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So you're interested in what research exists out there on? Or perhaps you're interested in doing some academic research of your own?
Here's some of what's already out there to get you started...
We can help you advertise your own studies and requests for participants - both on here and on our X/Twitter. As long as you have signoff from your supervisor and/or the appropriate ethical approval.
Although now closed, Stand Alone charity produced lots of research on estranged students, in collaboration with UK academics (many of whom have lived experience). See their Research here.
Estranged Students: Researchers & Academics to check out (A-Z)
Estranged Students: Researchers & Academics to check out (A-Z)
Artie Waterman
Artie Waterman
Research interests include: higher education, student experiences, widening participation, Bourdieu, families, and qualitative research methods.
Relevant published work includes: Exploring the experiences of estranged students in higher education: A longitudinal comparative case study of two UK universities
Contact Info/Website: Durham University https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Artie_Waterman
Ikra Shabbir
Ikra Shabbir
Research interests include: higher education, South Asian female students, estrangement
Relevant published work includes: NNECL-2024-Ideas-for-Your-Local-Communities-HE-Professionals_WEB.pdf (thisisusatuni.org)
Contact Info/Website: LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/ikra-shabbir-06a562176
Dr Cristina Costa Ph.D
Dr Cristina Costa Ph.D
Research interests include: Student/ Family Estrangement; Widening Participation
Relevant published work includes: Student estrangement in higher education: identity formation and the struggle against stigma (see also below); Estranged Students in Higher and Further Education;
Contact Info/Website: Durham University Staff Profile https://www.dur.ac.uk/education/staff/profile/?id=18517
Dr Rachel Spacey
Dr Rachel Spacey
Research interests include: Higher Education; University Students; Widening Participation; Student Experience;
Relevant published work includes: “It’s not like I’m on my own”: recognising and recording the experiences of estranged students in Higher Education. In: IMPact - Journal of Higher Education Research; Using Online Life Writing to Understand the Experiences of Estranged Students in UK Higher Education; 'Understanding the experiences of estranged students in Higher Education; Recording and Recognising the Experiences of Estranged Students in Higher Education: Using Photo-Elicitation as Method ;
Contact Info/Website: Dr Spacey is a Research Fellow (part time) in LHERI where she leads the Access and Participation Plan Evaluation Project (APPEP). https://staff.lincoln.ac.uk/rspacey
Professor Yvette Taylor
Professor Yvette Taylor
Research interests include: Getting Real: Contemporary Struggles for Transgender Legitimacy, Theybys: Gender Nonconforming Parenting, Student Estrangement in Higher Education
Relevant published work includes: The experiences of ‘estranged students’ beyond entry point; Exploring ‘Estrangement’ in Higher Education: Standing Alone or Settling In?;
Contact Info/Website: University of Strathclyde https://www.strath.ac.uk/staff/tayloryvetteprofessor/
Care-Experienced Students: Researchers & Academics to check out (A-Z)
Care-Experienced Students: Researchers & Academics to check out (A-Z)
Professor Debby Cotton
Professor Debby Cotton
Research interests include: Widening Participation and Inclusivity in Higher Education
Relevant published work includes: The Experience of Care leavers in UK Higher Education; Supporting the retention of non-traditional students in Higher Education using a resilience framework ; Understanding the gender and ethnicity gap in higher education.
Contact Info/Website: Plymouth University (D.Cotton@plymouth.ac.uk) https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/staff/debby-cotton
Heather Winstanley
Heather Winstanley
Research interests include: Heather is a care-experienced PhD student researching ways to better support care-experienced people in a Criminal Justice context. Current study is with the University of Central Lancashire.
Contact Info/Website: Twitter @HeatherWinstley ~ LinkedIn
Dr Jenny Driscoll
Dr Jenny Driscoll
Research interests include: child protection and children’s rights, including the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the ethics of research with children and young people. Recent and current research projects are concerned with transitions to independence for care leavers and the role of schools in safeguarding children.
Relevant published work includes: Supporting Care Leavers to Fulfil their Educational Aspirations: Resilience, Relationships and Resistance to Help
Contact Info/Website: King's College London (jenny.driscoll@kcl.ac.uk) https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/dr-jenny-driscoll
Dr Nadine Fowler
Dr Nadine Fowler
Research interests include: Care Experienced students, mentoring, supporting families, looked-after children
Relevant published work includes: 'Being a Student with Care Experience is Very Daunting' : Findings from a Survey of Care Experienced Students in Scottish Colleges and Universities; Moving on from Care: The Need for, and Purpose of, Mentoring and Coaching Relationships with Supportive Adults: An Annotated Bibliography
Contact Info/Website: University of Strathclyde https://pureportal.strath.ac.uk/en/persons/nadine-fowler (nadine.fowler@strath.ac.uk)
Rosie Canning
Rosie Canning
Works with Dr Aoife O'Higgins on an interdisciplinary knowledge exchange project funded by TORCH, to encourage better engagement between research and practice about experiences of care. The project proposes to stimulate conversations about care by bringing together key stakeholders – young people, social workers, foster carers and others – and researchers. Their conversations will take place on twitter, over coffee and cake, and through creative workshops. Their aim is to co-create knowledge with the care community and generate new ways of working together. Ultimately, they hope to suggest strategies for more engaged research.
Rosie Canning is also a Doctoral Researcher at University of Southampton. The focus of their research is the representations of orphans and care leavers in fiction. They are examining the research through the lens of both creative and critical practice.
Contact Info/Website: https://www.psy.ox.ac.uk/team/rosie-canning Conversations for Care
Sacha Grimes
Sacha Grimes
Relevant published work includes: The needs and experiences of young people from care backgrounds in further education colleges
Steve Hawksworth
Steve Hawksworth
Research interests include: Steve Hawksworth is a social worker and also a care leaver, interested in looked after children’s education pathways.
Contact Info/Website: Twitter @stehawksworth
Zachari Duncalf
Zachari Duncalf
Research interests include: Care experienced students, Adult Care Leavers, Attachment, Trauma and Resilience
Relevant published work includes: Listen up! Adult care leavers speak out : the views of 310 care leavers aged 17-78; Supporting care leavers in Scottish further education colleges : a research account of a pilot programme aimed at supporting looked after young people and care leavers in further education colleges in Scotland; Looked after children and further education in Scotland : a briefing paper;
Contact Info/Website: http://www.zachariduncalf.co.uk/
Dr Zoe Baker
Dr Zoe Baker
Research interests include: Care experienced students, widening participation, inequalities in higher education, social justice, and the sociology of education.
Relevant published work includes: ‘The Care-experienced Graduates’ Decision-Making, Choices, and Destinations’ project (2021-24), which is funded by The British Academy.
Contact Info/Website: Zoe Baker - Education, University of York ~ zoe.baker@york.ac.uk or x/Twitter: @zs_baker
Some additional existing research you might want to look at...
Some additional existing research you might want to look at...
'The challenges of Higher Education without the support of a family network'
'The challenges of Higher Education without the support of a family network'
Authors: Unite Foundation and Stand Alone Charity
Website: https://www.standalone.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/StandAloneUNITEfoundation.pdf
Going to University from Care
Going to University from Care
Authors: Sonia Jackson, Sarah Ajayi and Margaret Quigley
Website: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10007011/1/Jackson2005Going(Report).pdf
'Student estrangement in higher education: identity formation and the struggle against stigma'
'Student estrangement in higher education: identity formation and the struggle against stigma'
While investigation on family estrangement is growing within the academic circles (Agllias 2015, 2016; Blake 2017; Authors), research regarding the interconnection between experiences of estrangement and higher education is still very limited. Existing literature is largely in the form of policy briefings and recommendations, in particular in relation to funding from UK bodies such as the Student Loans Company (SLC) and the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) (StandAlone 2015).
Here, we report on a qualitative study on the experiences of higher education students who are estranged from their family, investigating how estranged students develop a sense of identity in the context of their academic lives.
Authors: Cristina Costa, Yvette Taylor, Claire Goodfellow, Sidonie Ecochard
Date: Accepted/In press - 22 Apr 2020
'Estranged students in higher education: navigating social and economic capitals'
'Estranged students in higher education: navigating social and economic capitals'
Family is widely regarded as a cornerstone of student support. When family support exist as an essential form of social capital making, rupture of family ties places students in a disadvantageous position. This paper focuses on estranged students’ accounts of their experiences of higher education, highlighting how capital dynamics shape their academic trajectories.
Based on interviews with 21 estranged students, our research uncovers different dimensions of estranged students’ struggles and successes as they move through academia. This paper explores the social imagination that surrounds the university student, or ‘student experience’, as resting upon family support.
The authors propose that widening participation policies and practices need to be more attuned to the realities that mark estranged students’ experiences, as they are not only impacted by the scarcity of either economic or social capital, but also by the instability of interrelated capitals that contribute to precarious and volatile experiences.
Citation: Cristina Costa, Yvette Taylor, Claire Goodfellow, Sidonie Ecochard. (2020) Student estrangement in higher education: identity formation and the struggle against stigma. British Journal of Sociology of Education 41:5, pages 685-700.
Further Resources...
Further Resources...
'Estranged Students: (Widening) Participation Postcards'
'Estranged Students: (Widening) Participation Postcards'
The ‘Estranged Students’ project aims to understand the challenges faced by estranged students. Funded by the Carnegie Trust and the Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE), work is already informing policy, to ensure these students feel as ‘at home’ and connected as their classmates.
The postcard messages presented in this booklet were produced in their various workshops, conferences and seminars and are intended as training, support and information resources, images designed by Samia Singh.
Authors: Samia Singh (Illustrator), Yvette Taylor, Cristina Costa
Date: Published - 2020
Website: https://pureportal.strath.ac.uk/en/publications/estranged-students-widening-participation-postcards
From Us to Us: A collection of advice from care-experienced graduates to care-experienced graduates
From Us to Us: A collection of advice from care-experienced graduates to care-experienced graduates
'From Us to Us' is a booklet which contains advice from care-experienced graduates to care-experienced people who are approaching graduation, or have recently graduated themselves. The advice included throughout has been collected as part of the Care-Experienced Graduates Project.
Authors: Dr Zoe Baker & Care Experienced Graduates, design by Abi Morris
Date: Published - 2024
Website: drzoebaker.co.uk/_files/ugd/eaa3ef_7e9c2c48ee184d59bbd317c98d98dd82.pdf
'Estranged Students : Illustrating the Issues'
'Estranged Students : Illustrating the Issues'
This report included findings from the SRHE and Carnegie funded research on 'estranged students' and is illustrated by Samia Singh.
Authors: Samia Singh (Illustrator), Yvette Taylor, Cristina Costa
Date: Published - 2019
Who Cares About Research? (Podcast)
Who Cares About Research? (Podcast)
Who cares about Research? was founded in March 2020 by Sophia Alexandra Hall. As both a care leaver, and a University of Oxford graduate, Sophia has spoken at multiple conferences and events as a lived experience voice, and it was attending an academic conference that sparked the idea behind the podcast.
The podcast aims to share the world of cutting edge social research with those who it most affects. Every Wednesday from the 30th September, Sophia and Eva Sophia will be speaking to leading researchers in their fields about what’s next in the world of social science and why we should care about this research.
Website: https://whocaresaboutresearch.com/
Instagram: @wcarpodcast Twitter: @WCARPodcast
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