The postdigital university: do we still need just a little of that human touch?
Abstract
An increasing body of literature considers the role of belonging and social connectivity in undergraduate student success. The core tenet of this research is that relationships are crucial to the development of a sense of belonging. However, within the Higher Education (HE) sector, our processes, and therefore how we interact with students, are becoming more and more automated. None more so than during the Covid-19 pandemic and the ‘new normal’ in HE. This paper considers how we, as a profession, might support each student’s developing sense of belonging within a sector that is shifting towards increased digitalisation. This is achieved through considering the political agenda that drives the creation of digital education and some of the assumptions that underpin the movement towards it. As a result, a theoretical platform is created to consider the areas where digitisation impacts on teaching staff, and on students, and how this relates to each student’s sense of belonging within HE. The inclusion of two case studies has provided the opportunity to answer two key questions: 1) What is important to students developing a personal sense of belonging in HE during their first few weeks in a University? 2) How can the differentiated human touch be provided by ‘third space’ professionals both in person and virtually?Citation
Cureton, D., Jones, J. and Hughes, J. (2020) The postdigital university: do we still need just a little of that human touch? Postdigital Science and Education, 3(2021), pp. 223–241.Publisher
SpringerJournal
Postdigital Science and EducationAdditional Links
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42438-020-00204-6Type
Journal articleLanguage
enDescription
This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by Springer in Postdigital Science and Education on 21/12/2020. The published version can be accessed on the publisher's website: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-020-00204-6 The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.ISSN
2524-4868ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1007/s42438-020-00204-6
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