Relating experiences: regional and remote students in their first year at University

Abstract

Developing positive relations with peers at university has long been recognised as a key to academic success for transitioning students. This chapter explores this issue from the perspective of Regional and Remote students in their first year at the University of Adelaide, through their experiences as related by them. While it might appear self-evident that these students would be particularly disadvantaged and 'deficient', relative to their urban peers, in terms of peer engagement and social integration, this chapter adopts a student-centred view of transition as 'becoming', and a 'strengths'-based focus, to demonstrate how students problematise such normative assumptions. Through their experiential narratives and commentaries, the students not only affirm their own competency and agency but also point to challenges faced by city school leavers in navigating the increasing diversity of peer social domains.