Menopausal students’ experience of higher education

Bentley, Anne and Carol, Christine (2026) Menopausal students’ experience of higher education. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling. pp. 1-15. ISSN 0306-9885

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Abstract

Menopausal students are absent from the scholarly literature. Through this research, we challenge the invisibility of this group within university counselling training courses. In this study, the menopausal students’ experience is explored using a phenomenological lens. Semi- structured interviews were conducted with three counselling students and one osteopathy student and analysed using two of van Manen’s [1997. Researching lived experience: Human science for an action sensitive pedagogy. London, ON: The Althouse Press] lifeworld existentials, “lived body” and “lived space”. Menopausal symptoms deter menopausal students from contributing in class and precipitate their physical, intellectual and emotional withdrawal. They experience exclusion and feel unwanted in the academic space. Inclusion and exclusion are ethical issues for counselling trainers. Menopausal students’ experiences reveal exclusionary processes and potential hidden inequalities. The findings reflected how menopausal students occupy and use learning spaces and may help counsellor educators to reflect upon how forms of exclusion can operate outside conscious awareness and impact social interaction.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	Menopause, menopausal students, embodiment, phenomenology, space
Depositing User:	Ms Raisa Burton
Date Deposited:	08 Oct 2026 15:01
Last Modified:	08 Oct 2026 15:01
URI:	https://marjon.repository.guildhe.ac.uk/id/eprint/18159

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