Intertwined Higher Education Places and Spaces

Aim/Purpose: This essay highlights how the way educational places and spaces are imagined impacts higher education research, policy, and practice. Background: Drawing on the rapid transition to online education in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, dichotomous thinking about education space is problematized by examining how the physical (e.g., the lecture hall) is intertwined with the digital (e.g., an online course shell). Methodology: Conceptual essay Contribution: I illustrate how shifting towards conceptualizing higher education as an intertwined environment, that which is a blended mix of the physical and the digital is a more robust construct that can better assist researchers, policymakers, and practitioners. Findings: Dichotomous— online or on campus—thinking masks issues of equity and justice deserving of higher education leadership research, policy, and practice in need of attention, which COVID-19 has brought to light. Recommendations for Practitioners: By embracing an intertwined educational environment construct, practitioners may be better positioned to see opportunities for increasing equity of higher education access. Recommendation for Researchers: By embracing an intertwined educational environment frame, future research can better examine higher educational equity issues and opportunities. Impact on Society: The larger societal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic will inevitably change individuals and institutions. By revisiting higher education through an intertwined environmental frame, higher education institutions will be better positioned to assist ALL in society. Future Research: As higher educational institutions grapple with changes in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, future research which problematizes educational space is needed to better understand the shifting, complex, and nuanced environments where learning, marginalization, and opportunities for change exist.