This is an extension of an existing project using semi-structured interviews investigating how ‘teachers’ in various sectors related to UKHE perceive a sense of belonging and its relationship to excellence, selectivity, prestige, competition, inclusion and wellbeing. This project involves interviews with people involved in teaching and/or training in institutions with a culture of excellence to explore their awareness of and attitude towards a sense of belonging and whether they consider it positively associated with well-being and success, even in the face of potentially conflicting sector narratives of inclusivity, selectivity and excellence. These personal views are triangulated with a documentary analysis of publicly available institutional documents to give a sense of how they align, or otherwise, with a public institutional view. This research aims to improve the dialogue between universities and policymakers about how to drive inclusion efforts and maintain excellence, a key aim within UK higher education and Imperial. This data will inform evidence-based policymaking around simultaneously driving inclusivity and excellence.

Contact Alejandro Luy and Dr Camille Kandiko Howson