WELCOME
To advance inter-disciplinary research into the role of boarding school
as a surrogate for home and evaluate long-term outcomes for
individuals, institutions and society
Welcome to the LSBU Boarding School Research Hub (BSR Hub), a community of research practice led by Pippa Palmer and a team of researchers, under the auspices of London South Bank University’s Building Future Communities Research Centre.
The BSR Hub has been created to offer a welcoming and accessible space for research professionals and experts from all institutions and disciplines to share knowledge, strategies, and research insights, around a shared mission:
WHY WE ESTABLISHED A COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE
A growing body of anecdotal, clinical, and qualitative research points to concerning trends in the longitudinal outcomes for people who were educated in residential boarding establishments. These trends contrast sharply with the dominant cultural narrative that frames a boarding education as a privilege and a head start in life. Who should we believe?
When seeking the true picture, it is surprising to discover that a practice of such global scale and significance as boarding has little to offer by way of concrete evidence - leaving it hard for proponents to argue for or against. As one academic study into the psychological impacts of boarding school points out, much of the advertising literature provided by boarding schools about the benefits of boarding for children’s wellbeing is not based on formal research.
advancing inter-disciplinary research into boarding school as a surrogate for homE
The urgent need for structured, methodical research to fill the existing evidence gaps is widely recognised, and there is a large amount of research and enquiry taking place around the globe. However, to date there has been no single place for researchers and practitioners to come together, share knowledge, establish methodologies and agree research priorities.
The LSBU Boarding School Research Hub (BSR Hub) aims to provide that space, offering a community of practice for this growing and important research sector. We are on a mission to convene, connect, support and spearhead research, fostering a collaborative, inter-disciplinary community that comes together to examine the system of boarding school with academic rigour. Together, we hope to advance inter-disciplinary research into the role of boarding school as a surrogate for home and evaluate long-term outcomes for individuals, institutions and society.
AN LSBU INITIATIVE - TO PROVIDE A SPACE FOR THE research COMMUNITY
As a Community of Practice established by London South Bank University (LSBU), LSBU’s BSR Hub team will help guide strategic direction and encourage the conversation. The founder’s research consultancy, Polln will provide the digital platform. Polln with host the BSR Hub Member’s forum where our community of researchers can converse and communicate, and a microsite to share outcomes and resources with the wider public.
Whilst together we provide the space and means to convene, the strength of this initiative will lie in the community itself: the researchers, practitioners, and advocates who contribute their insight, passion and energy.
We will only be as strong as the community we build, and we warmly encourage your involvement.
The BSR Hub members-only forum is a safe place where our community of professional researchers can meet, collaborate, share knowledge and discuss boarding related topics - without the risk of causing distress to former boarders in the public domain.
All academics, researchers, public health specialists, psychologists, practitioners and educators who share an interest in research into boarding and institutional care are warmly invited to join the members-only forum.
APPLY NOW FOR MEMBERS-ONLY ACCESS
Membership is free, and comes with no obligation. Members are invited to participate at their own pace and contribute to the discourse as they wish.
We are keen to build a balanced, interdisciplinary community of practice.
We welcome former boarders and value their lived experience, but in line with LSBU’s ethics and care guidelines, we limit membership to those who are actively working, researching, volunteering or retired from an accredited organisation, in the field, or in a related field.
Because our research covers sensitive topics, we also refer members - especially those with boarding experience - to our ethics and care guidelines, which are designed to ensure our individual and collective safety as we convene to conduct this vital work.
If in doubt about eligibility, please explain your circumstances, and we will do our best to accommodate you.
THE BENEFITS OF JOINING OUR MEMBERs-ONLY FORUM
Once your application to join the BSR Hub Forum is approved, you will be able to enjoy full access to members-only research-related events and conferences, and sign up to any Specialist Groups. You can also contribute to research and discussions and enjoy the support of many other professionals working in this field
For application and membership enquiries, including support with logging in, or to publish blogs or resources in the members’ area, please email our BS Research Hub Co-ordinator, Rachel Wickremer.
INTRODUCING OUR THREE SPECIALIST GROUPS
To help our Community of Practice focus on the most critical and pressing issues, our events and discussions with centre around three Specialist Groups. To encourage more focused enquiry in key research areas, each Specialist Group is further divided into three Sub-Groups, allowing members to explore particular areas of interest in more depth. Each group will be led by experts in that subject area, and we welcome - indeed encourage - all professionals and practitioners from any related field to contribute to the discourse.
Robust discussion is imperative. Our ultimate goal is to fully understand the system in which boarding school operates, identify critical issues and gaps in existing knowledge, and help members pursue grant-funded research in order to close those evidence gaps.
Exploring longer-term costs of boarding to wider society
Drawing from interdisciplinary perspectives, the LATENT EFFECTS group aims to explore the longer-term consequences reported by some (but no means all) former boarders. We aim to identify the range and prevalence, then seek to quantify any unaudited impacts on public health & wider society.
The LATENT EFFECTS specialist group has 3 sub-groups:
Public Health
Political & Economic
Wider Society
Exploring dominant cultural narratives and hidden voices
Our REBALANCING NARRATIVES group will investigate how stories about boarding school shape public perception, policy, and identity. It will centre marginalised voices and explore how intersectionality - gender, culture, race, class etc - shapes exclusion and belonging within the boarding institution.
REBALANCING NARRATIVES group has 3 sub-groups:
Women’s Voices
Third Culture
The Compliant Voice
Exploring the boarding institution as a proxy for home
THE INSTITUTION group will critically analyse power structures, governance and pedagogical constructs inherent in boarding institutions acting as proxy for familial care. It will evaluate educational advantage alongside questions of institutional power, safeguarding and child welfare.
THE INSTITUTION specialist group has 3 sub-groups:
Legacy and Power
Education Modes
Safeguarding & Welfare
WANT TO JOIN OUR specialist Groups & MEMBERS-ONLY FORUM?
You need to be a member to take part in the specialist group activities and discussions in the BSR Hub Forum. Sign up here. For other application and membership enquiries, including support with logging in to members’ area, please email our BSR Hub Co-ordinator, Rachel Wickremer.
INTRODUCING OUR NEW THEORY OF CHANGE
As a fledgling research community, our initial activities and Areas of Research Interest (ARIs) are based on our new Theory of Change for boarding school research. This Theory of Change explains how cultural perceptions of boarding are shaped by a common cognitive deficit: The Survivorship Bias.
Survivorship bias occurs when society focuses on individuals or entities that have made it through a process, while ignoring those who did not. Current narratives surrounding Boarding school focus on a relatively small group of alumni in politics, law, and finance as evidence of the system’s overall effectiveness. However these individuals only represent a highly visible minority.
Our aim is to foster robust longitudinal studies and build a more complete field of evidence across wider cohorts in order to fully understand the full impacts of boarding.
We fully expect our community of researchers to challenge and expand on this theory of change as we build a deeper understanding of boarding as a system, and start to identify and address gaps in the current evidence-base.
A SYSTEMS APPROACH TO BOARDING SCHOOL RESEARCH
The BSR Hub is hosted by Polln, a research consultancy founded by Pippa Palmer, which works closely with LSBU. Hosting through Polln (which is offered without charge) means members have a practical place to connect and collaborate, whilst avoiding the inevitable complexities of University IT barriers.