TY - JOUR

T1 - Students’ negotiations of belonging in geoscience: experiences of faculty–student interactions when entering university

AU - Malm, Rie Hjørnegaard

AU - Madsen, Lene Møller

AU - Lundmark, Anders Mathias

PY - 2020

Y1 - 2020

N2 - In this study, we explore how interactions with faculty influencefirst-year geoscience students’ negotiations of belonging in a studyprogramme. We situate the study within the field of retention anduse the concepts of belonging and culture to analyse our empiricalmaterial, collected through ethnographic fieldwork. We explorehow faculty–student interactions during geoscientific fieldworkand in an “interview exercise” give students access to explicit andtacit knowledge about doing geoscience research, the departmentculture and possible careers in geoscience. The analysis shows thatfaculty–student interactions offer important avenues for the students’negotiations of how they belong in the study programme(who they are) and in assessing their future possibilities (who theywant to become). However, while positive for some students, theperceived needs to be highly devoted to the discipline and toperform in the field poses challenges for other students’ sense ofbelonging in the geoscience programme. By situating activities inthe wider context of the culture of the study programme andanalysing the combined effect of different faculty–students interactions,we find that institutions must offer first-year studentspossibilities for creating a sense of belonging that are varied,authentic and inclusive.

AB - In this study, we explore how interactions with faculty influencefirst-year geoscience students’ negotiations of belonging in a studyprogramme. We situate the study within the field of retention anduse the concepts of belonging and culture to analyse our empiricalmaterial, collected through ethnographic fieldwork. We explorehow faculty–student interactions during geoscientific fieldworkand in an “interview exercise” give students access to explicit andtacit knowledge about doing geoscience research, the departmentculture and possible careers in geoscience. The analysis shows thatfaculty–student interactions offer important avenues for the students’negotiations of how they belong in the study programme(who they are) and in assessing their future possibilities (who theywant to become). However, while positive for some students, theperceived needs to be highly devoted to the discipline and toperform in the field poses challenges for other students’ sense ofbelonging in the geoscience programme. By situating activities inthe wider context of the culture of the study programme andanalysing the combined effect of different faculty–students interactions,we find that institutions must offer first-year studentspossibilities for creating a sense of belonging that are varied,authentic and inclusive.

U2 - 10.1080/03098265.2020.1771683

DO - 10.1080/03098265.2020.1771683

M3 - Journal article

VL - 44

SP - 532

EP - 549

JO - Journal of Geography in Higher Education

JF - Journal of Geography in Higher Education

SN - 0309-8265

IS - 4

ER -