A narrative inquiry exploring the nature of postgraduate research students' wellbeing

Research into postgraduate researcher (PGR) wellbeing has identified ways to mitigate risk and develop interventions for those identified as in need of support but the voices of those who have a sense of wellbeing are absent from the discussions. The marketised English higher education context suggests that PGR students have power as consumers whilst simultaneously normalising emotional exhaustion and high rates of attrition. Although there is a recognised need for specialist support for some, this qualitative research, inspired by Antonovsky’s (1996) salutogenic approach, used narrative inquiry to elicit the views of PGRs with a sense of wellbeing. The research listened to the stories shared by thirteen PGRs with a sense of wellbeing. Two overarching themes were created using reflexive thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2022) and three narratives of wellbeing were compiled using dialogical narrative analysis (Frank, 2010). The unexpected prevalence of metaphor led to metaphor analysis, guided by Cameron and Maslen (2010), and the identification of four systematic metaphors. The combined findings suggest PGRs with a sense of wellbeing perceive their wellbeing holistically, they have agency and they engage reflexively with thoughts and actions (Archer, 1995). Their experiences of wellbeing are dynamic with balancing as a core component of PGR wellbeing, spanning across all aspects of their lives, including the mind and body. Combining modes of analysis provided a unique contribution to knowledge and insight into the nature of PGR wellbeing. Despite the documented lack of consensus, PGRs shared conceptional commonalities when defining wellbeing. They quietly resisted constructions of PGR students as vulnerable or as consumers of education. They reflected that telling stories about their wellbeing had a positive impact on their wellbeing. Recommendations for the sector are to focus on processes of listening, promoting agency and fostering opportunities to share stories of wellbeing that resist problematising it. Recommendations for future research are to involve those with a sense of wellbeing to enable their voices to contribute to wellbeing discourse.