Experiential learning spaces and student wellbeing: a mixed-methods study of students at three research intensive UK universities

Figures & data

Table 1. Student Wellbeing and Experiential Learning Spaces (SWELS) quantitative data demographics (n = 140).

	UCL	King’s	Oxford	Overall
	%	%	%	%
Gender
Female	75.68	76.06	76.67	76.43
Male	18.92	23.94	20.00	21.43
Other	2.70	N/A	3.33	1.43
Prefer not to say	2.70	N/A	N/A	0.71
Age range
18–21	45.95	77.46	70.00	66.43
22–24	27.03	9.86	6.67	13.57
25+	27.03	12.68	23.33	20.00
Uni course
Undergraduate	59.46	100	70.00	82.14
Postgraduate Taught	35.14	N/A	10.00	11.43
Postgraduate Research	5.41	N/A	16.67	5.71
Prefer not to say	N/A	N/A	3.33	0.71
UK-based
Yes	81.08	98.59	100	94.29
No	18.92	1.41	N/A	5.71
Ethnicity
White	59.46	29.58	76.67	48.57
Asian or Asian British	24.32	50.70	13.33	35.00
Black, African, Caribbean	N/A	4.23	3.33	2.14
Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups	5.41	5.63	3.33	5.00
Prefer not to say	8.11	1.41	3.33	3.57
Other	2.70	8.45	3.33	5.71

NB: The sample sizes per university: UCL N = 37, King’s N = 71, Oxford N = 30, with other universities contributing 2. Overall N = 140.

Figure 1. UCL MASc Creative Health students engaging in object-based learning for wellbeing at UCL’s Object-based Learning Lab. (Photo: Thomas Kador).

Figure 2. Dental students from King’s College Clinical Humanities & Wellbeing module closely observing and improving their haptic skills through drawing at the Gordon Museum, London. (Photo: Flora Smyth Zahra).

Figure 3. Expo tab on the online platform Hopin from Ashmolean Museum (ISO)Lates event, 29 April 2021 © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford.

Table 2. Mean and standard deviation of ONS wellbeing questions by university.

	UCL	King’s	Oxford	Overall
	Mean (SD)	Mean (SD)	Mean (SD)	Mean (SD)
Life Satisfaction	6.27 (2.58)	6.93 (2.02)	7.03 (1.54)	6.74 (2.11)
Anxiety	5.24 (2.74)	5.54 (2.88)	4.24 (2.82)	5.20 (2.84)
Happiness	5.95 (2.89)	6.13 (2.47)	6.67 (1.88)	6.18 (2.46)
Worthwhileness	6.19 (2.90)	7.20 (2.18)	7.07 (2.02)	6.87 (2.38)

Figure 4. Proportional breakdown of SWELS survey participants ONS4 wellbeing scores compared to the national average at the same time point for the same age.

Table 3. Mean and standard deviation of Harvard Flourishing Scale by university.

	UCL	King’s	Oxford	Overall
	Mean (SD)	Mean (SD)	Mean (SD)	Mean (SD)
Domain 1: Happiness and Life Satisfaction	11.32 (4.64)	12.51 (3.93)	12.80 (2.68)	12.24 (3.88)
Domain 2: Physical and Mental Health	10.76 (4.57)	11.26 (4.17)	11.55 (3.92)	11.18 (4.17)
Domain 3: Meaning and Purpose	10.86 (5.29)	13.85 (4.17)	12.87 (4.07)	12.76 (4.61)
Domain 4: Character and Virtue	12.17 (4.20)	13.90 (3.95)	12.70 (2.23)	13.17 (3.74)
Domain 5: Close Social relationships	13.17 (5.79)	13.16 (4.68)	13.50 (4.07)	13.25 (4.82)
Domain 6: Financial and material stability	8.57 (6.54)	7.10 (6.42)	5.00 (4.76)	7.11 (6.23)
Flourishing Index	117.54 (47.64)	128.31 (45.58)	131.17 (22.88)	126.02 (42.09)

Sample per university: UCL = N37, King’s = N70, Oxford = N30, with other universities contributing 2. Overall N = 139.

Figure 5. Survey participants activity levels in experiential learning spaces pre and post COVID-19.

Figure 6. Survey participants activity levels in experiential learning spaces pre- and post- COVID-19 by university.

Table 4. Student Wellbeing and Experiential Learning Spaces qualitative data Demographics (n = 14).

	UCL	King’s	Oxford	Overall
	%	%	%	%
Gender
Female	100	33.3	100	85.7
Male	0	66.6	0	14.3
Uni course
Undergraduate	40	66.6	0	42.8
Postgraduate Taught	60	0	0	42.8
Postgraduate Research	0	33.3	100	14.4

Sample size per university: UCL = 10, King’s = 3, Oxford = 1.

Table 5. Themes and illustrative quotes from the qualitative analysis.

Theme	Quote
Cultural spaces and modules	‘Events which encourage people to step outside of what they’re doing, because a university experience should be a holistic experience, you should be able to kind of engage with things outside of you and get a spirit of place, so anything which encourages you to explore places like the Ashmolean or the Pitt Rivers or the Natural History Museum.’
	‘These [UCL museum] spaces do have the power to transform individuals and they do, but they also have the power to trigger and overstimulate some people…we’ve got to meet people where they are and build these bridges.’
	‘Clinical humanities was a nice time of the week, you have to be present, we would have to be there in the moment and go to a museum or the park and either way it forced us to relax and take some time off. A few hours to yourself. We have interesting people and conversations going on in the module where they were talking about mental health, we got to meet all these people talking about it and their ideas. They would come to share, which I really liked and enjoyed’.
Experiential learning curricula	‘[Experiential learning supporting wellbeing] needs to be a conscious thought throughout the construction of modules and university campuses, across all aspects of university life because I think right now it’s very obviously not considered.’
	‘I don’t know if I completely believe in [curricula experiential learning] being like a solution. But I can see it being something really nice, like the cherry on top it’s just not the Sundae’
Diversifying content	‘I think the whole idea of diversifying content…just makes it more enjoyable as a student…if these modules expecting us to think creatively and they want us to come up with really original ideas with essays. But they’re not being particularly original or creative with the way they’re giving these modules which I think limits, how many are outside of the box. I just think there’s, like, a certain expectation on us as students to like break barriers and that there’s always an assessment criterion to check.’
Digital versus Physical	Without this module and the trips to the museum, I wouldn’t have met people from the course, as nothing really was in-person. I was able to make friends regardless of the pandemic through this module.

Data availability statement

Data has been deposited with the UK Data Service and will be made publicly available after publication of this article.