Spatial structures of student mobility: Social, economic and ethnic ‘geometries of power'

Abstract

There now exists a growing literature on educational mobilities, and this paper contributes to understanding the way contemporary youth imagine the geography of the United Kingdom and how this translates to their mobility intentions. Using Giddens and Massey and drawing on a unique multi-sited qualitative dataset, we examine how these flows can be understood as embedded within narratives of the self that are situated within a particular spatial structuring of social, economic, and ethnic difference. The multi-sited dataset provides a unique opportunity to see the simultaneity of these social relations across space, mutually shaping, and reshaping each other over time. We illustrate how embedded within imagined mobility narratives are deeply unequal structures of economic power, (re)producing oppressed and dominant positions across social and geographic space. Geometries of race and ethnicity are also shown to structure the ways in which different ethnic groups look upon the geography of their university choices. The patterning of these imagined spatial flows around the United Kingdom at the point of university entry can be interpreted as one further manifestation of deep-seated geometries of power that pervade social life.

Geographies of education: A journey

“…Moreover, quantitative and qualitative research demonstrates that spatial disparities in the delivery of education, alongside parental choice of schools, can exacerbate social in/exclusion (Butler & Hamnett, 2011;Bernelius & Vilkama, 2019;Ramos Lobato & Groos, 2019). Donnelly and Gamsu (2019) have identified and reflected on so-called "geometries of power" that shape and reinforce uneven spatial mobilities and social reproduction among young people. This suggests that pathways to education, particularly higher education, are mandated by expectations, patterned by class, gender, and particularly race, especially when reflecting on the whiteness of many university campuses (Gamsu et al, 2019).…”

Geographies of purpose built student accommodation: Exclusivity, precarity and (im)mobility

“…Despite scholars noting an increase in students choosing local HEIs (Holton & Riley, 2013; Prazeres, 2013), this paper argues that it is often less a question of choice but rather a further consequence of the neoliberalised student accommodation sector which has resulted in geographies of exclusion. Immobility is particularly prevalent among “non‐traditional” students (Christie, 2007) with disadvantaged students less likely to leave home and travel further, and therefore less likely to attend top HEIs (Donnelly & Gamsu, 2018). Donnelly & Gamsu (2018) found that over three times more students in the lowest social group in the UK commute from home than do so in the highest group (44.9% compared with 13.1%).…”

“…Immobility is particularly prevalent among “non‐traditional” students (Christie, 2007) with disadvantaged students less likely to leave home and travel further, and therefore less likely to attend top HEIs (Donnelly & Gamsu, 2018). Donnelly & Gamsu (2018) found that over three times more students in the lowest social group in the UK commute from home than do so in the highest group (44.9% compared with 13.1%). Holdsworth (2009) further argues that socially constructed assumptions of the “student experience” involving being mobile and moving “away” has created social inequalities for “immobile” students and has the potential to contribute to social and educational disadvantage (Christie, 2007).…”

Turning around coast-based schools: An interpretive narrative analysis of a report on school reform in English coastal communities

“…The negative impact of coastal school isolation and the associated inaccessibility of cultural assets, for example, colleges, businesses and the creative industries, that could offer opportunities for enriching school experiences (Donnelly & Gamsu, 2018), have been put forward to explain the variance in pupil progression to higher education. Moreover, the inadequacy of younger pupils’ aspirations and their families who appear to be disengaged regarding advancing children’s life chances through gaining higher level qualifications, has been cited by some as being an underlying reason for deficit transition pathways (Bridge Group, 2019).…”