The relationship between the Welsh language and higher education participation and experience

Pierce, Adam 2023. The relationship between the Welsh language and higher education participation and experience. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

Both the Welsh language and Welsh medium higher education are key policy agendas for the Welsh Government. Recent and notable policy developments in these areas include the commitment towards, and the expansion of Welsh medium higher education and the establishment of Y Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol in 2011, alongside the passing of the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011. Such developments have resulted in the Welsh language and Welsh medium higher education alike becoming increasingly embedded within the organisational structure of the higher education sector in Wales. As a result, the Welsh language now enjoys greater visibility and status across the HE sector than it has ever before. Despite such significant policy developments that has, and continues to directly impact the Welsh language, Welsh medium higher education and Welsh speaking students across the HE sector in Wales, rather surprisingly, there is a dearth of empirical research that exists on bilingual Welsh-English speaking students at this level. This study addresses this lacuna and examines the relationship between the Welsh language and higher education participation and experiences amongst current bilingual undergraduate students. By foregrounding language as the central focus of bilingual students’ higher education (choices and) experiences, the study explores how and to what extent (the Welsh) language is situated and negotiated within the various aspects of their university life: namely their learning/academic and their social lives and experiences. The study employs a mixed method approach. It combines quantitative online survey (n=943), secondary data analysis of official statistics, alongside qualitative, in-depth face-to-face interviews (n=36) with Welsh speaking undergraduate students. To date, this is the largest piece of empirical research that explores Welsh speaking students’ experiences of higher education. The study demonstrates that for these bilingual students the higher education sector becomes a site of constant negotiation between two languages – between the Welsh language, a minoritized language, and English, the lingua academia. Language choices and considerations are continuously negotiated and navigated by these students throughout their time at university and are not a fixed nor a pre-accounted choice simply made before arriving at HE. This is particularly true of bilingual students’ academic and learning experiences. The study demonstrates how the Welsh medium learning experiences of students are often problematised due to the various institutional and pedagogical challenges and barriers they frequently encounter in their attempts to engage with Welsh medium higher education, and to use Welsh as an academic language. The negotiating of two languages for academic purposes alongside the continuous navigation of these various barriers typify the bilingual student’s learning experience at university. Implications of these findings toward policy and practice are discussed. Additionally, several recommendations are made aimed at developing and improving the Welsh medium learning experiences of bilingual students at this level.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Funders:	ESRC
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	22 April 2024
Last Modified:	26 Apr 2024 15:21
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/168204

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