Conclusion

This final chapter serves to draw together the main threads of perspectives and arguments presented in this book. While each of the chapters has unique foci and findings, we identify the crossovers and correlations that exist across contributions. Providing a summary overview of each of the chapters, the underlying tensions and contradictions within depictions of university studenthood are identified. These tensions perpetuated not only via policy or teaching practices but also through mainstream media including newspaper reports and television documentaries. This chapter foregrounds this complexity in order to provide a number of key ‘take home’ messages that can both valuably inform our understanding of students and the broader higher education sector.