Rethinking belonging through Bourdieu, diaspora and the spatial

Abstract

As part of my doctoral research into the impact of retention strategies on part-time, mature undergraduates in English higher education (HE), this paper interrogates the discourse of 'belonging', prominent in retention literature. A 'sense of belonging is considered critical to both retention and success' (Thomas 2012:1) an approach influenced by Tinto's interactionalist theory of student departure (1975) which highlights integration and congruency as conditions of student persistence. The multiple identities of part-time, mature undergraduates, cross-cut by age, gender, race and class, position them on the periphery of HE. This potentially restricts their access to means of belonging recognised and validated in dominant institutional discourses. The paper problematises 'belonging', employing Brah's concept of diaspora (1996) and Massey's spatial concepts to support and enrich a Bourdieusian analysis. In doing so, it works in 'theoretical borderlands' (Abes, 2009:190) extending theoretical territory to capture the complexities of part-time, mature undergraduate studentship.

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Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning
Volume 17, Number 1, March 2015 ISSN: 1466-6529
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Rethinking belonging through Bourdieu,
diaspora and the spatial
Kate Thomas
Birkbeck, University of London
Email: kate.thomas@sps.bbk.ac.uk
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5456/WPLL.17.1.37
Abstract As part of my doctoral research into the impact of retention strategies
on part-time, mature undergraduates in English higher education (HE), this paper
LQWHUURJDWHV WKH GLVFRXUVH RI µEHORQJLQJ¶ SURPLQHQW LQ UHWHQWLRQ OLWHUDWXUH  $
µVHQVHRI EHORQJLQJ LV FRQVLGHUHGFULWLFDO WRERWKUHWHQWLRQDQG VXFFHVV¶ 7KRPDV
 DQ DSSURDFK LQIOXHQFHG E\ 7LQWR¶V LQWHUDFWLRQDOLVW WKHRU\ of student
departure (1975) which highlights integration and congruency as conditions of
student persistence. The multiple identities of part-time, mature undergraduates,
cross-cut by age, gender, race and class, position them on the periphery of HE.
This potentially restricts their access to means of belonging recognised and
validated in dominant institutional discourses. The paper problematises
µEHORQJLQJ¶ HPSOR\LQJ %UDK¶V FRQFHSW RI GLDVSRUD  DQG 0DVVH\¶V VSDWLDO
concepts to support and enrich a Bourdieusian analysis. In doing so, it works in
µWKHRUHWLFDO ERUGHUODQGV¶ $EHV  H[WHQGLQJ WKHRUHWLFDO WHUULWRU\ WR
capture the complexities of part-time, mature undergraduate studentship.
Keywords: higher education, part-time, mature, retention, belonging, Bourdieu,
diaspora, space, power
Context
This paper emerges from doctoral research which aims to develop and
enhance theoretical understandings and practical and policy implications of
WKHLPSDFWRI(QJOLVKXQLYHUVLWLHV¶UHWHQWLRQVWUDWHJLHV RQ SDUW-time, mature
undergraduates. The research project is a response to a dearth of literature
addressing the impact of institutional retention strategies in higher education
(HE) in general, but particularly in relation to part-time, mature
undergraduates. The empirical research will take a multiple case study
approach involving four English higher educational institutions (HEIs)
offering face-to-face, part-time, first degree provision. The emphasis of this
paper however, is theoretical; it problematises the discourse of belonging in
relation to retentioQ LQ +( DQG UHWKLQNV µEHORQJLQJ¶ WKURXJK D ERUGHUODQG
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%RXUGLHX¶V WKHRUHWLFDO IUDPHZRUN RI KDELWXV ILHOG DQG FDSLWDO RQ %UDK¶V
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through ideas of power, identity and space/place. Abes suggests that, since
all theoretical perspectivHV DUH LQFRPSOHWH µWR UHDOL]H WKH FRPSOH[LW\ RI
student development it is important to use multiple theoretical perspectives
LQFRQMXQFWLRQZLWKRQHDQRWKHUHYHQZKHQWKH\FRQWUDGLFW¶
Why rethink belonging?
Belonging is a prominent discourse within the literature of retention.
Retention itself is an institution-focussed term, concerned with the
measurement of learning within narrow, time-limited parameters and with
the measurement of institutional efficiency (Yorke and Longden, 2004:5).
II VWXGHQWV OHDYH EHIRUH WKH HQGRI WKHLU FRXUVH WKLV WHQGV WR EH µSHUFHLYHG
unproblematically as negative both for the institution and for the (former)
VWXGHQW¶ +HZLWW DQG 5RVH-Adams, 2013:162). However, student
engagement ± and disengagement - with HE is structured by age and mode
of study as well as gender, ethnicity, and socio-economic and educational
background. There is a significantly higher withdrawal rate for part-time
undergraduates compared with full-time (HESA, 2014). Overall, older
students are at a higher risk of early withdrawal than younger and degree
completion rates decrease as the age of students on commencement
increases (HEFCE, 2009:42).
7KRPDVDUJXHVEHORQJLQJLQ+(LVµFORVHO\DOLJQHGZLWKWKHFRQFHSWVRI
academic and social engagHPHQW¶  DQ DSSURDFK LQIOXHQFHG E\
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integration and congruency as conditions of student persistence. She argues
for explicit institutional commitment to nurturing and valuLQJµD FXOWXUH RI
EHORQJLQJ¶DQGWKDWDµVHQVHRIEHORQJLQJLVFRQVLGHUHGFULWLFDOWR
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critical that all students should be able to access the means of belonging
recognised and validated in dominant institutional discourses? Yet
LQVWLWXWLRQDO UHWHQWLRQ VWUDWHJLHV WHQG WR UHO\ RQ D QDUURZ YHUVLRQ RI µD
VWXGHQW¶RIWHQSURPRWLQJWDFLWDVVXPSWLRQVWKDWDW\SLFDO+(VWXGHQWLVIXOO-
time, young, time-rich and at least initially, resident on campus. Who
belongs in HE and what is it they are expected to belong to? This paper will
DUJXH WKDW WKH GLVFRXUVH RI µEHORQJLQJ LQ +(¶LV SUREOHPDWLF LQ UHODWLRQWR
part-time, mature undergraduates whose multiple identities, cross-cut by
DJH JHQGHU UDFH DQG FODVV SRVLWLRQ WKHP RQ +(¶V SHULSKHU\ UHVWULFWLQJ
access to those practices of belonging.
/LNHUHWHQWLRQWKHGLVFRXUVHRIµEHORQJLQJ¶LQ+(LVVKDSHGE\DQDUURZ
student profile. Thomas argues that those who find it most difficult to
develop social bonds are those who do not participate in clubs, societies, the
6WXGHQW 8QLRQ DQG VKDUHG OLYLQJ DUUDQJHPHQWV LH µVWXGHQWV ZKR OLYH DW
home, are part-time, older and/or are on courses with extended
contact/workplace hours¶ (ibid:5). These ways of engaging with HE are,

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7KRPDV VWDWHV IDFWRUV ZKLFK µPDNH LW PRUH GLIILFXOW IRU VWXGHQWs to fully
participate, integrate and feel like they belong in HE, which can impact on
WKHLU UHWHQWLRQ DQG VXFFHVV¶ LELG  7KRPDV¶V DUJXPHQWV UHIHUHQFH 7LQWR¶V
PRGHORI VWXGHQWGHSDUWXUH ZKLFKHQMR\V µQHDU SDUDGLJPDWLFVWDWXV¶
(Braxton, 2000) in the US literature. Tinto emphasises the requirement for a
match between institution and student and for integration in both academic
and social spheres. Persistence, according to this model, is a function of the
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7LQWR DUJXHV QHZ VWXGHQWV QHHG WR µEHFRPH FRPSHtent members of
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recognises the role of the institution in student persistence and the need for
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institution which are culturally specific to the US and not transferable to UK
V\VWHPV¶2]JDDQG6XNKQDQGDQ), EXWDOVREHFDXVHLWLVµEDVHGRQ
academically and socio-economically more homogenous, full-WLPH FRKRUWV¶
(Herzog, 2005: 886).
Part-time undergraduates in the UK are overwhelmingly likely to be 21
years or over on commencement of their studies, meeting the UCAS
GHILQLWLRQ RI µPDWXUH¶   7KH\ DUH µD GLIILFXOW JURXS WR TXDQWLI\
defined as much by what they are not: full-time, young, as by the diverse
attributes RI WKHFRKRUW DVDZKROH¶&DOOender, 2013:2). Although they are
frequently categorised DV µQRQ-WUDGLWLRQDO¶ RU µQRQ-VWDQGDUG¶ LH µVWXGHQWV
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WKHUH LVQR µW\SLFDO¶SDUW-time student in English HE. There are
however, defining characteristics which distinguish part-time students from
their full-time peers. They are more likely to be female, White, employed,
to be studying in a post-1992 HEI and for a sub-degree level qualification
and to have family responsibilities. Part-time undergraduates are more
likely than full-time to have lower or no prior educational qualifications and
a majority enter HE without A Level qualifications. However, they are also
more likely than full-time undergraduates to have higher entry qualifications
including first degrees. Although Yorke (1999) found that part-time
students are less likely to make poor decisions re: their course, employment
and family commitments, meanwhile part-time, mature undergraduates are
less mobile than their full-time peers and more likely to make a single
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wrong choice and as Rose-Adams (2012) reports, students applying with a
single choice or through Clearing or are more likely to leave early. The
majority of full-time undergraduates are studying for first degrees with only
10% studying for other undergraduate qualifications. In contrast, outside
the Open University, a minority of part-time students (37%) are studying for
D ILUVW GHJUHH DQG WKH PDMRULW\  µDUH ZRUNLQJ WRZDUGV Rther

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undergraduate qualifications: Foundation degrees, Higher National
'LSORPD +LJKHU 1DWLRQDO &HUWLILFDWH DQG PRGXOHV DW /HYHO  DQG DERYH¶
(Pollard et al, 2012:54), including professional continuing professional
development qualifications.
These cohort attributes have several implications for retention. Firstly,
the multiple responsibilities which accrue with age, including employment,
family and caring commitments, mean that part-time, mature
XQGHUJUDGXDWHV¶ OHDUQLQJ FDUHHUV DUH PRUH YXOQHrable to disruption by
external factors: redundancy, relocation, family break-up or illness.
Secondly, adapting to an academic environment and workload in the first
year can present particular challenges for those part-time, mature
undergraduates accessing HE with lower and non-traditional qualifications
and/or after sustained breaks from formal education. Thirdly, their life stage
and the multiple roles they are simultaneously enacting, impact on the way
they are positioned and position themselves in relation to HE. Fuller
GHVFULEHV WKH H[SHULHQFHV RI ZRUNLQJ XQGHUJUDGXDWHV DV µK\EULG IRUPV RI
SDUWLFLSDWLRQ«DWZR-way navigation between studentship and employment
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trajectories¶(2007:224). Schuller and Watson (1999) report that part-time
students working full-time are more likely to identify themselves as workers
who study. Fourthly, assuming that external conditions remain stable
enough to sustain part-time degree study, then the longer the study period,
the greater the commitment and motivation required for the individual to
complete it and the more robust the longer-term relationship is required to
be between the institution and the individual.
Multiple commitments and emotional ties outside the campus boundaries
also challenge the emphasis on social engagement and integration within
retention literature (Tinto, 1975; Thomas, 2012), which is implicitly critical
RI D µKLJKO\ LQVWUXPHQWDO DSSURDFK WR +(¶ (Thomas, 2012:18). Part-time,
PDWXUH XQGHUJUDGXDWHV¶ absence, as well as their difference is regarded as
problematic in relation to belonging and retention. This is not to deny the
contribution of social engagement to a sense of belonging, but assumptions
as to where and how that engagement should take place within HE are
problematic. Extra-curricular participation in sports, volunteering and
politics are neither accessible nor necessarily of interest to those studying
alongside a career, caring or family life commitments. Ozga and
6XNKQDQGDQ ILQG WKH OLWHUDWXUH µKDV WHQGHG WR IRFXV SUHGRPLQDQWO\ RQ WKH
student as the problem and to underplay the effects of the interaction
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formalises normative assumptions, WKHUH LV D ULVN RI µSDWKRORJLVLQJ QHZ
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al, 2005:13).

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A Borderland Analysis: Spaces of Belonging
What follows is an attempt to rethink belonging in HE through a
borderland analysis. The intention is to establish a rich and dynamic
theoretical space for my investigation of belonging in the context of part-
time, mature undergraduate retention. This analysis theorises belonging in
a way which articulates differential power relationships at work within the
HE sector and in HE institutions and recognises the particularities of a
diverse and complex student cohort peripherally positioned in the sector. It
begins with a Bourdieusian analysis which theorises belonging as a
relational concept, as a practice and a product of the relations of power
embedded in the field of HE, constructed around the privileged identities of
WKHµW\SLFDO¶RUµDXWKHQWLF¶student: young, full-time and residential. It then
H[SORUHV KRZ %UDK¶V FRQFHSW RI µGLDVSRUD¶ VXSSRUWV DQG HQKDQFHV D
Bourdieusian analysis, showing belonging to be a lived, complex process,
shaped by the power relationships inherent in social structures, continually
renegotiated in contested space. These elements are underpinned and
HQKDQFHG E\ D WKLUG 0DVVH\¶V FRQFHSWV RI µVSDFH¶ DQG µSODFH¶ ZKLFK
articulate HE as a hierarchical social space, but also as diverse and unfixed,
with potential for multiple versions of imagined belonging. The borderlands
between each of the perspectives are shaped by themes of power, space and
place and, I propose, that it is in these borderlands that a rethinking of
belonging can occur.
Bourdieu: belonging as a relational concept
%RXUGLHX¶V µWKLQNLQJ WRROV¶ RI KDELWXV FDSLWDO DQG ILHOG 7, 1990)
theorise belonging as a practice and product of the relations of power
embedded in the field of HE, constructed around the privileged identities of
WKH µDXWKHQWLF¶ VWXGHQW \RXQJ DQG IXOO-time. Habitus describes the
individual¶s way of seeing, interpreting and acting in the world, in
accordance with their social position. It is internalised and consolidated in
childhood through family and educational structures and circumstances.
%RXUGLHX¶VµILHOG¶conceptualises structured social space within which social
agents - individuals, groups, institutions ± act ie: employ strategies to hold
or enhance their position. Their position is determined by capital, a concept
fundamental to Bourdieu¶s project of demonstrating how social inequality is
reproduced in both economic and symbolic spheres. Cultural capital is
acquired over time and through exposure to a particular habitus and is
embodied in the practices of social agents. It can enable an individual to
QDYLJDWHDILHOGNQRZLQJWKHµUXOHVRIWKHJDPH¶.
Bourdieu emphasises the relational; individual and group interactions
with social structure, not individual deficit. When µKDELWXV HQFRXQWHUV D
VRFLDOZRUOGRIZKLFKLWLVWKHSURGXFWLWLVOLNHD³ILVKLQZDWHU´LWGRHVQRW
feel the weight of the wDWHU DQG LW WDNHVWKHZRUOGDERXW LWVHOI IRUJUDQWHG¶

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(Bourdieu and Wacquant, 1990:127). This metaphor powerfully expresses
not only the effortless of belonging, but the uncomfortable experience of
unbelonging. Students act within the field of HE, as morHRUOHVVµNQRZLQJ
DJHQWV¶YLHZLQJ +( DVµD SULYLOHJH DULJKW RU DQHFHVVLW\ GHSHQGLQJRQ D
YDULHW\RIVWUXFWXUDOIDFWRUV«ZKLFKSRVLWLRQWKHPGLIIHUHQWO\LQUHODWLRQWR
H[SHFWDWLRQV DERXW SDUWLFLSDWLRQ LQ +(¶ %DWKPDNHU et al, 2009:119).
(QJOLVK +( µHYHQ LQ LWV SUHVHQW PDVV FRQILJXUDWLRQ « KDV UHWDLQHG PDQ\
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habitus of young middle-FODVV SHRSOH SUHGLVSRVHV WKHP WR µEHORQJ¶
µDFDGHPLF FXOWXUH SUHGRPLQDQWO\ UHIOHFWV WKH GRPLQDQW discourse of the
student as white, middle-FODVV DQG PDOH¶ 5HDG et al, 2003:261) and
µGRPLQDQWGLVFRXUVHV RIWKHDXWKHQWLF ³VWXGHQW´RIWHQ SUHVHQW WKHILUVW-year
higher education entrant as a school-leaver with little or no familial
UHVSRQVLELOLWLHV¶LELd: 265). Belonging in HE is problematic for those who
GR QRW ILW WKHVH µW\SLFDO¶ PRGHOV DQG ZKHUH WKHUH LV D PLVPDWFK EHWZHHQ
KDELWXV DQG ILHOG µindividuals experience µD VHQVH RI XQFHUWDLQW\ DQG
feelings of anxiety¶(Reay et al  ,QDQ H[WHQVLRQ RI%RXUGLHX¶V
KDELWXV7KRPDVDUJXHVWKDWDQ+(,¶VLQVWLWXWLRQDOKDELWXVGHILQHGE\5HD\
et al DV µWKH LPSDFW RI D FXOWXUDO JURXS RU VRFLDO FODVV RQ DQ LQGLYLGXDO¶s
behaviour as it mediated though an organisation¶DSDUD1.3) is the
reason why students, particularly students from lower socio-economic
JURXSVH[SHULHQFHDODFNRI FRQJUXHQF\LQWKH8.+(VHFWRUµHGXFDWLRQDO
institutions favour NQRZOHGJHDQGH[SHULHQFHVRIGRPLQDQWVRFLDOJURXSV«
to the detriment of other gURXSV¶7KRPDV   7KH IHHOLQJRI QRW
µILWWLQJ¶RUEHORQJLQJFDQOHDGWRZLWKGUDZDOµLIDVWXGHQWIHHOVWKDWWKH\GR
QRW ILW LQ WKDW WKHLU VRFLDO DQG FXOWXUDO SUDFWLFHV DUH LQDSSURSULDWH « WKH\
PD\EHPRUHLQFOLQHGWRZLWKGUDZHDUO\¶LELG
BRXUGLHX¶V UHQGHULQJ RI EHORQJLQJ DV D UHODWLRQDO FRQFHSW LV FRQYLQFLQJ
and a Bourdieusian analysis offers a widely accepted way to understand the
ways in which educational systems reproduce inequalities. It nevertheless
risks homogenising internally diverse social groups and is limited in its
articulation of belonging and not belonging as a lived experience for a
diverse and complex student cohort peripherally positioned in HE
H[SHULHQFH  6NHJJV UHIHUV WR WKH µFROG DQG PHFKDQLFDO FODVVLILFDWRU\
PDQQHU¶ RI D %RXUGLHXVLDQ DQDO\VLV ZKLFK IDLOV WR FRPPXQLFDWH µWKH
pleasures and pain associated with gender, class and sexuality ± the
DIIHFWLYH DVSHFWV RI LQHTXDOLW\¶   7KH VHFRQG HOHPHQW RI WKLV
ERUGHUODQG DQDO\VLV %UDK¶V FRQFHSW RI µGLDVSRUD¶ FRQWLQXHs to interrogate
µEHORQJLQJ¶WKURXJKLGHDVRISRZHUDQGLGHQWLW\EH\RQG%RXUGLHX¶VµILVKRXW
of water¶
Brah and diaspora: belonging in contested space
%UDK¶V µGLDVSRUD¶  is not a descriptive category of historical
H[SHULHQFHEXW µDQ LQWHUSUHWLYHframe for analysing the economic, political
DQG FXOWXUDO PRGDOLWLHV RI KLVWRULFDOO\ VSHFLILF IRUPV RI PLJUDQF\¶ %UDK

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Volume 17, Number 1, March 2015 ISSN: 1466-6529
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  7KLV IUHHV WKH FRQFHSW IURP µSDUWLFXODU PDSV DQG KLVWRULHV¶
(Clifford, 1994:303) to do the work of mapping contested territories and
trajectories of privilege and disadvantage in social contexts. Diaspora asks
µQRW VLPSO\ ZKR WUDYHOV EXW ZKHQ KRZ DQG XQGHU ZKDW FLUFXPVWDQFHV"¶
(Brah,1996:179). Brah offers a model of relational positioning which
uncovers:
regimes of power which operate to differentiate one group from
another; to represent them as similar or different; to include or
H[FOXGH WKHP IURP FRQVWUXFWLRQV RI WKH µQDWLRQ¶ DQG WKH ERG\
politic (ibid:180)
5HODWLRQDO SRVLWLRQLQJ VKDSHV WKH µOLYHG H[SHULHQFH RI D ORFDOLW\¶
(ibid:189), PHDQLQJ WKDW µWKH VDPH JHRJUDSKLFDO VSDFH FRPHV WR DUWLFXODWH
GLIIHUHQWKLVWRULHVDQGPHDQLQJV VXFK WKDWµKRPH¶can simultaneously be a
place of safety and terror¶ (ibid:2   'LDVSRUD¶V VXEWH[WV RI µKRPH¶ DQG
µGLVSODFHPHQW¶LQWHUURJDWHWKHFRPSOH[LW\RIEHORQJLQJLQDFRQWHVWHGVSDFH
DVNLQJµZKDWLVWKHGLIIHUHQFHEHWZHHQIHHOLQJDWKRPHDQGVWDNLQJDFODLP
WRD SODFHDV RQH¶VRZQ"¶LELG 7KH SURFHVVRI GLVSODFHPent can be
applied to the experiences of all new students at the start of their HE
journey. In reorienting themselves within a new environment, they invest
spaces of HE with meaning through interaction with departmental buildings,
libraries and social spaces. Investing meaning in space which transforms it
WR µSODFH¶ requires commitment and anticipates a return; it is an affective
SURFHVVFORVHO\DVVRFLDWHGZLWKEHORQJLQJµWKHGHVLUHIRUPRUHWKDQZKDWLV
« IRU VRPH VRUW RI DWWDFKPHQW¶ (Probyn, 1996:6). Cashmore et al (2012)
found that undergraduates reported a high degree of sense of belonging to a
particular place within the university, most usually a departmental building
or a small campus. Yet HE and its campuses are not neutral spaces. They
are ruled and boundaried by the power relationships of the academy and the
sector:
produced DQG VWDELOLVHG E\ « GRPLQDQW JURXSV ZKR RFFXS\
them, such that they develop hegemonic cultures through which
power operates to systematically define ways of being and to
mark out those who are in place or out of place (Valentine,
2008:18)
The concept of belonging as universal, uniform or straightforward is
problematised E\ µSUDFWLFHV RI ERXQGDU\ PDNLQJ DQG LQKDELWDWLRQ ZKLFK
signal that a particular collection of people, practices, performances, ideas
DUHPHDQWWREHLQDSODFH¶0HHDQG:Uight, 2009:772).
This applies to both concrete and more abstract aspects of the experience
of HE. Read et al¶V VWXG\  RI FRQFHSWLRQV RI µEHORQJLQJ¶ and
µLVRODWLRQ¶among non-traditional students at a post-1992 university argues
that non-traditional students often choose to apply to new, post-1992
universities in order to increase their chances of belonging in academic
culture¶(263). Mature, working class and minority ethnic students in their

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Volume 17, Number 1, March 2015 ISSN: 1466-6529
44
study perceived the post-1992 HEI as an environment in which they can
belong. However,
even in an institution where there are significant numbers of
VWXGHQWVRIWKHVDPHDJHFODVVDQGRUHWKQLFLW\«WKHGRPLQDQW
culture of academia meant that many students continue to
experience isolation and alienation oncHLQVLGH WKHLQVWLWXWLRQ«
the choice of a new university has not enabled them to fully
³EHORQJ´LQWKHHQYLURQPHQWRIDFDGHPLD (ibid:272)
At a practical level, campus social spaces emphasising alcohol, music
and youth culture and facilities inaccessible in twilight hours can alienate
and exclude older, part-time students. The multiplicity inherent in the
concept of diaspora e[WHQGV WR DQ LGHD RI LGHQWLW\ µthe multiplicity of
VXEMHFW SRVLWLRQV WKDW FRQVWLWXWH D VXEMHFW¶ LELG  3DUW-time, mature
undergraduates negotiate a learner identity alongside multiple and
prioritised identities (Jackson, 2008) as employee, parent, carer, adult
citizen. These multiple identities mediate their engagement with HE and
impact not only upon their capacity to meet normative criteria for
belonging, but also, arguably, upon their need to belong. Part-time mature
undergraduates may resist exclusionary politics of belonging by forming
informal study groups located in marginal, virtual or in-between spaces of
learning liIH FDIHV VWXGHQWV¶ KRPHV RU WKURXJK RQOLQH VRFLDO QHWZRUNV
-DFNVRQ DUJXHV WKHVH µVDIH VSDFHV RI DIILUPDWLRQ RIIHU D « VHQVH RI
EHORQJLQJ«LQ WKH VSDFHV RI VRFLDOLW\ FUHDWHG DURXQG SULRULWLVHG LGHQWLWLHV
WKDW DUH RWKHUZLVH PDUJLQDOLVHG¶   +RZever, this practice of
belonging away from the institutional gaze is usually invisible or
undervalued in terms of strategy.
/LNH%RXUGLHX¶VWKHRUHWLFDOIUDPHZRUN%UDK¶VµGLDVSRUD¶GRHVWKHZRUN
of describing the uneven distribution of power, but also succeeds in
conveying the complexity of lived experience and inequality. The dynamic
engagement between physical, political and emotional space in diaspora is
HQFDSVXODWHG LQ WKH FRPSDQLRQ FRQFHSW RI µGLDVSRUD VSDFH¶ WKH
µLQWHUVHFWLRQDOLW\ RI GLDVSRUD Eorder and dis/location¶ (Brah, 1996:178)
inhabited:
QRW RQO\ E\ WKRVH ZKR KDYH PLJUDWHG « EXW HTXDOO\ E\ WKRVH
ZKRDUH FRQVWUXFWHGDQG UHSUHVHQWHGDV LQGLJHQRXV « DQG ZKR
occupy the indigene subject position as the privileged space of
legitimate claims of belonging. (1996:178)
,Q WKH GLDVSRUD VSDFH RI +( LI WKH µW\SLFDO¶ RU µDXWKHQWLF¶ KLJKHU
HGXFDWLRQVWXGHQW HTXDWHV WR WKHµLQGLJHQRXV¶RFFXSDQWZLWKWKHFRQVHTXHQW
claim to belonging, non-traditional students, including part-time (and)
mature students equate to migrants whose claim to belonging is contested.
Brah sees the potential for diaspora spaces to be reshaped through a
µPXOWLWXGHRIERUGHUFURVVLQJV¶LELGLQZKLFKdiasporic groups interact
with each other as well as with the indigenous occupants to negotiate new

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45
forms of relationship and identity, to re-inscribe and reconstitute (ibid). In
diaspora spaces, belonging is a continually renegotiated process. It is this
transformative potential which characterises WKHERUGHUODQGEHWZHHQ %UDK¶V
GLDVSRUDDQGWKHWKLUGHOHPHQWRIWKLVDQDO\VLV0DVVH\¶VVSDWLDOFRQFHSWV
Massey: geographies of belonging
,ISRZHULVFHQWUDOWR%UDK¶VFRQFHSWRIGLDVSRUDIRU0DVVH\VSDFHLWVHOI
is the product of social relations shaped by power. She rejects ideas of
VSDFHDVIL[HGµVRPHWKLQJWREHPDSSHG«DVXUIDFHFRQWLQXRXVDQGJLYHQ
with places, peoples and culture as phenomena on this surface, without their
RZQWUDMHFWRULHV¶6SDFHLVLQKHUHQWO\WHPSRUDODTXDOLW\VKH
UHSUHVHQWVDVµVSDFH-WLPH¶1993, 1995, 2005). Space-WLPHLVµQHWZRUNVRI
VRFLDOUHODWLRQVDQGXQGHUVWDQGLQJV¶FRQVWUXFWHGRQDODUJHVFDOH
and never concluded. Space-WLPHLVDµVLPXOWDQHLW\RIVWRULHVVRIDU¶
6KHGHVFULEHVSODFHVDVµDSDUWLFXODUFRQVWHOODWLRQ of social
UHODWLRQVPHHWLQJDQGZHDYLQJWRJHWKHUDWDSDUWLFXODUORFXV«DUWLFXODWHG
moments (Massey, 1997).
0DVVH\¶VFRQFHSWVXQGHUSLQ%RXUGLHXDQG%UDK¶VDUWLFXODWLRQRI+(DVD
hierarchical social space in which dominant players define and control rules
and borders. Her use of the scalDEOHGHYLFHRIµDFWLYLW\VSDFH¶WRWKLQNDERXW
µWKH VSDWLDO QHWZRUN RI OLQNV DQG DFWLYLWLHV RI VSDWLDO FRQQHFWLRQV DQG RI
locations, within which a particular agent operates (ibid:55), further
strengthens this analysis. :LWKLQ HDFK DFWLYLW\VSDFHWKHUH LVDµJHRJUDSK\
RI SRZHU¶ LELG  ,Q WKH DFWLYLW\ VSDFH RI WKH +( VHFWRU SDUWLFXODU
hierarchies, discourses and practices are expressed through the stratification
of the system and within individual HEIs. In the activity space of a HEI,
academic culture, disciplinary traditions and institutional status are
GHWHUPLQHGE\VRFLDODQGVWUXFWXUDOOLQNVµRQDIDUODUJHUVFDOHWKDQZKDWZH
KDSSHQWRGHILQHIRUWKDWPRPHQWDVWKHSODFHLWVHOI¶+(,VDUHLQ
0DVVH\¶V DQDO\VLV µH[WURYHUWHG SODFHV¶  (DFK LV LWVHOI DQ DFWLYLW\ VSDFH
with its own institutional geography of power creating dominant narratives
RIµ+(¶µWKHVWXGHQWH[SHULHQFH¶DQGZKDW LW LVWR EHORQJ  %\GHIDXOWWKLV
narrative identifies which groups wLWKLQ WKH VWXGHQW ERG\ DUH µRWKHU¶
different and problematic.
0DVVH\¶VFRQFHSWRIµSODFH¶KDVDQRWKHUVLJQLILFDQWGLPHQVLRQ8QIL[HG
DQG FRQWHVWHG SODFH LV µD PHHWLQJ XS RI KLVWRULHV D PXOWLSOLcity of
WUDMHFWRULHV¶  Massey defines this as µSURJUHVVLYH¶ DQ
XQGHUVWDQGLQJZKLFKLQWHUVHFWVZLWK%UDK¶VGLDVSRULFWKHPHVRIIOXLGLW\DQG
re-inscription to suggest HE as plural and diverse, with potential for
multiple versions of imagined belonging. This synergy in particular enables
the borderland analysis to go beyond a critique of existing discourses, not
only to trouble simplistic definitions of what it is to belong but to consider
the potential for rethinking it.

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Volume 17, Number 1, March 2015 ISSN: 1466-6529
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Responses by those less powerful groups to their definition as
Other are diverse. Some may, if they feel threatened, insist on
WKHLURZQ DOWHUQDWLYH VHQVH RISODFH «RWKHU JURXSVPD\VLPSO\
reject a place if its dominant meaning excludes them. Still others,
however, may try to imagine quite different sense of place.
(Massey and Jess, 1995:105)
Conclusion
In problematising the discourse of belonging in relation to retention in
HE, this paper proposes that the diversity and complexity of the part-time,
mature undergraduate population are arguments against universal statements
RI EHORQJLQJ DV D UHWHQWLRQ VROXWLRQ  7KH V\QHUJLHV EHWZHHQ 0DVVH\¶V
SRZHUJHRPHWU\%UDK¶VUHODWLRQDOSRVLWLRQLQJDQG%RXUGLHX¶VILHOGDQDO\VLV
IRUPWKHµERUGHUODQGV¶RIDQHZWKHRUHWLFDOVSDFHZLWKLQZKLFKLWLVSRVVLEOH
not only to critique universalised statements of belonging in HE, but to
rethink belonging in relation to part-time, mature undergraduates. An
investigation of belonging in HE informed by themes of power, identity and
space builds on a Bourdieusian analysis of belonging as a relational concept
by articulating through BUDK¶V GLDVSRUD KRZ SDUW-time, mature
undergraduates are othered within HE and the complexity of that lived
H[SHULHQFH0DVVH\¶VVSDWLDOFRQFHSWVIRUHJURXQGWKHVSDWLDOGLPHQVLRQVRI
belonging and suggest the possibilities for transformation and progress in
FRQFHLYLQJRIVSDFHDVDµVLPXOWDQHLW\RIVWRULHVVRIDU¶0DVVH\
Next Steps
This paper concludes with some of the key questions within which the
empirical work will begin. How can this multiple case study accommodate
a dialogue between the themes of power, space and belonging as articulated
µLQWKHERUGHUODQGV¶EHWZHHQD%RXUGLHXVLDQDQDO\VLV%UDK¶VµGLDVSRUD¶DQG
0DVVH\¶VVSDWLDOFRQFHSWV"+RZFDQWKHUHVHDUFKEHVWH[SORUHFDSWXUHDQG
articulate the spatiality of the institution as well as the experiences of part-
time, mature undergraduates? Drawing directly on the concepts shaping
the theoretical framework, how are case study institutions positioned in the
field of HE? What is the geography ± or geographies ± of power within
each institution? How are part-time, mature undergraduates positioned
through its mission, its strategies and practices, including retention? What
spaces and places do part-time, mature undergraduates occupy, strategically,
geographically, physically, socially? What does belonging mean to those
students and how do their experiences compare with the institutional
narrative of belonging?

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Volume 17, Number 1, March 2015 ISSN: 1466-6529
47
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