Troubling transitions and celebrating becomings

From Pathway to Rhizome

Bibliographic Data

ID4096589
AuthorsKaren Gravett (0000-0003-3767-5098, Department of Higher Education, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume46
Issue8
Pages1506-1517
Publication date2021-08-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueStudies in Higher Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0307-5079 • E-ISSN: 1470-174X
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/03075079.2019.1691162
OpenAlexW2988919209
LanguageEN
Citations received26
References cited47

Student transitions are a central part of higher education policy and practice internationally. However much of the work within this important area is underpinned by unquestioned and limited assumptions of what transition as a concept might mean. Moreover, too often understandings of transition defer to narratives that sustain a stereotypic understanding of students’ experiences. This study contributes to a major shift in our understanding of the notion of transition. In order to do so, I draw upon Meyer and Land’s theory of threshold concepts, and from the philosophy of Deleuze and Guattari, to contest established understandings of students’ experiences. I propose a new approach to re-theorising and doing transition comprising three intertwined perspectives: transitions as rhizomatic; transitions as troublesome; and transitions as becoming. The article ends with a consideration of how these concepts could impact upon practice and offers an agenda for further research

CONTEST · Epistemology · Higher education · Narrative · Political science · Sociology · Evaluation of Teaching Practices · Higher Education and Employability · Higher Education Practises and Engagement · Law · Philosophy

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