Spatial imaginaries and the student learning journey in higher education: transition as a contested space

Abstract

This paper examines the notion of spatial imaginaries as a means of understanding, interpreting and challenging unspoken norms of university life, through an investigation of the transition experiences of self-identified ‘at-risk’ students in a regional university in Australia. Taking an actor-orientated perspective, the authors’ focus is an examination of students’ subjective motivations in forming a collective movement. It is argued that the Learning Circle approach adopted in a first year experience support program contributed to wider social changes for the participants and significantly impacted on their discourse and practice of university life. The human geography notion of spatial imaginaries is seen as a means by which tertiary educators can gain a better understanding of how to scaffold students’ learning journeys and how to support students in their construction of a ‘sense of place’, while at the same time affording students an opportunity to explore their engagement and sense of connectedness in what for many is initially a contested space.