Participating in Education: The Student Perspective. Understanding the Experiences of Students Returning to Secondary and Tertiary Education Following Traumatic Brain Injury

Submission note: A thesis submitted by published work in total fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, College of Science, Health and Engineering, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia.

Participating in education following traumatic brain injury (TBI) provides a pathway for returning to important aspects of a student’s pre-injury life. However, ongoing challenges in supporting students persist with variations in access, provision and length of support across rehabilitation and educational settings. The aim of this thesis was to understand the experiences of secondary and tertiary students participating in education following TBI through exploring themes related to adjustment and wellbeing, as well as changes in studying experiences over time. A longitudinal, predominantly qualitative investigation was completed. Twelve students (aged: 17-32 years) completed in-depth interviews and a wellbeing questionnaire up to 3 times over a period of 4-15 months, capturing a total of 30 time points. Data were analysed using grounded theory methods and descriptive statistics. Students’ participation experiences were unique with varied timelines and outcomes, however they shared many critical points. Central to their experiences was a reflective process of questioning “is it Me or the Injury?” that influenced students’ journeys as they travelled through four significant landscapes of “Choosing to Study,” “Studying,” “Deciding what to do,” and “Making the next step.” Moving along the pathway was not always straightforward; changing experiences were associated with variations in students’ wellbeing. Participating in study following TBI emerged as a complex journey of living and learning, placing study participation in the context of a larger return to life. The themes arising from students’ perspectives provide clinicians and educators with suggestions for improving practice. Students need to be supported in complex processes of adjusting and reshaping identity through the use of holistic, comprehensive approaches that can be adapted flexibly in response to changing needs. Using the concept of a student journey provides a framework to explore broad approaches for supporting a range of academic and non-academic factors influencing students’ participation over time.