Lorna Minkman

My name is Lorna Minkman and I am an external PhD-student. For 32 years I have been working at Fontys University and developed myself into an expert of the personal and professional identity of higher education students. The uniqueness of each student, the essence of playfulness within a safe pedagogical environment creates an enormous positive contribution to the intrinsic motivation of the students. In 2024 I published a (Dutch) book about that subject: Lifelong play.

The title of my PhD is: Student agency in the pedagogical atmosphere. Based on the significant increase in students who suffer from stress, performance pressure and other mental health challenges (Dopmeijer, 2021), I wonder whether it is possible to create a pedagogical atmosphere where students and teachers share the responsibility to provide opportunities in which students are recognized as social actors and learn to influence choices that affect their lives and their social environment.

My research focuses on the essential experiences of the student in a pedagogical environment. To explore that essence in depth, I will conduct the research which is based on a phenomenological methodology, which has its origins in philosophy. .