{"id":{"repo_id":"uwtsd","oai_identifier":"oai:repository.uwtsd.ac.uk:380"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uwtsd/oai:repository.uwtsd.ac.uk:380","repository":{"repo_id":"uwtsd","name":"University of Wales Trinity Saint David","base_url":"https://repository.uwtsd.ac.uk/cgi/oai2"},"display":{"title":"Sense of place, identity and attachment : entering university.","abstract":"Sense of Place is a topic that has attracted considerable interest of late; how people relate to their location and how this bond can increase or decrease can have considerable bearing on levels of well-being and adjustment. Place attachment can also be strengthened through social interplay and through people becoming active members of a community such as a university. This study looks at the level of connection to place experienced by university students embarking on the first year of their degree programme. Using established survey instruments, students were questioned at the start of their course and again three months later to determine whether levels of place attachment, place meaning, place identity and social capital would increase over this period. Interviews with students examined their relationship to place and their perceptions of the university campus. Results show that place attachment did increase significantly pre- and post-test, but place meaning did not show any statistically significant change. There was some evidence to suggest that there is a weak link between social capital levels pre- and post-test. A key finding of the study was the importance of national identity, specifically a connection to Wales, and the high rating given to the importance of family bonds. Fundamentally, this research is useful as it may be able to inform policy and practice in the context of higher education, particularly in regard to the issue of retention; i.e. whether students remain in the institution of their choice and complete their chosen academic programme.","abstract_html":"Sense of Place is a topic that has attracted considerable interest of late; how people relate to their location and how this bond can increase or decrease can have considerable bearing on levels of well-being and adjustment. Place attachment can also be strengthened through social interplay and through people becoming active members of a community such as a university. This study looks at the level of connection to place experienced by university students embarking on the first year of their degree programme. Using established survey instruments, students were questioned at the start of their course and again three months later to determine whether levels of place attachment, place meaning, place identity and social capital would increase over this period. Interviews with students examined their relationship to place and their perceptions of the university campus. Results show that place attachment did increase significantly pre- and post-test, but place meaning did not show any statistically significant change. There was some evidence to suggest that there is a weak link between social capital levels pre- and post-test. A key finding of the study was the importance of national identity, specifically a connection to Wales, and the high rating given to the importance of family bonds. Fundamentally, this research is useful as it may be able to inform policy and practice in the context of higher education, particularly in regard to the issue of retention; i.e. whether students remain in the institution of their choice and complete their chosen academic programme.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Davies, Peter Henry"],"institution":"University of Wales Trinity Saint David","degree_name":"ma","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014","date_published":"2014","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:52:44Z","subjects":["HM Cymdeithaseg","HT Cymunedau. Dosbarthiadau cymdeithasol. Hil"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.grantnumber","label":"Dc Identifier Grantnumber","values":["UWTSD"],"render_values":[{"text":"UWTSD","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://doi.org/10.82227/repository.uwtsd.ac.uk.00000380","outbound_label":"DOI","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.doi"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.sponsor","label":"Sponsor","values":["University of Wales Trinity Saint David"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Davies, Peter Henry"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2014"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2014"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.commercial","label":"Dc Publisher Commercial","values":["University of Wales Trinity Saint David"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.department","label":"Dc Publisher Department","values":["Traethodau Meistr","Faculty of Social Sciences"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.institution","label":"Dc Publisher Institution","values":["University of Wales Trinity Saint David"]},{"key":"dc:relation.isreferencedby","label":"Dc Relation Isreferencedby","values":["https://repository.uwtsd.ac.uk/id/eprint/380/"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Gosodiad"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationlevel","label":"Dc Type Qualificationlevel","values":["masters"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationname","label":"Dc Type Qualificationname","values":["ma"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["HM Cymdeithaseg","HT Cymunedau. 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This study looks at the level of connection to place experienced by university students embarking on the first year of their degree programme. Using established survey instruments, students were questioned at the start of their course and again three months later to determine whether levels of place attachment, place meaning, place identity and social capital would increase over this period. Interviews with students examined their relationship to place and their perceptions of the university campus. Results show that place attachment did increase significantly pre- and post-test, but place meaning did not show any statistically significant change. There was some evidence to suggest that there is a weak link between social capital levels pre- and post-test. A key finding of the study was the importance of national identity, specifically a connection to Wales, and the high rating given to the importance of family bonds. Fundamentally, this research is useful as it may be able to inform policy and practice in the context of higher education, particularly in regard to the issue of retention; i.e. whether students remain in the institution of their choice and complete their chosen academic programme."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["text"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Sense of place, identity and attachment : entering university."]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.sponsor":["University of Wales Trinity Saint David"],"dc:creator":["Davies, Peter Henry"],"dc:date":["2014"],"dc:date.issued":["2014"],"dc:description.abstract":["Sense of Place is a topic that has attracted considerable interest of late; how people relate to their location and how this bond can increase or decrease can have considerable bearing on levels of well-being and adjustment. Place attachment can also be strengthened through social interplay and through people becoming active members of a community such as a university. This study looks at the level of connection to place experienced by university students embarking on the first year of their degree programme. Using established survey instruments, students were questioned at the start of their course and again three months later to determine whether levels of place attachment, place meaning, place identity and social capital would increase over this period. Interviews with students examined their relationship to place and their perceptions of the university campus. Results show that place attachment did increase significantly pre- and post-test, but place meaning did not show any statistically significant change. There was some evidence to suggest that there is a weak link between social capital levels pre- and post-test. 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