Creating academic communities: why bother?

Why develop an academic community? Can this enhance the student experience and positively impact on key metrics? Being a member of a community (group) is a source of individual wellbeing (Akerlof & Kranton, 2000) and happiness Layard, 2005). This group membership can also dissolve the us and them attitudes common in consumerist metaphors of education. Organised around three key themes of Communication, Students as Partners and Shared Experience, this session will explore the development of an academic community and the positives (and pitfalls) of this. We argue that creating a community within a school is a critical first step in enhancing student engagement