Investigating the flow of compassion, course withdrawal and persistence factors within university

This portfolio thesis is comprised of three parts, a systematic literature review, an empirical report and supporting appendices.Part one is a systematic literature review which aimed to explore factors associated with UK undergraduates contemplating/actually withdrawing from and/or persisting with their course, following the 2012 educational reforms. A systematic search of five databases found 13 papers suitable for review. Narrative synthesis of these papers’ themes, following review of their methodological quality; plus, implications and areas for future research are discussed.Part two is an empirical report of an original piece of research aiming to investigate Gilbert et al’s (2017) flow of compassion model within a university, both from staff and student perspectives. University students and staff completed surveys measuring compassion orientations (compassion to self, others and from others within university), fear of receiving compassion; plus, measures of wellbeing, course/job satisfaction and drop-out thinking frequency. Students’ reasons for staying at university following drop-out thoughts were also explored and qualitatively analysed. Quantitative analyses aimed to explore the flow of compassion within different levels of university, in addition to the relationships between compassion orientations and wellbeing, course/job satisfaction and drop-out thinking frequency. Findings of the study are reported, and clinical implications discussed. Part three consists of appendices relating to the systematic literature review and empirical report. It also includes epistemological and reflective statements