Personal Life, Young Women and Higher Education - by Kirsty Finn (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Over the past decade the number of students entering higher education has risen dramatically and the 'university experience' has become an increasing influence in the lives of young people. Personal Life, Young Women and Higher Education: A Relational Approach to Student and Graduate Experiences provides an innovative and holistic view of young women's personal relationships and intimate connections during the transition in and through higher education in the UK during the first quarter of the 21st Century. It draws on rich, descriptive accounts of choice and change generated through a seven-year qualitative longitudinal study, to explore the emotional and moral significance of relationships with family, friends, romantic and sexual partners, housemates and peers for experiences of transition. Walking alongside a group of young women as they enter and later exit university, the book offers unique insights into the ways in which the massification of UK higher education takes shape in the unfolding of time for this group of students and graduates. The book develops a relational perspective which brings personal relationship and networks of intimacy into the foreground of analysis. In doing so, the discussion challenges the false distinction between public and private concerns to reveal the many and varied ways that higher education and personal life are intertwined for young women in the UK. "--

Book Synopsis

The experience of higher education in the UK has become an increasingly common phenomenon in the 21st century. This book explores the emotional and moral significance of the relationships young women develop at university, such as friends, family and housemates, by using a seven-year qualitative longitudinal study of the transitional period.

Review Quotes

"In the book Finn develops a 'relational perspective' ... which brings into the foreground of analysis young women's personal worlds ... . the book would make a worthwhile read for postgraduate students, doctoral students and early career researchers seeking to learn more about the realities (and feasibility) of conducting QL projects as a sole researcher. ... would be suitable for a wide audience, ranging from undergraduate students through to academics working within the fields of gender, sociology and HE." (Lauren Stentiford, Gender and Education, 2016)

About the Author

Kirsty Finn is Lecturer in the Department of Social Sciences at Edge Hill University, UK. She has previously taught at Teesside University, UK and the University of Manchester, UK.