising success in higher education. Higher Education Academy, 68. Retrieved from https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/embedding-mental-wellbeing-curriculum-maximising-success-higher-education
Jamieson, J. P., Hangen, E. J., Lee, H. Y., & Yeager, D. S. (2018). Capitalizing on appraisal processes to improve affective responses to social stress. Emotion Review, 10(1), 30-39.
Jindal-Snape, D., & Rienties, B. (2016). Understanding Multiple and Multi-Dimensional Transitions of International Higher Education Students. Multi-Dimensional Transitions of International Students to Higher Education: New Perspectives on Learning and Instruction. London: Routledge, 1-16.
Keyes, C. L. (2005). Mental illness and/or mental health? Investigating axioms of the complete state model of health. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73(3), 539.
Lazarus, R. S., & Smith, C. A. (1990). Emotion and Adaptation. In Pervin, L. A., & John, O. P. (Eds.), Handbook of Personality: Theory and Research (pp. 609-637). Elsevier. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Craig_Smith11/publication/232438867_Emotion_and_Adaptation/links/00463536ae7d206717000000.pdf
Maassen, P. A. (1996). The concept of culture and higher education. Tertiary Education & Management, 2(2), 153-159.
Macionis, J. J., & Plummer, K. (2012). Sociology: A global introduction, 5th (edn.). Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.
Matheson, R., & Sutcliffe, M. (2018). Belonging and transition: an exploration of international business students’ postgraduate experience. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 55(5), 602-610.
McPherson, C., Punch, S., & Graham, E. A. (2017). Transitions from undergraduate to taught postgraduate study: emotion, integration and ambiguity. Journal of Perspectives in Applied Academic Practice, 5(2), 42-50.
May, V. (2011). Self, Belonging and Social Change. Sociology, 45(3), 363–378. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038511399624
Mezirow, J. (2000). Learning to Think Like an Adult: Core Concepts in Transformation Theory. In Meziro, J. (ed.), Learning as Transformation: Critical Perspectives on a Theory in Progress (pp. 3-33). The Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult Education Series. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.463.1039&rep=rep1&type=pdf
Miller, L. (2003). Belonging to country—a philosophical anthropology. Journal of Australian Studies, 27(76), 215-223. Retrieved from http://api-network.com/main/pdf/scholars/jas76_miller.pdf
Morgan, M., & Direito, I. (2016). Entry to study expectations of science, technology, engineering and mathematics postgraduate taught students. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 228, 561-566. Retrieved from https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S1877042816310126?token=80689EE4524E38FB0FA2508083D96A85CF3B19D6F2B8EF6DE780672D9B2B57918C5327245129E2E7D06425000D080804
Muijs, D., & Bokhove, C. (2017). Postgraduate student satisfaction: a multilevel analysis of PTES data. British Educational Research Journal, 43(5), 904-930. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/berj.3294
O’Neill, M., Tobbell, J., O’Donnell, V., & Lawthom, R. (2007). Transition to postgraduate study: does practice reflect policy. In Sociocultural Theory in Education Conference.
QAA (2018) UK Quality Code, Advice and Guidance: Learning and Teaching. Retrieved from https://www.qaa.ac.uk/quality-code/advice-and-guidance/learning-and-teaching#
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2001). On happiness and human potentials: a review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Annual review of psychology, 52(1), 141-166.
Ryff, C. D., & Singer, B. (1998). The contours of positive human health. Psychological Inquiry, 9(1), 1-28.
Seligman, M. E. (2012). Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being. Simon and Schuster.
Steuer, N., Marks, N., & Murphy, M. M. (2008). University Challenge: Towards a Well-Being Approach to Quality in Higher Education. New Economics Foundation. Retrieved from https://neweconomics.org/uploads/files/176e59e9cc07f9e21c_qkm6iby2y.pdf
Taylor, E. W. (2017). Transformative Learning Theory. In Laros, A., Furh, T., & Taylor, E. (eds), Transformative Learning Meets Bildung (pp. 17-29). Brill Sense. Retrieved from https://www.sensepublishers.com/media/3021-transformative-learning-meets-bildung.pdf
Tennant, R., Hiller, L., Fishwick, R., Platt, S., Joseph, S., Weich, S, Parkinson, J., Secker, J., & Stewart-Brown, S. (2007). The Warwick-Edinburgh mental well-being scale (WEMWBS): development and UK validation. Health and Quality of life Outcomes, 5(1), 63. Retrieved from https://hqlo.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1477-7525-5-63
Temple, P., Callender, C., Grove, L., & Kersh, N. (2014). Managing the student experience in a shifting higher education landscape. The Higher Education Academy, 1(1), 1-25. Retrieved from https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/sites/default/files/resources/managing_the_student_experience.pdf
Tobbell, J., & O’Donnell, V. L. (2013). Transition to postgraduate study: postgraduate ecological systems and identity. Cambridge Journal of Education, 43(1), 123-138.
Universities UK. (2016). Student Experience: Measuring Expectations and Outcomes. Retrieved from https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/policy-and-analysis/reports/Documents/2016/student-experience-measuring-expectations-and-outcomes.pdf
Ward, C., Bochner, S., & Furnham, A. (2005). The Psychology of Culture Shock (2nd Ed). East Sussex: Routledge.
Whannell, R., & Whannell, P. (2015). Identity theory as a theoretical framework to understand attrition for university students in transition. Student Success, 6(2), 43-53.
World Health Organisation (2014). Promoting Mental Health: Concepts, Emerging Evidence, Practice (Summary Report). Geneva. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/mental_health/evidence/en/promoting_mhh.pdf
Ai, B. (2017). Constructing an academic identity in Australia: an auto-ethnographic narrative. Higher Education Research & Development, 36(6), 1095-1107.
Beer, C., & Lawson, C. (2017). The problem of student attrition in higher education: an alternative perspective. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 41(6), 773-784.
Boekaerts, M. (1993). Being concerned with well-being and with learning. Educational Psychologist, 28(2), 149-167.
Boud, D. (1990). Assessment and the promotion of academic values. Studies in Higher Education, 15(1), 101-111.
Brown, R. (2018). Research Handbook on Quality, Performance and Accountability in Higher Education. In Hazelkorn, E., Coates, H., & McCormick, A., 35 Changing Patterns of Accountability in the UK: from QA to TEF. (pp. 457-470). Northampton, MA.
Callison, D. (2007). Action research. School Library Media Activities Monthly, 23(10), 40.
Cann, A. (2014). Engaging students with audio feedback. Bioscience Education, 22(1), 31-41.
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2002). Research Methods in Education. London: Routledge.
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2018). Research Methods in Education (Eighth edition). Abingdon: Oxon.
Coneyworth, L., Jessop, R., Maden, P., & White, G. (2019). The overlooked cohort?– improving the taught postgraduate student experience in higher education. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 1-12. DOI: 10.1080/14703297.2019.1617184
Crosling, G., Heagney, M., & Thomas, L. (2009). Improving student retention in higher education: improving teaching and learning. Australian Universities' Review, The, 51(2), 9.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2008). Hedonia, eudaimonia, and well-being: an introduction. Journal of Happiness Studies, 9(1), 1-11.
Yvonne Feilzer, M. (2010). Doing mixed methods research pragmatically: Implications for the rediscovery of pragmatism as a research paradigm. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 4(1), 6-16.
Fisher, A. J., Mendoza-Denton, R., Patt, C., Young, I., Eppig, A., Garrell, R. L., Douglas, C. R., Nelson, T. W., & Richards, M. A. (2019). Structure and belonging: Pathways to success for underrepresented minority and women PhD students in STEM fields. PloS one, 14(1), e0209279. Retrieved from https://authors.library.caltech.edu/92244/1/journal.pone.0209279.pdf
Gale, T., & Parker, S. (2014). Navigating change: a typology of student transition in higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 39(5), 734-753.
Gunn, A. (2018). Metrics and methodologies for measuring teaching quality in higher education: developing the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF). Educational Review, 70(2), 129-148. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00131911.2017.1410106
Hardwick, L., & Worsley, A. (2011). The invisibility of practitioner research. Practice, 23(3), 135-146.
Henard, F., & Roseveare, D. (2012). Fostering Quality Teaching in Higher Education: Policies and Practices. An IMHE Guide for Higher Education Institutions, 7-11. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/education/imhe/QT%20policies%20and%20practices.pdf
Heussi, A. (2012). Postgraduate student perceptions of the transition into postgraduate study. Student Engagement and Experience Journal, 1(3), 1-13.
Houghton, A. M., & Anderson, J. (2017). Embedding mental wellbeing in the curriculum: maximising success in higher education. Higher Education Academy, 68. Retrieved from https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/embedding-mental-wellbeing-curriculum-maximising-success-higher-education
Jamieson, J. P., Hangen, E. J., Lee, H. Y., & Yeager, D. S. (2018). Capitalizing on appraisal processes to improve affective responses to social stress. Emotion Review, 10(1), 30-39.
Jindal-Snape, D., & Rienties, B. (2016). Understanding Multiple and Multi-Dimensional Transitions of International Higher Education Students. Multi-Dimensional Transitions of International Students to Higher Education: New Perspectives on Learning and Instruction. London: Routledge, 1-16.
Keyes, C. L. (2005). Mental illness and/or mental health? Investigating axioms of the complete state model of health. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73(3), 539.
Lazarus, R. S., & Smith, C. A. (1990). Emotion and Adaptation. In Pervin, L. A., & John, O. P. (Eds.), Handbook of Personality: Theory and Research (pp. 609-637). Elsevier. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Craig_Smith11/publication/232438867_Emotion_and_Adaptation/links/00463536ae7d206717000000.pdf
Maassen, P. A. (1996). The concept of culture and higher education. Tertiary Education & Management, 2(2), 153-159.
Macionis, J. J., & Plummer, K. (2012). Sociology: A global introduction, 5th (edn.). Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.
Matheson, R., & Sutcliffe, M. (2018). Belonging and transition: an exploration of international business students’ postgraduate experience. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 55(5), 602-610.
McPherson, C., Punch, S., & Graham, E. A. (2017). Transitions from undergraduate to taught postgraduate study: emotion, integration and ambiguity. Journal of Perspectives in Applied Academic Practice, 5(2), 42-50.
May, V. (2011). Self, Belonging and Social Change. Sociology, 45(3), 363–378. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038511399624
Mezirow, J. (2000). Learning to Think Like an Adult: Core Concepts in Transformation Theory. In Meziro, J. (ed.), Learning as Transformation: Critical Perspectives on a Theory in Progress (pp. 3-33). The Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult Education Series. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.463.1039&rep=rep1&type=pdf
Miller, L. (2003). Belonging to country—a philosophical anthropology. Journal of Australian Studies, 27(76), 215-223. Retrieved from http://api-network.com/main/pdf/scholars/jas76_miller.pdf
Morgan, M., & Direito, I. (2016). Entry to study expectations of science, technology, engineering and mathematics postgraduate taught students. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 228, 561-566. Retrieved from https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S1877042816310126?token=80689EE4524E38FB0FA2508083D96A85CF3B19D6F2B8EF6DE780672D9B2B57918C5327245129E2E7D06425000D080804
Muijs, D., & Bokhove, C. (2017). Postgraduate student satisfaction: a multilevel analysis of PTES data. British Educational Research Journal, 43(5), 904-930. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/berj.3294
O’Neill, M., Tobbell, J., O’Donnell, V., & Lawthom, R. (2007). Transition to postgraduate study: does practice reflect policy. In Sociocultural Theory in Education Conference.
QAA (2018) UK Quality Code, Advice and Guidance: Learning and Teaching. Retrieved from https://www.qaa.ac.uk/quality-code/advice-and-guidance/learning-and-teaching#
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2001). On happiness and human potentials: a review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Annual review of psychology, 52(1), 141-166.
Ryff, C. D., & Singer, B. (1998). The contours of positive human health. Psychological Inquiry, 9(1), 1-28.
Seligman, M. E. (2012). Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being. Simon and Schuster.
Steuer, N., Marks, N., & Murphy, M. M. (2008). University Challenge: Towards a Well-Being Approach to Quality in Higher Education. New Economics Foundation. Retrieved from https://neweconomics.org/uploads/files/176e59e9cc07f9e21c_qkm6iby2y.pdf
Taylor, E. W. (2017). Transformative Learning Theory. In Laros, A., Furh, T., & Taylor, E. (eds), Transformative Learning Meets Bildung (pp. 17-29). Brill Sense. Retrieved from https://www.sensepublishers.com/media/3021-transformative-learning-meets-bildung.pdf
Tennant, R., Hiller, L., Fishwick, R., Platt, S., Joseph, S., Weich, S, Parkinson, J., Secker, J., & Stewart-Brown, S. (2007). The Warwick-Edinburgh mental well-being scale (WEMWBS): development and UK validation. Health and Quality of life Outcomes, 5(1), 63. Retrieved from https://hqlo.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1477-7525-5-63
Temple, P., Callender, C., Grove, L., & Kersh, N. (2014). Managing the student experience in a shifting higher education landscape. The Higher Education Academy, 1(1), 1-25. Retrieved from https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/sites/default/files/resources/managing_the_student_experience.pdf
Tobbell, J., & O’Donnell, V. L. (2013). Transition to postgraduate study: postgraduate ecological systems and identity. Cambridge Journal of Education, 43(1), 123-138.
Universities UK. (2016). Student Experience: Measuring Expectations and Outcomes. Retrieved from https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/policy-and-analysis/reports/Documents/2016/student-experience-measuring-expectations-and-outcomes.pdf
Ward, C., Bochner, S., & Furnham, A. (2005). The Psychology of Culture Shock (2nd Ed). East Sussex: Routledge.
Whannell, R., & Whannell, P. (2015). Identity theory as a theoretical framework to understand attrition for university students in transition. Student Success, 6(2), 43-53.
World Health Organisation (2014). Promoting Mental Health: Concepts, Emerging Evidence, Practice (Summary Report). Geneva. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/mental_health/evidence/en/promoting_mhh.pdf
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