Re-imagining working-class identity and belonging in Higher Education
Re-imagining working-class identity and belonging in Higher Education
Aimee Green, supervised by Clare Mawson
About the student researcher
My name is Aimee and I am moving into my 4th year of studying medicine at the University of Leeds. It is a privilege to be able to contribute research to understanding the experiences of working-class academics in higher education, and exploring how class identity interplays with one’s sense of belonging and value. As a working-class student with ambitions to one day combine my clinical career as a doctor with an academic career, I am eager to highlight any barriers that working-class individuals may experience in their transition from student to scholar, as well as any barriers to belonging in the workplace.
Project overview
The key aims of this project is to use the lived experiences and insights of working-class academics to explore their relationship to class identity, their sense of belonging as both a student and academic, and the extent to which they feel supported and valued at the University of Leeds. I am collecting this data via an anonymous online survey, open to all academics currently employed at the University of Leeds. I aim to shed a light on any negative experiences faced by working-class academics and examine any barriers that may exist in the workplace, institution or higher education in general, that prevent them from feeling that they are able to progress and participate in higher education, Using this, myself and my supervisor endeavour to share our findings to the relevant services and organisations to encourage the University of Leeds and beyond, to continue in identified good practise and engage in any positive change or intervention development based on our findings. In addition, we plan to discuss these findings at any relevant future conferences.
If you are interested in finding out about the project findings, please contact the project supervisor.