The Unequal Work of Staying: Reframing Student Agency and Continuation in Higher Education

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Yearsley, S orcid iconORCID: 0009-0008-9342-6524 (2026) The Unequal Work of Staying: Reframing Student Agency and Continuation in Higher Education. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice. ISSN 1521-0251

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Abstract

Conventional retention measures identify whether students remain but reveal little about what remaining requires. Drawing on conceptual development from a mixed-methods doctoral study of students who seriously considered withdrawal but continued, this article advances two interconnected objectives: conceptualising the work of staying and examining how unequal conditions shape its demands. Five interconnected dimensions of staying work are proposed: interpretive, relational, resource-mobilising, adaptive and temporal. The unequal work of staying extends this framework by examining how material, relational, institutional and structural conditions generate disproportionate or avoidable demands that may remain concealed by equivalent retention outcomes. This distinction recognises that differences in effort are not inherently inequitable. The framework connects student agency with institutional responsibility, recognising students’ active participation in continuation while questioning the demands institutions place upon them. Retention practice should therefore support students’ agency while reducing avoidable continuation work.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: 3903 Education Systems; 3904 Specialist Studies In Education; 39 Education; 8.1 Organisation and delivery of services; 4 Quality Education; 1301 Education Systems; Education; 3903 Education systems
Subjects: L Education > L Education (General)
L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB2300 Higher Education
Divisions: Education
Publisher: SAGE
Date of acceptance: 19 October 2026
Date of first compliant Open Access: 3 November 2026
Date Deposited: 03 Nov 2026 14:59
Last Modified: 04 Nov 2026 10:19
DOI or ID number: 10.1177/15210251261503297
URI: https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/29810
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