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Student progression and retention is an area of increasing social importance and concern around student non-completion rates is expressed in many arenas. Research suggests many reasons for student non-completion, including the balancing of social and academic integration into university life. The increasing diversity of the student body potentially militates against such integration. Discourse here has tended either to problematise the student (seeking to identify and remedy their alleged deficits and differences), or the teacher (adopting a narrowly "technological", a-theoretical approach to teaching and learning). Both approaches de-contextualise the issue removing it from the social nexus which is at the heart of the learning and teaching environment. This article seeks to redress this by placing the social nexus at the core of its approach to progression and retention. Drawing upon group work theory we explore the role of small group learning in promoting social and academic integration.

A qualitative systematic review was undertaken to identify the therapeutic impact of arts-based activities as experienced by adults sexually abused in childhood. Sixteen studies, identified through a systematic search protocol , were included in a thematic synthesis. Quality of studies was assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme tool. Arts-based activities were identified as offering a safe space, in which to find a voice, to engage in self-exploration, and to communicate experience and connect with others where a new sense of self and empowerment could emerge. Creative activities can play a significant role in the unique paths to recovery that sexual abuse survivors develop. Limitations to the review derive from the small number of papers, methodological weaknesses of the studies and the variation in focus. More research is needed into impact of specific media, and barriers and enablers to using creative activities as a resource. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]