Holley, Deborah Lindsey; (2008) Spaces and places : negotiating learning in the context of new technology. Doctoral thesis , Institute of Education, University of London.

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Abstract

The need for a deeper understanding of students' experiences of e-learning, particularly amongst widening access students, forms the motivation for this work. The three key themes of higher education policy, tech nology- enhanced learning, and student personal space were used to develop a framework for analysing the match (or mismatch) between the potential learner's circumstances and how these circumstances impact on the ability of the learner to create their own unique learning environment. To enable a more intimate insight into student classroom and out-ofclassroom learning experiences, interviews using the 'Biographic- Narrative- Interpretative Method (BNIM)' were undertaken (Wengraf, 2001). These narratives enable personal and individual accounts of behaviour, and place the work within the phenomenological tradition. The findings reveal how students draw upon their life experiences outside of the university to 'colonise' their learning spaces, and to construct their view of 'self' as student. Further, their creation of this space impacts on those around them; control over one space seems to permit flexibility elsewhere. Students from deprived backgrounds face more complex challenges in trying to combine and prioritise the competing demands of education, work and family life. The implications from this study are that, in the context of a new managerialist agenda, government and university policy should incorporate a vision of the learning spaces offered to students, and take account of diverse student voices. Inside and outside of the formal classroom, tutors need to change their perceptions as to what is valued as meaningful knowledge construction. Furthermore, differing student experiences need to be acknowledged when designing appropriate and meaningful learning environments - including online environments.

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