Prelims

Half Title Page

Living and Studying at Home

Series Title Page

Great Debates in Higher Education is a series of short, accessible books addressing key challenges to and issues in higher education, on a national and international level. These books are research informed but debate driven. They are intended to be relevant to a broad spectrum of researchers, students and administrators in higher education and are designed to help us unpick and assess the state of higher education systems, policies and social and economic impacts.

Title Page

Living and Studying at Home

Degrees of Inequality

By

Sheila Riddell

The University of Edinburgh, UK

Lyn Tett

The University of Edinburgh, UK

Hazel Christie

The University of Edinburgh, UK

Rachael King

The University of Edinburgh, UK

And

Sofia Shan

Edinburgh Napier University, UK

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

Copyright Page

Emerald Publishing Limited

Emerald Publishing, Floor 5, Northspring, 21-23 Wellington Street, Leeds LS1 4DL

First edition 2025

Copyright © Sheila Riddell, Lyn Tett, Hazel Christie, Rachael King and Sofia Shan.

Published under exclusive licence by Emerald Publishing Limited.

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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-83549-501-8 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-83549-498-1 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-83549-500-1 (Epub)

List of Figures and Tables

About the Authors

Sheila Riddell is a Professor of Inclusion and Diversity in the Moray House School of Education and Sport at the University of Edinburgh. She has held leadership roles in social science research for more than 30 years. She was the Founding Director of the Strathclyde Centre for Disability Research at the University of Glasgow (1997–2003) and of the Centre for Research in Education, Inclusion and Diversity at the University of Edinburgh (2003–2020). Sheila has researched and written on many aspects of equality and social justice in education and related fields. Her recent work has focused on the rights of children with additional support needs and widening access to higher education. Sheila enjoys using mixed methods in research projects to capture both the depth and breadth of social experiences and outcomes. Her most recent book is Riddell, S. (2021) Autonomy, Rights & Children with Special Educational Needs Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan.

Lyn Tett is a Professor Emerita in the Moray House School of Education and Sport at the University of Edinburgh. She has been involved in research into adult learning for nearly 40 years and has developed her publications in ways that would be of value to policymakers and practitioners as well as academics. Lyn's interests lie within the broad area of community education and lifelong learning. Her research has investigated health issues in the community; the factors such as class, gender, disability that led to the exclusion of adults from post-compulsory education; the action that might be taken to promote social inclusion. Lyn is the author of over 100 papers and books and has directed many research projects funded by public and voluntary sector bodies. Her most recent publication is a comparative study of adult learning and education in Austria, Scotland, and South Tyrol, Italy.

Hazel Christie is the Head of the CPD Framework for Learning and Teaching at the University of Edinburgh, where she is based in the Institute for Academic Development. She is an experienced qualitative researcher and has contributed to a body of work on the changing nature of the student experience in higher education. As part of this, she has undertaken studies which focus on student retention, widening access and participation, student identities, blogging as a form of assessment and commuting students. She has published the results of this research in a range of media including higher education journals, blog posts and podcasts.

Rachael King is a Programme Director for the Part-time Access Programme at the University of Edinburgh. With over two decades of experience in both further and higher education, she has expertise in guiding students through the transition from pre-undergraduate to undergraduate study. Rachael has a particular interest in promoting the narratives of adult returners and ensuring their experiences are used to inform institutional improvements to student support systems. Rachael's expertise lies in teaching Humanities, with a focus on Literature, and she employs the study of poetry as a pedagogical tool to encourage students to reflect on their personal experiences.

Sofia (Shuanghui) Shan is an Institutional Researcher in the Department of Learning and Teaching Enhancement at Edinburgh Napier University. Her career is marked by a passionate commitment to improving the educational experience for university students, revolving around critical issues such as student transition, engagement and retention. She recognises the unique challenges faced by marginalised students and is determined to create a more inclusive and equitable learning experience for them. Her research not only identifies barriers to success but also seeks practical solutions to overcome them. Additionally, she is interested in using games to diversify the learning environment and enhance understanding and communication among both staff and students.

Abstract

This book is about students who live at home and commute to university rather than moving into student accommodation during term time. It is based on a case study of an old Scottish university that has traditionally had a low proportion of commuting students. The impact of commuting is examined through a social justice lens since commuting students are more likely to be from a lower socioeconomic background, be mature, be from minority ethnic communities and be disabled. We explore the measures which may be needed to tackle the negative outcomes often experienced by commuter students. These include more flexible timetabling, suitable social spaces and the routine availability of online learning resources in addition to face-to-face teaching. Economic inequalities might be addressed through targeted travel grants and subsidised accommodation. Based on case study findings, we argue that there is a need for financial, cultural and pedagogical change within universities so that the needs and interests of commuter students become a central rather than peripheral concern.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the case study university for funding the research on which the book is based, the Data and Monitoring Officer for Widening Participation for analysing the administrative data, the Research Engagement Coordinator for technical assistance and the students for giving so freely of their time.