guessing where the goal posts are: managing health and well-being during the transition to...
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This article was downloaded by: [University of Tennessee At Martin]On: 07 October 2014, At: 13:45Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registeredoffice: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK
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Guessing where the goal posts are:managing health and well-being duringthe transition to university studiesAlison Wrench a , Robyne Garrett a & Sharron King ba School of Education , University of South Australia , Adelaide ,SA , Australiab School of Health Sciences , University of South Australia ,Adelaide , SA , AustraliaPublished online: 19 Nov 2012.
To cite this article: Alison Wrench , Robyne Garrett & Sharron King (2013) Guessing where the goalposts are: managing health and well-being during the transition to university studies, Journal ofYouth Studies, 16:6, 730-746, DOI: 10.1080/13676261.2012.744814
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2012.744814
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Guessing where the goal posts are: managing health and well-beingduring the transition to university studies
Alison Wrencha*, Robyne Garretta and Sharron Kingb
aSchool of Education, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia; bSchool of HealthSciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia
(Received 10 April 2012; final version received 25 October 2012)
It is widely acknowledged that social conditions are directly associated withhealth and well-being. Significantly little is known about the impact of changingsocial conditions, including the transition to higher education, on young people’shealth and well-being. This qualitative research investigated perceptions andfactors that influence health and well-being for first year university students.Governmental practices adopted in managing health and well-being duringtransition to a university context, were also investigated. Empirical data werecollected, in 2010, via an online student questionnaire. Participants werecompleting their first year of study in a School of Health Sciences at anAustralian university. They were asked to respond to a series of closed questionsto collect demographic data and open-ended questions regarding their percep-tions of health and well-being as well as factors that impact on them personally asthey transition into university studies. Findings indicate that there are significantfactors that impact on student well-being during this transition. These include:geographical relocation, engagement with university learning, sense of commu-nity as well as managing time and competing demands. Findings also indicate thatwhilst young people accept an individualised responsibility managing health andwell-being, the social conditions of transition to university render this complexand problematic.
Keywords: health; well-being; first year university students; governmental practices
Introduction
A key priority of the Australian government is to realise recommendations of the
Review of Australian Higher Education (Bradley et al. 2008) and increase participa-
tion in higher education (Gale and Tranter 2011). In much the same way that mass
schooling was perceived as a solution to societal problems (Hunter 1996), higher
education is, in current times, constructed as vital to ensuring Australia’s health and
economic prosperity (Tyler et al. 2010,Woodman and Wyn 2010). The Australian
Government’s (2009) study emphasis on building human capital through higher
education underpins targets for universal participation (over 50%) (Sellar and Gale
2011), and, therefore, increased participation by students from typically under-
represented social groups (McLeod 2011). A direct consequence is the increased
diversity in students transitioning to higher education, including those who are ‘first
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
Journal of Youth Studies, 2013
Vol. 16, No. 6, 730�746, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2012.744814
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in family’, from socially disadvantaged (low socio-economic) backgrounds, and
rural/remote areas.
The logic of neo-liberalism informs this alignment of political agendas and policy
imperatives, which seeks to shape individual aspirations and participation inuniversalised higher education (Gale and Tranter 2011). The logic of neo-liberalism
also informs all aspects of daily life, such that, in current times, there is a pre-
occupation with identity construction and the project of building one’s life (Foucault
2008). Individuals are responsible for making investments in, for example, education,
and health and those who do not are constructed as ‘at risk’ (Rose 1999, Kelly 2006,
Woodman and Wyn 2010). Whilst undertaking higher education is seen as an
appropriate investment, more needs to be known about how increasingly diverse
student cohorts experience this investment (McLeod 2011). We believe that if wewant the lives of students to be transformed by higher education then increased
cognisance of how they experience the transition to university is required.
Technologies for tracking post-school trajectories generate a plethora of data
about young people in general (Lehmann 2004, Woodman and Wyn 2010, Kelly
2011). However, as Woodman and Wyn (2010) contend, despite such auditing, little
is known about how education institutions promote young people’s health and well-
being and/or help them to manage the changing social conditions associated with
these institutions.There is, however, an emerging body of knowledge around the impact of
university life on different student cohorts (see Krause et al. 2005; Bitsika et al. 2010;
James et al. 2010; Morgan 2012). The present research seeks to add to this field
through exploring factors that impact on health and well-being and, how these might
influence students’ navigation of their first year of university studies. Specifically, this
research investigated students’ perceptions of the various dimensions of health and
well-being and factors that impact on these as they transitioned to university studies.
Student understandings of these factors, and associated complexities and tensionsfaced in managing health and well-being are the focus of this paper.
Participants in this research were undertaking first year university students,
attending an Australian university, who on graduating intend to work in education
and/or health fields. Our selection of health sciences students was purposeful (Patton
2002), in that these students were learning about health, well-being and interrelated
factors. We were interested in the perceptions and experiences of students who, in the
future, may influence the health-related understandings and practices of others.
Before we present our research it is necessary to establish key conceptualisationsand theoretical framings we are working with. We commence by discussing health
and well-being before turning to notions of governmentality as informed by Michel
Foucault.
Health and well-being
Contemporary understandings of health as complex and multifaceted reflect the
1948 World Health Organisation (WHO) definition (Jadad and O’Grady 2008). Assuch, health is more than the absence of disease, disability and infirmity and
incorporates, ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being’ (WHO
2006). Furthermore, it is widely accepted that education is significant to attaining
and maintaining high levels of health and well-being (Feinstein et al. 2006, Wyn et al.
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2010) and that this interrelationship is significant to national well-being and
productivity (Groot and van den Brink 2006). However, this is not necessarily a
straightforward interrelationship (Wyn 2006).When economic imperatives determine
education policy, contradictions arise for broader social initiatives, such asdeveloping student well-being, which tend to be subsumed by narrow understandings
(Wyn 2007).
‘Wellbeing has become an official discourse’ (Wyn 2009a, p. 7, emphasis in
original), that has informed a plethora of objective knowledge and expertise in
relation to young people. Of concern is the hegemony of ‘regimes of truth’ (Foucault
1981), which limit understandings of young people’s health and well-being to notions
of ‘risk’ and ‘protection’ (White and Wyn 2008). ‘Risk’ discourses reflect a ‘particular
style of thinking’ (Rose 1999, p. 246, italics in original) that transposes the future intothe present and renders ‘risk’ calculable. Rose argues that the responsibility for ‘risk’
management has been transferred from the state to individuals, families and
institutions. A consequence for young people is the normalisation of an individual
responsibility for maintaining health and well-being as well as protecting themselves
from related risks (White and Wyn 2008). Such allocation of responsibility neglects
powerful social and cultural determinants that operate on young people and impact
health outcomes (Eckersley 2011).
Through ‘risk’ discourses, well-being is constructed as a desired virtue and anideal to be attained. Such constructions underpin common sense notions that well-
being can be possessed on an individual basis (Wyn 2009a).Yet, as an ideal, well-
being is not a definitive or quantifiable phenomenon. Rather, well-being is developed
in and through a complex interrelationship of social, economic, cultural perceptions
and practices (White and Wyn 2008, Bennett 2011, Eckersley 2011). In working from
these perspectives, this research adopts a relational approach to well-being and seeks
to trouble a propensity to ignore complexities and factors that influence well-being.
Understandings, practices and senses of self, developed by young people inrelation to ‘risk’, well-being and participation in high education can be captured
within notions of governmentality (Rose 1999, Kelly 2000, White and Wyn 2008). We
turn next to consider conceptualisations of governmentality as developed by
Foucault.
Government: ethics of self, health and well-being
Foucault defined ‘government’ as ‘the way in which the conduct of individuals orgroups might be directed: the government of children, of souls, of communities, of
families, of the sick’ (1982, p. 221). To govern is to shape the possible action of self
and others relative to particular calculated ends. Governmental reason shapes
conduct indirectly and from a distance through rationalities and technologies that
operate both at individual and societal levels (Kelly 2000, McNay 2009).
The participants, in this study, have lived their entire lives in a period where neo-
liberal principles have prevailed as the dominant governmental rationality. A feature
of societies marked by the logic of neo-liberalism is the construction of particularproblematics around the economy, education and health. Neo-liberalism also gives
rise to the reconfiguration of societal institutions, such as universities, as responsible
for producing subjects whom can protect themselves from ‘risks’ (Davies and
Bansel 2007, Sukarieh and Tannock 2011). Neo-liberal governmental rationality
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incorporates the logic of the market into all aspects of life and constitutes subjects
who, as entrepreneurs of themselves, take responsibility for building their own lives
(Kelly 2006, Foucault 2008). More specifically, entrepreneurship is internalised and
informs choices and practices associated with health and well-being, education, andprofessional activity in an ongoing quest to maintain and enhance human capital
(Gordon 1991, Rose 1999, Foucault 2008).
This research
As health and well-being impact on learning (Wyn 2009a), we believed that it was
important to investigate and give voice to first year university students as to how the
transition to university impacted on their well-being. In doing so we felt it necessary
to take account of the pressures faced by students in negotiating this transition.
Consequentially, this research aimed to investigate perceptions and factors that
influence health and well-being for first year university students who will on
completion of their studies work in the education or health fields. Specifically ourresearch questions included:
(1) What are the perceptions of health, healthy bodies and well-being for
university students in their first year?
(2) What are the factors that influence and impact on health and well-being as
students transition into university studies?
Methods
Data were collected during 2010, via an online questionnaire, from first year students
in the School of Health Sciences at an Australian university. Participants had
completed one 13-week semester of study and were recruited via informationpresented at core course lectures, and emails sent to the entire first year cohort.
Students had access to this questionnaire for a five-week period. Participation was
voluntary, with 132 students completing the questionnaire, which represented
approximately 23% of first year students in the school.
The University Human Research Ethics Committee approved the project. In
keeping with the NHMRC Guidelines (2001), principles protecting participants
(informed consent, self-determination, confidentiality of information and anonymity,
protection from harm), governing the storage, access and disposal of files wereadhered to throughout the study.
Through the anonymous questionnaire participants were asked to respond to a
series of closed questions to collect demographic data. For instance, postcode was
used to identify urban, rural/remote or interstate background. The demographic data
indicated that the survey population was a good representative sample of students in
this School of Health Sciences, with 89% of participants in their late teens and early
twenties, 21% male (M) and 79% female (F). The data revealed participant diversity
in terms of 32% having relocated (R) to attend university, and 33% identifying as firstin family to attend university (FiF). While, the survey allowed the researchers to
identify student diversity in terms of first language and socio-economic status, it was
decided to limit the focus of this paper to gender, relocating/non-relocating and first
in family.
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In a deliberate attempt to give voice to students and so develop deeper
understandings about issues encountered during the transition to university studies
(Seale 2010, McLeod 2011), open-ended questions were a major component of the
questionnaire and, hence, focus of this paper. Themes for open-ended questions
included: perceptions of health and well-being, health and well-being practices,
factors that impact on maintaining health and well-being during the transition to
university studies. Questions extended to include feelings prior to entry into
university as well as specific factors around diet, physical activity, sleep, loneliness/
alienation, work, relaxation, body image and gender that impact on or influencehealth and well-being whilst at university. Participants’ text responses varied in
length from one line to three or four sentences.
Analysis
Atkinson and Delmont (2005) argue for analysis that extends beyond mere
presentation and celebration of data; hence, data were read multiple times by all
researchers and through different lenses. Reading through an interpretative lens, the
researchers attempted to identify patterns, commonalities and points of disjunction
(Patton 2002), in terms of participants’ understandings and practices around health
and well-being. Researchers then shared their coding and discussed understandings
and interpretations. This process led to the identification of common organisational
themes that facilitated further sense making and management of the data
(Ramazanoglu and Holland 2002). These organisational themes included relocation,
connections to university, physical activity, diet and stress.
In a second reading of the data, the researchers attended to ‘governmentality’ and
the discourses participants were drawing on. Here choice of words and language used
(Wright 2004) focused attention on the discourses that informed participants’
thoughts, and various ways they managed and/or attempted to manage their conduct
in relation to health and well-being. The researchers repeated the process of coding
and sharing to arrive at universally agreed themes of: engagement with university
learning; sense of community; management of self and time; influences over health
and well-being.In exploring experiences, practices and explanations, the researchers have sought
to establish a dialectical relationship between data and theoretical perspectives of
health, well-being and governmentality. The intention has been to establish
theoretical generalisations and resonance (Mason 2002) for others interested in the
transition to university studies. In this way contextualised understandings have been
presented and naturalistic, rather than empirical generalisations made (Chase 2005,
Basit 2010). In the next section, we present these themes and provide evidence of our
findings with quotes from the data.
Engagement with university learning
For participants in our study, engagement with university learning was complex and
this impacted on well-being. In response to questions about what they thought
university life would be like participants highlighted key differences between school
and university as well as concerns relating to organisation and structure. As indicated
734 A. Wrench et al.
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in the following comments participants did not feel fully prepared and indicated wide
variation in academic expectation:
I thought it would be more organised. We seem to be spending a lot of time playing‘‘guess where the goal posts are’’ and then kick a goal.1 (FN-R)
I would have hoped that expectations would have been more clearly defined. (FR)
Other participants expressed confusion, frustration and stress in the new environ-
ment with comments such as:
I didn’t think it would be so stressful and time consuming. (MR)
A lot of work, difficult to keep up. I was worried it would be a bit above me. (FN-R)
Never thought it would be as intense as it is. The workload is unrealistic at times andalso courses aren’t always relevant to what we are studying. (FN-R)
In response to questions about experiences that had impacted in a positive way,
participants commented on meeting friends, social activities as well as receiving good
marks and feeling good about doing well. The following comments indicate that
recognition and care from tutors and lecturers also had a significant and positive effect.
When tutors and lecturers respond to concerns. It makes you feel like you are valuedand cared for as a student. (FN-R)
Having a lecturer find me in a lecture hall and tell me I did well on an assignment. (FN-R)
These responses exemplify an inference in the data that participants were unprepared
for the sense of disconnection from lecturers and tutors such that when they were
noticed it was a significant and positive event but not something that could be
expected. This meant that as university students, participants needed to be more
independent and take personal responsibility for learning.
In response to questions about experiences that impacted in negative ways
participants’ comments related to performance in academic studies (not kicking the
goal and not knowing why). One participant said:
Not being successful makes me feel low and ready to quit and not having the assuranceof any ‘teacher like’ figure. Everyone expecting something different. (FN-R)
A consistent message in our data indicated that insufficient feedback on assignments
limited participant’s understandings of how university expectations might be met in
the future, which led to frustration and anxiety:
Not getting feedback on assignments. It is really difficult to improve if we do not receivefeedback. It is also difficult if we didn’t know what we did right or wrong so next timewe have a similar assignment we can’t use that feedback. (F/N-R)
Stress of due dates being clumped together and Receiving marks from fail to HD andnot understanding how I got either. (M/N-R)
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The comments above also illuminate how inconsistency between courses led to stress
and students relying on each other rather than academic staff. It seemed that a
number of participants were operating with some level of confusion and anxiety
where they chose to draw on ‘hot’ knowledge (word of mouth information acquired
within their social networks) (Ball and Vincent 1998, Smith 2011) rather than
approaching lecturers and tutors (who seemed distant) for information. As in the
work of Scanlon et al. (2007), participants transitioned to university with under-
standings based on their previous learning contexts, which, for most, was a school
environment where teachers were available and approachable. For these students,
early experiences of university contributed to feelings of anxiety.
Sense of community
Recognising our place in the world and connections with local and global
communities is integral to well-being (Wyn 2009a). Participants who felt a positive
sense of community during transition to university attributed this to friendships,
friendly academics, common courses, social events and shared interests. Equally
important was identification with a professional endpoint, which led to the
formation of a clear student identity. Where present, camps were also significant.
As indicated in the following comments, these provided opportunities, for relocating,
and non-relocating students, as well as those identified as first in family to make
connections with others:
It allowed first students to make friends which I believe is critical especially for thosestudents who don’t know anyone. (FiF/F/R)
First semester pub crawl. As much as it was a great night out. It was a fantastic way tomeet the people in my course and strengthen existing friendships. It was an opportunityto meet more people in an informal setting. (FiF/F/N-R)
A number of participants also commented on a particular course in Group
Dynamics. As evinced in the following response, the course provided specific
opportunities to engage with others in a range of contexts:
Group Dynamics course was great. I got to know a lot more people in my year, some ofwhom I had never met before. I am now more confident when talking to people in mycourse because I know them better. The camp allowed us to bond on a more personallevel than what we do just in lectures and tutorials. (F/R)
Feelings of isolation created by large courses and limited access to academic staff
reinforced by paucity in meaningful interactions with other students was not
confined to relocating students. As evident in the response below, from a non-
relocating student, there was a mismatch between themselves and sense of belonging
to a university community:
As a mature aged student my experience has been one of overwhelming isolation andexclusion. (F/N-R)
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Those who did not feel a sense of community spoke of being on multiple campuses
and having limited time to interact. For some, a sense of community, as informed by
living in the country, did not match the experience of university life in the city. White
and Wyn (2008) suggest that strong social networks and traditional values associatedwith rural communities can provide young people with a level of security and
certainty. As the comment below indicates that these are not necessarily experienced
when students relocate to metropolitan centres for higher education:
I dislike the city and really struggle living away from my family and my horses. The senseof community in the city is very different. (FiF/F/R)
For some non-relocating students, the distance they lived from university, work and
time commitments prevented participation in organised social events:
I live far away. Most people go out to drink in the city and I have no way to get there orhome. (F/N-R)
As exemplified in the following comment, these participants tended to come into
university for a class and then leave:
I am only here to study I don’t want to socialize. (F)
It seems that participants varied in their experiences and expectation that university
would provide a sense of community. While some sought out social activities in a bid
to make connections with other students, others prioritised work commitments.Significantly, for some, the experience of university was one of alienation, isolation
and feeling disconnected.
Management of self and well-being
Further questions in the survey asked participants to consider how they balanced
university demands with other commitments, and how they managed their health
and well-being through physical activity, diet and sleep. Participants recognised that
it was not easy to manage or control competing demands and maintain health andwell-being. In accord with discourses of self-government, many accepted that the
onus was on them to control behaviour though planning, prioritising and
compartmentalising:
Plan, plan, plan and plan. I plan a week ahead then see what I haven’t done and try tofinish that on weekends. If there is a social event on the weekend I try to finish byFriday. (F/N-R)
I prioritize (probably not well), friends, basketball come first. Then family/study. I justdo what HAS to be done at the time and don’t look too far into the future. (F/N-R)
Self-government is not a neutral undertaking and incorporates ways in which
individuals question their own conduct so as to better regulate it (Dean 2010). As the
next quote indicates, tensions can arise for students attempting to manage conduct
and multiple competing demands:
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I try to find time for everything but often find that when I’ m studying I feel guilty aboutneglecting my family and friends. When I spend time with my family and friends I feelguilty about neglecting my studies. (F/R)
The thinking inherent in practices of government can be explicit and embedded in
language but also ‘relatively taken for granted’ (Dean 2010, p. 25). There were clear
indications in the data that participants drew on ‘taken for granted’ ways of thinking
about their responsibility for maintaining health and well-being. Nowhere was thismore evident than in responses to the question about the major influences over
health and well-being:
I like to be healthy and know that I’m looking after my health. So it’s just my thoughtsand no one else influences me. (FiF/F/R)
I’ve developed a healthy lifestyle over the years and like to keep fit. I don’t let othersaffect my perspective of body image and lifestyle. (FiF/M/R)
Wanting to be healthy myself as well as others such as family and friends perception ofme. (F/R)
From the quotes above, it is evident that for these relocating students, it is important
that they exercise self-government and, so, have control over their bodies and
conduct in relation to health outcomes.
Managing physical activity
Responses to questions about the impact of university studies on physical activity
indicate similar numbers had experienced increased and decreased physical activity.
As evident in the following responses, reasons included the resumption of activity
after year 12, more available time, to counter study-related stresses, in response to
university-based learning and travel to university:
I am walking a lot more now. I get off the bus a few stops earlier just to have some timeto myself, before dealing with day to day things. (F/N-R)
Has increased, being part of this course means being in constant contact with sportypeople which rubs off on you. (F/N-R)
Compared to year 12, when I stopped activity, I am back where I was before. (F/N-R)
Those who had decreased physical activity levels typically felt guilty and alarmed
about this dramatic change. As exemplified in the responses below, reasons included:
lack of opportunity, absence of support networks from school and/or the country,feeling exhausted as a result of study, work and travel demands, competing demands
on time and lack of transport to get to venues:
Frequency has reduced and performance lowered, because of a lack of time and lessopportunities. (FiF/M/R)
My physical activity has decreased significantly due to time constraints and feelingexhausted. I also can’t afford to play for a club. (F/N-R)
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These comments provide further evidence that, self-government in relation to health
and well-being is not straightforward and involves multiple points of tension, around
competing demands, changed personal circumstances and available time. Whilst
some factors are not in the personal control of participants they still accepted anindividualised responsibility for managing/failing to manage physical activity levels.
Managing diet
In accord with previous research (see ACHA 2007, Sharma et al. 2010), transition to
higher education has impacted significantly on the diet of participants. Our findings
indicate increased consumption of take-away and/or fast food and concomitant
decrease in vegetable and fruit consumption, especially amongst relocating students.
As evident in the following responses, factors that contributed to a less structured
diet included readily available cheap, convenient and quick options:
My diet has changed, I eat more take-away, I eat less fruit and vegetables and eat lessregularly. (FiF/F/R)
I now have to cook my own meals and I never had to until I shifted to Adelaide, so Inow eat fewer meals and have less variety. (FiF/F/R)
My diet has changed, I have more takeaways and less home-cooked meals. As Mum or Dadaren’t making my lunch in the mornings. I have ‘easier-to- cook’ meals as healthy dinnerstake longer to prepare and I skip breakfast because I am always running late. (F/R)
Managing sleep
A consistent theme that emerged from our data indicated a reduction in both thequantity and quality of sleep during the transition to university. The following
comments from both relocating and non-relocating students exemplify reasons,
which included increased social activities, work, study, exams and assessment
deadlines:
Hard to be consistent with late work followed by 8.00am lectures. (FiF/M/R)
I get less sleep, staying up doing homework and then can’t nap during the day when Ifeel flat. (F/N-R)
Sleep clock is all over the place, I get tired easily, need arvo naps and I struggle to get upearly for 3 days of 8.00am lectures. My body clock does not seem to have a regularpattern. (F/R)
Consistent with another study (see Ari and Shulman 2012) the following responses
indicate that decreased sleep was associated with increased stress levels:
I don’t sleep well during stressful times like exam time or when I know that I have a lotof work to do. (F/R)
Less sleep, I had to take sleeping tablets during SWOT VAC. (FiF/F/R)
Less sleep is stressful. (FiF/M/R)
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Decreased sleep was one of a number of interrelated factors that contributed to
increased stress experienced, especially, amongst relocating students. Attempts to
manage stress associated with the transition to university will be explored more fully
in the next sections.
Managing stressful events
Friends were significant in assisting participants to manage stressful times during the
semester. Additionally, participants described specific self-governmental practices
such as planning, being organised, working hard, staying committed, pushing
through and thinking positive thoughts. Other options included comfort eating,
crying, yoga, exercising and relaxation. The following responses exemplify the range
in strategies adopted:
I do a lot of work and drink a lot of coffee and wake up early in the mornings to work.(M/N-R)
I’ve formed study groups with friends. (FiF/F/N-R)
The friends that I have made have definitely helped me survive the stressful times duringthe first semester. (M/N-R)
Communicating with friends from Uni because they are going through the same stressesand they always help me when I’ m stressed. (F/N-R)
These comments support arguments made by Wyn and Woodman (2006) that
young people’s personal friendships provide requisite support and resources for
building lives, health and well-being. The mobilisation of friendships as a means to
manage stress is consistent with discourses of individualised responsibility for well-
being and concomitant self-government. As exemplified in the quote below, it was
accepted that they were responsible for managing and coping appropriately with
stressful times:
Don’t stress out, Just do the work!’ (F/N-R)
I don’t get stressed! Stress is a state of mind that I choose not to be in. (M/N-R)
Managing mental health
Whilst participants identified specific strategies for managing stress, tensions arose
in terms of their mental health. Mental health is defined by the WHO (2011) as a
‘state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can
cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is
able to make a contribution to her or his community’. A common theme in our
data suggests that in transitioning to university participants encountered social
conditions that impacted on their mental health. Responses, such as the following,
indicate that relocating and non-relocating students felt guilty, stressed, anxious,
overwhelmed, incompetent and feared failure, especially around study and
assessment demands:
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I feel anxious handing up assignments. (F/R)
I can feel very lonely and depressed at times and if everything is going bad at the sametime I break down and can’t seem to function properly. I’m in robot mode. (F/N-R)
In addition, as the comments below indicate, participants reported feeling lonely,
isolated, alienated and depressed:
I have struggled with bouts of depression, from moving away from home and mypartner is away a lot with the defense force. I tend to eat to diminish the stress (not thatit works. I try to get the work done and manage myself. (F/R)
It can feel quite isolated head down in book or on the computer. It’s also quitedepressing and stressful. (FiF/M/N-R)
A lot of alienation, loneliness and anxiety. (F/R)
Stressed a lot. Often sad when I think about Uni. (F/N-R)
Whilst participants accept an individualised responsibility for managing time andstudy as well as health and well-being, a state of tension seems to exist, between these
ideals and the social conditions inherent in their transition to university. More
specifically, the support of family and friends was deemed important and the absence
of this support contributed to feelings of loneliness, isolation and alienation:
I have less support and do feel lonely because at school you had everyone every day.(F/N-R)
I sometimes feel quite alienated from my friends who are not studying and so have muchmore freedom than me. (F/R)
Because I don’t have so much contact with my close friends as I used to I feel lonelywhen I need someone to talk to. (F/N-R)
From the above responses it would appear that the transition to university studies
involves a form of ‘relocation’ that extends beyond geographical or spatialcircumstances to incorporate emotional separation (Winterson 2011), which has
significant consequences for mental health.
Discussion
The logic of neoliberalism underpins a movement in Australia, to shape aspirations
of young people and build human capital through participation in higher education.
However, little is known about how students experience the transition to higher
education in terms of their health and well-being. The intent of this work was to
explore issues around health and well-being for first year students at an Australian
university.The work was informed by contemporary understandings of health that are
underpinned by ‘risk’ discourses and common sense notions that well-being can be
achieved on an individual basis. So too Foucault’s understanding of government, as
the ‘control one may exercise over oneself and others, over . . .body, soul, and
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behaviour’ (2007, p. 122). This perspective was used to focus attention on how
various discursive resources are internalised, and as technologies of power/knowl-
edge and technologies of self, inform practices and understandings in relation to
managing health and self-realisation through higher education.
On a general level, the transition to university was found to be complex with
several factors found to impact on well-being. These included: engagement withuniversity learning, belonging to an academic community, as well as managing time
and competing demands. Our data also indicate that participants did not feel fully
prepared for the new learning environment or the need for increased independence
and personal responsibility. These findings echo those of Scanlon et al. (2007) where
students found university considerably different from previous learning environments
and lacked contextual knowledge of their new learning environment.
Where a sense of community was developed, this was supported through
friendships, identifying with professional endpoints and organised social events. Of
concern, however, was the mismatch reported by some participants between
themselves and a sense of belonging in the university community. Feelings of
alienation, insecurity, uncertainty and disconnection were not confined to relocating
students or first in family to attend university. Raffo and Reeves (2000) argue that
when young people establish friendship networks and sense of community they are
enabled to have more control over their lives. Conversely, concerns arise for students
experiencing an enduring sense of disconnection and alienation, which could
seriously compromise their well-being as well as academic success and ongoing
participation at university.Participants’ descriptions of their changing lives and health/well-being status,
during the transition to university, suggest that they adopted actions and practices of
individuals who ‘care’ for themselves and engage in self-government (Rose 1999,
Foucault 2002, Dean 2010). However, despite this general sense of individualised
responsibility for health and well-being, there were indications of a decline in
self-reported health and well-being in relation to a range of factors including diet
and sleep.
Whilst eating well is recognised as contributing to overall health and well-being of
young people (O’Dea 2007), our findings indicate that, especially amongst relocating
participants, the transition to university had a negative impact on eating habits and
diet. Decreased quality of sleep was another negative factor experienced during the
transition to university. This too is concerning, given that sleep disturbance and
inadequate amounts of sleep contribute to feelings of malaise (Eckersley 2011), may
impact on academic success (Galambos et al. 2009) and psychological well-being
(Wolfson 2010).In accord with discourses of risk, self-government and responsibility for building
human capital, our participants were very aware of the need to make the ‘right’
choices and plan for their future. They gave evidence of the relentless future
orientation of their lives. However, it would appear that prevailing structures,
arrangements and social conditions associated with the transition to university
incorporated ‘risks’ for health and well-being.
Interestingly, participants have developed responses to these pressures and social
changes that are not necessarily healthy. In accord with the work of Wyn (2009b)
participants indicated that while they know what it takes to be healthy (taking time
out and doing things for the self) some engage in practices that can paradoxically
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harm their health � compromised sleep, not seeking help or not eating well. Overall,
our data suggested that whilst these young people do not have control over aspects of
their lives, they nonetheless feel responsible for their outcomes � the failures and
things that do not work as well as their successes.
Message for universities
We acknowledge that our study involved a ‘limited’ sample of first year Health
Sciences students and does not reflect the full range of student diversity. We,
therefore, do not claim to make empirical generalisations about the impact oftransitioning to university on health and well-being for a homogenous student
cohort. Rather, in exploring contextualised understandings, we have sought to
establish connections, and possibilities (Chase 2005) for others working with first
year university students.
When the logic of neo-liberalism informs the structures, teaching/learning
arrangements of universities and common-sense understandings of students as
entrepreneurial beings, it is assumed, through discourses of self-government that
responsibility for academic success, health and well-being can be individualised.However, our participants’ responses reinforce understandings that an array of
interrelated factors contribute to health and well-being and require consideration by
those working with young people (Wyn 2009a, 2009b). In particular, and, as with
previous research (see White and Wyn 2008, Bennett 2011, Eckersley 2011), our
study indicates that health and well-being are developed relationally and can be
compromised through relocation and sense of loss felt when students no longer have
easy access to friends and family. This in turn has implications for academic progress,
success and retention.A direct consequence and challenge facing university communities is to plan, and
deliver practices and structured programmes that promote social networks and
supportive peer relationships. Organised peer activities across year levels, whether
social, academic or a combination may scaffold the building of new connections and
sense of community, as a counter to the impact of emotional and physical relocation.
Students are the experts in the transition to university studies, and concomitant
factors that impact on health and well-being. With this in mind we suggest further
research that investigates the transition to university with students who are, ‘first infamily’, from low socio-economic, rural/remote backgrounds, and who are reflective
of the increasing diversity of university students.
Note
1. Coding of comments to identify student diversity: Non-Relocating (N-R), Relocating (R),Female (F), Male (M) and First in Family (FiF).
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