Navigating the System: Can elearning technologies help students overcome traditional class-based barriers within HE?

Underpinned by the theoretical work of Bourdieu, the proposed study will examine the potential of technology-enhanced learning to improve the student learning experience and to enable higher education to adjust to the demands of the widening access agenda. The research will critically assess the claims made for e-learning technologies against the experiences and expectations of students, with a particular focus on those demographics under-represented in the higher education student populations. A central focus of the research will be placed on the conditions which (re)produce students’ habitus and shape their social and cultural capital. It will also examine how students at both traditional and non-traditional universities engage and navigate the technologically enhanced learning environment, focusing on the ways in which e-learning technologies are differentially embedded in the student experience. Placing a direct focus on the comparison of the student experience of technology-mediated interaction between students and educators and between students and their peers at traditional and non-traditional institutions in Scotland, the research will examine whether the new learning technologies provide an inclusive educational environment that destabilises traditional class-based barriers within higher education.

The research methodology proposed will focus on the collection of quantitative and qualitative data relating to student engagement with, and experience of, technology-enhanced learning at both traditional and non-traditional institutions. The research design will allow the researcher to collect quantitative data that can be statistically analysed, and qualitative data for thematic analysis which will provide the focus for in-depth qualitative discussion with student focus groups.