Abstract
This research adopts a hermeneutic phenomenological approach to explore the lived experiences of working-class students at Aberystwyth University. It qualitatively analyses students’ lived temporality, spatiality, corporeality, and relationality—framed through lifeworld existentials—to address key questions: What are the lived experiences of working-class students? What material and psychosomatic implications arise from a working-class habitus in their university life? The thesis offers a psychological lens on class while addressing its material and psychosomatic impacts, emphasising class and habitus as subjective, lived experiences. Whilst quantitative research highlights disparities in student continuation and performance, this qualitative approach attempts to reveal the student experiences behind them, going beyond mere 'point-of-entry' data which other research concentrates on. By applying phenomenology, this research is situated within a 'New Humanism' in geography, focusing on Lifeworld Existentials to offer a holistic understanding of lived experience. Lifeworld existentials have seldom been used to explore the intersection of class and higher education.This data reveals the significant role the working-class identity plays in shaping the experiences of students in higher education. It influences how they perceive the past, engage with the present, and project themselves into the future, often followed by feelings of imposterism, and discomfort in navigating university spaces. Habitus interruption’s complicate identity formation, creating emotionally taxing internal conflicts, as students attempt to reconcile their sense of self in an
environment that feels exclusionary. Hypervigilance around how they are perceived, and masking aspects of their identity, were common consequences. These students faced daily social, cultural, and economic disconnection from their peers, affecting their sense of belonging and engagement both academically and socially. Such findings highlight the need to transform the physical, conceptual, and symbolic aspects of university spaces to promote inclusivity and emphasise social class as a central tenet in equality, diversity, and inclusion efforts in higher education.
| Date of Award | 2024 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
|
| Supervisor | Jesse Heley (Supervisor) & Rhys Dafydd Jones (Supervisor) |