First-generation, low-income, working-class, and racially minoritised students often do not have networks of belonging already in place at the university.
There are also issues for care-leavers, commuters, parents and people with disabilities as they start to navigate the intricacies of HEIs.
The sensory stimuli of grand architecture, time-honoured white British, socially stratified aesthetics, pared-back mannerisms and received pronunciation in dominant accents can contribute to experiences of anxiety and culture shock.
Even younger, post-1992 universities – providers that often cater for large groups of people who have traditionally been excluded from higher education – struggle with the conditions for belonging for underrepresented students.
