Spatializing Student Engagement: A Phenomenological Study on Experiencing Space, Place, and a College Campus

Abstract

This phenomenological qualitative study examined how five college students understood their collegiate engagement in relation to spaces and places. The study’s purpose was to develop a spatialized understanding by describing the nature of meaningful student engagement as occurring within places and spaces. The problem addressed through this study is the treatment of engagement as understood through institutional metrics which reduce such a phenomenon to campus-centric and measurable place-based characteristics. As argued through this study’s framework and findings, experiencing a phenomenon such as engagement is a matter of lived experience and exists in relation to space and place. The participants’ lived experiences speak to the implications of space, spatializing, and place, which are not largely reflected in current literature on college environments and students.