Lyn Tett

Traditionally, the most socially and academically selective UK universities expected students to move from the family home to the institution during term time. More recently, there has been a growing trend for students to live at home and commute to university, with the proportion commuting driven in part by the COVID-19 pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis. Examining commuting through a social justice lens rather than focusing solely on the way in which commuters navigate home and university identities, Living and Studying at Home: Degrees of Inequality explores the social characteristics, experiences, and outcomes of commuting students in an old Scottish university, highlighting the social class dimension of commuting. To redress the social inequalities identified, the authors consider what universities can do to meet the needs of commuter students who are currently highly marginalised. Drawing on findings of recent research undertaken by the authors, chapters discuss why commuting is socially structured by a range of factors including social deprivation, caring responsibilities, ethnicity, disability, and being a mature student, and suggest future policy, cultural and pedagogical changes which challenge the systemic inequalities experienced by living at home students.

This book explores the social practice of literacy, numeracy and language and its implications for teaching and learning adult basic skills. Leading international experts argue that literacy, numeracy and language are more than just a set of skills or techniques, but are shaped by the social and cultural context within which they are taking place; the meanings they have for users; and the purposes they serve. This shifts the focus from a narrow, functional and externally imposed definition of literacy, numeracy and language learning, to more open and numerous definitions that focus on what people do with their knowledge, understanding and skills in a range of contexts. Adult Literacy, Numeracy and Language shows how the social practice approach to learning and teaching can be used to develop more inclusive views of adult literacy, numeracy and language. Bringing together the views of researchers, policy makers and practitioners, it helps readers to develop an understanding of contemporary policy developments and encourages them to examine their own practice as adult basic education teachers, in order to respond more effectively to the needs of their students. This book is a valuable resource for practitioners, researchers and students on courses in adult and continuing education (particularly basic skills), postgraduate students, and researchers in the field of post-compulsory education.