Abstract

This presentation details the findings of research at a university in England, UK to record and recognise the
experiences of estranged students. Estranged students, who have a permanent lack of contact with their
parents, were recruited to take part in a photo-elicitation project which involved taking a series of images
and completing a research diary over the course of a university vacation. The resulting images were used to
stimulate discussion in a series of focus groups about the experiences of estranged students at university and
the ways in which higher education institutions might better support estranged students. Drawing on focus
group data and a review of the literature, this presentation considers the invisibility of estranged students and
their experience in higher education whilst reflecting on the use of photo-elicitation as a research method with
a vulnerable group.