Studenthood as surrogate occupation: access to higher education students' discursive production of commitment, discursive production of commitment, maturity and peer support

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Abstract
This article suggests that, despite the current preoccupation with learner-centredness, there are good reasons for maintaining a research interest in the practice of ‘studenthood’ as a means by which students enact coherence between their own personal requirements and those of the educational site. The article comprises a critical ethnography, depicting the ways in which a group of mature returners on an Access to HE programme constructed studenthood as an instrumental, transferable and discursive technique, employed to make themselves viable actors in further and higher education. Within this quasi-vocational setting studenthood is conceptualised as a surrogate occupation, which formed the prerequisite for completion of Access, progression to HE and, ultimately, entry into desired forms of graduate employment. The group's development of a student ethic centres upon fluid intra-group networking and a discourse of commitment, maturity and reciprocation.