Developing an understanding of student thriving, its enablers, and practical implications: A mixed methods study among university students

Abstract

Introduction
There have been multiple calls for universities to create environments where students can thrive (Universities UK, 2020; Hughes & Spanner, 2019; OfS, 2021). Thriving has been explored in multiple contexts; but understanding of the experience in higher education remains limited and lacks student voice. This thesis aims to develop a student-centred conceptualisation of thriving, addressing how it can be operationalised by constructing and validating a novel measure of student thriving.

Methods
(1) Q-sort interviews to develop a student-centred conceptualisation of thriving (n=31 participants); (2) an online survey to construct and validate a novel measure (n=191 participants); (3) focus groups to explore interventions to promote thriving (n=5 participants); (4) a pre-post test online pilot study to preliminarily test the real-world application of the thriving metric (n=86 participants pre-wave, n=38 participants post-wave); and (5) a mixed-methods systematic review of interventions that promote student balance (n=8 studies).

Findings
Four key themes can be identified across diverse perspectives on student thriving, ‘Balance’, ‘Community & Belonging’, ‘Learning & Growth’ and ‘Independence’, with ‘Balance’ identified as the strongest predictor of student thriving. The quality of evidence for interventions that promote ‘Balance’ is limited, but findings identify potential mechanisms for successful implementation, including ensuring that practical skills are shared, providing students with the opportunity to self-reflect
on their performance, and providing group interventions to foster peer support.

Strengths and limitations
Strengths of this thesis include the mixed-methods approach to understand the phenomena, triangulation of findings, and extensive student participation. Limitations include focusing on students at a single university and low sample sizes for some studies limiting the generalisability of findings. Results should be viewed as preliminary, with initial conclusions benefitting from further exploration and validation.

Implications
With thriving multi-faceted and complex there will not be a ‘one size fits all approach’ to promoting it. Nonetheless, preliminary findings suggest that ‘Balance’ is the most promising area of focus for population-level interventions. Initial pilot study findings suggest the novel measure of student thriving could be used by students to reflect on their current strengths and areas for development, allowing for signposting towards the most tailored interventions.

Date of Award	23 Jan 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Northumbria University
Supervisor	James Newham (Supervisor), Peter Francis (Supervisor) & Alyson Dodd (Supervisor)