Higher Education, Place, and Career Development

Rosie Alexander is a lecturer at the University of the West of Scotland, UK. Prior to her academic career, she worked as a careers adviser in some of the most rural and remote communities in the UK.

• Preface; Acknowledgements; 1. Introduction: setting the scene; 2. Mobilising potential: mobility, education, and neoliberalism; 3. Spatial belongings: spaces of the life-course; 4. Becoming and belonging: change over time; 5. Career frameworks for mobility; 6. Navigating careers, relationships, and mobilities over time and space: graduate experiences; 7. Spatialising student career development: a theoretical model; 8. Spatialising higher education policy and practice; 9. Conclusions; Appendix 1

"Place has become a relevant keyword to understand young people’s transition to and through higher education. This important book explores the role of place, and mobility, in Scottish rural youth experiences of university life and studies. In this book, students and researchers interested in the intersection of rural youth lives and higher education institutions will find insights into how place shapes structural opportunities and challenges for these young people. Importantly it enhances our understanding of significant concepts – such as place, mobility, rurality, and inequality – in youth and education research."Professor Hernan Cuervo, University of Melbourne, Australia"Higher Education, Place, and Career Development is an exploration of the unique educational and career trajectories of students from rural and island communities. Drawing on research from the Scottish islands of Orkney and Shetland, Alexander uncovers the dynamics of place, mobility, and relationships that shape student experiences and career pathways." Professor Per-Åke Rosvall, convenor of Nordic Research Network on Transitions, Career and Guidance, Department of Creative Studies, Umeå University"Rosie Alexander's book offers a profound exploration of the interplay between place, mobility, and career development. Focusing on career and mobility as processes, Alexander opens up new and interesting avenues for exploration, for example questions like: how does someone’s spatial location and history impact on their career or occupational trajectory? Drawing on the lived experiences of students from Orkney and Shetland she uncovers the dynamic relationship between spatial context and career trajectories by tracking their journeys through higher education and into the workforce. Her work challenges static notions of education and employment transitions, offering thought provoking and fresh insights into how rural origins shape long-term destinations and outcomes. This book is a vital contribution and a must-read for scholars interested in the intersection of place, mobility, and career development."Professor MSO Rie Thomsen, Aarhus University, Denmark"All too often thinking about careers is viewed through an economistic lens that is often described as ‘rational’ (but is in fact anything but). In this book Rosie Alexander challenges the idea that careering is a process of matching individuals’ human capital with the needs of the labour market. Instead she alerts us to the complex dynamics of space, place, family, relationships, aspirations, dreams and desires that actually govern our careers. This makes this book essential reading for everyone who is interested in how careers and transitions work."Professor Tristram Hooley, International Centre for Guidance Studies, University of Derby, UK"This book extends work on spatial dimensions of career transitions in new and novel ways by focussing on what career decision-making is like for people on remote rural islands. It fills an important gap and has implications more broadly for how questions of belonging, place and identity interact with careers."Professor Michael Donnelly, University of Bath, UK