Social justice, capabilities and learning support provided by lecturers: A phenomenological-hermeneutic study

Many student nurses require additional support to undertake university level education. Lecturers are well placed to deliver learning support, which may enrich attainment with assignments. Yet fairness in how support is offered, for example if it is accessible and enables learning abilities, may impact on its utility. This study examined these aspects, exploring capabilities of learning support provided by lecturers. Capabilities are a feature of social justice theory and involve having opportunities that shape abilities, to achieve, or strive for outcomes people value. Hence, identifying capabilities of learning support may enlighten what develops equity in how students are able to utilise lecturers’ support and develop their abilities to learn. A phenomenological-hermeneutic research approach was adopted, employing focus groups to explore lived experiences of learning support provided by lecturers. Capabilities were located within the social contacts of students and lecturers, identified as themes; ‘collaborative relationships’, ‘making space for learning’, and ‘modelling’. Findings were consolidated illustrating lecturers’ interaction with students’ enhanced capabilities in how students could utilise support, to progress learning abilities. It is hoped these insights develop understanding in what might have utility when lecturers aid learning and show a relevancy of social justice when students are assisted within university. M AN US CR IP T AC CE PT ED ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT

Learning support plays a pivotal role at university, whereby intellectual and emotional aid enhances student learning abilities. Despite developments in offering support, markedly with e-learning and peer assisted learning (Edwards and Bone, 2012), attainment of assignments and attrition remain an international concern. Figures identify average attrition rates of up to 50% for student nurses (Harris et al. 2014), with difficulties of studying being a substantial reason to abandon nursing programmes (Wray et al. 2017). Although learning support can improve achievement (Ooms et al. 2013), studies exploring equity and attainment, lean towards predisposing factors, for example, secondary education of students and social class (Schneider and Preckel, 2017). This has illuminated inequalities but perhaps underexplores how university staff, are supportive in aiding learning; an important factor, owing to the diverse abilities and characteristics of students now entering nursing education (Loftin et al. 2013). Weaver (2008) proposes an aim of learning support is to enhance learning abilities, so students grasp taught subjects. Hence support is conceivably diverse to accomplish, or work towards abilities that enables learning; for example, fostering critical thinking, besides growing technical knowledge on locating literature and writing assignments.
Organisationally, this requires comprehensive systems so students understand what is available, how to access, and the purpose of support. Warwick et al. (2017) add, entire faculties require being supportive when significant learning may occur, beyond formal lessons. In this context, learning support involves student socialisation; nursing principles, notably person centeredness, might be learnt, not merely by acquiring support, but via interpersonal interactions of faculty members in how assistance is offered and if support is tailored to student needs (Chen, 2015).
While universities have learning support units, comprising of extracurricular teaching and support programmes, lecturers are likely to be the first point of contact for learning support, owing to their frequent student interactions, beside pastoral and tutorial duties (Bailey, 2013). Moreover, learning support is a requisite of nurse M A N U S C R I P T A C C E P T E D ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 3 educators (NMC, 2008), however possible indifference and dissonance towards student learning needs may render support inoperable. Students desire confidence to learn and lessened anxiety, implying supportive relationships are perhaps as important to support given (McCaig et al. 2014). Such relationships may reduce attrition (Gillen, 2012), but could possibly also be emancipatory, whereby lecturers' kindness aids problem-solving to achieve, or work towards learning abilities initially perceived unattainable by students (Bailey, 2013).

Social Justice.
Social justice derives from a kaleidoscope of contesting views; feasibly traced to Aristotelian philosophy, proposing equality with allocating sparse resources, but with landowners (Hope, 2013). Debate centres on fairness, how goods and services are distributed and accessed in society. Goods range from food to shelter, while services include healthcare and education. Social justice also pertains to fairness of the judiciary, ability to take up opportunities, exercise rights, and protect those disadvantaged (Ornstein, 2017). Groups who bear uneven burdens, for instance linked to socioeconomic factors and disabilities, need more aid; alternatively, onus can be on personal responsibility to support welfare (Preiss, 2017). Further complexity is how economic climates shape social justice; notably, relaxation of job security during economic recessions to increase employment, and enable more people the ability to purchase essential goods (Wilson, 2007).
Despite extensive debate, seminal theories of social justice do exist. Utilitarianism proposed justice in society depends on the most people experiencing happiness (Mill, 2014), yet a consequence might be, minority groups encounter disproportionate suffering (Rawls, 1999). Rawls (1999) based social justice on need, particularly people disadvantaged who lack opportunity and focused on redistribution to those deprived.
Whereas Nozick (1974) and Miller (1999), draw on entitlement and economic markets; significantly, possession of goods is a right, while entrepreneurship raises wealth, enhancing capacity to purchase goods and services.

Capabilities Approach
Rather than gauging social justice on acquiring commodities alone, it can involve freedom to make choices and develop abilities perceived essential for quality of life (Sen, 2003). Although literature by Amartya Sen is diverse, a central argument is the capabilities approach whereby quality of life arises from achieving or striving towards functionings people value; "doing and being" (Sen, 2003, p 43). This is dependent on how resources are utilised and means people have, to achieve abilities. For example, owning a bicycle helps being mobile, in so far, people have, or can acquire, abilities to ride. Freedom therefore, is pivotal to bring about achievements which one attempts to produce, and may require tackling obstacles that impact on peoples' agency (Sen, 2009). It is these freedoms, enabling a person to do and be, which shape capabilities, signifying fairness in having opportunities to attain, or develop abilities; to flourish valuable aspects of human life such as being able to learn (Sen, 1999a). Sen (2003) illustrates that several low-income countries have superior wellbeing rankings over and above high-income populations, indicating opportunities to make use of resources, including personal attributes, improves quality of life. Feasibly then, social justice is not always contingent on fixed principles of distribution for those deprived, but is also an adaptive process to alleviate fixable injustices, varying between people, achieving what is possible, in given circumstances (Sen, 2009). This is relevant to learning support, when opportunities optimising use of university resources and student attributes might enrich learning abilities (Ooms et al. 2013). Flores-Crespo (2007) suggests support is reliant on lecturers and students exploring learning functionings, to develop abilities, which improve learning. Hence, learning support may conceivably be a collection of capabilities; the equity of which might be evaluated in how opportunities are shaped to have support, and the opportunities generated from support itself, to cultivate student learning abilities (Hart, 2012).

Study Aim
Despite capabilities potential to aid students, it is underexplored with learning support and nursing education generally. Capabilities have been developed in the literature, notably by Nussbaum (2012), yet the diversity in how capabilities may help people, has M A N U S C R I P T A C C E P T E D ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 5 meant there is still debate on what they entail (Entwistle and Watt, 2013). Capabilities may have different subjective connotations, meaning what capabilities involve can be investigated, according to whom it concerns and context (Sen, 1999a(Sen, , 1999b. This is to understand what has utility; when developing abilities, to reach, or advance a valuable functioning, is reliant on generating opportunities (Sen 1999b). Sen (1999a) adds, such knowledge has significance, for it can inform practical incremental improvements denoting minor adjustments to existing processes. Therefore, the study aimed to explore what enhanced capabilities of learning support, investigating student and lecturers lived experiences; this was to detect what capabilities might involve, and explore their impact in how students were able to utilise support provided by lecturers to progress learning abilities.

Phenomenological-Hermeneutics
A phenomenological-hermeneutic method, inspired by Ricoeur (1991; revised by Lindseth and Norbery, 2004), was adopted to unveil capabilities from lived experiences. Phenomenology explores how participants ascribe personal meanings to an explored phenomenon; illuminated in how interpretations of lived experiences, shape narrations (Geanellos, 2000). Hermeneutic adds interpretation; people are enmeshed in the world they live, whereby evaluations of the world depend on what is meaningful (Geanellos, 2000). Structure of text can convey what has meaning, thus an approach is to analyse interview transcripts, to extract text figurative to the world participants inhabit (Geanellos, 2000). This evolves interpretation, moving beyond narrated meanings, to explicate the phenomenon by what transcript text might represent (Wiklund et al. 2002). Interpretations are then consolidated, sometimes guided by relevant literature, to form a richer understanding in how participants experience the phenomenon, in their world (Lindseth and Norbery, 2004).

Ethical consideration and approval
Ethical approval was obtained from the Education Research Ethics Committee at the researchers' university. Informed consent was acquired, whereby participants because of the diversity in how and when learning support might occur, the researchers did not wish to limit narrations within set circumstances.
Focus groups were chosen as rich narratives detailing capabilities might emerge from participants, building on the perspectives of each other. Views might differ between students and lecturers however contrasting narratives may enhance understanding of what capabilities are. Lecturers and students were allocated to separate focus groups, as to feel more comfortable to discuss personal experiences of learning support. To assure authenticity, the expressions of participants were counter-checked to reduce misinterpretation, while narrations were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim to create familiarity with the data.

Interpretation
Lindseth and Norbery (2004) phenomenological-hermeneutic consists of three levels of interpretation drawing on the literature of Ricoeur (1991); naïve reading, structural analysis and comprehensive understanding. Naïve reading involves reading the transcripts several times, to sketch a preliminary grasp of the text. This surface understanding, guides deeper interpretation of structural analysis to unpick meaning units; denoted as textual threads that shape understanding of the texts' meaning and may indicate to capabilities when support is useful. Structural analysis moves back and forth between the parts and the whole of the text, until deeper meaning is understood, alongside comparing with naïve reading to improve accuracy of interpretation (Lindseth and Norberg, 2004). The final stage consists of discussion, recapitulating naïve reading and structural analysis guided by related literature; this is to generate an evolved understanding in how capabilities influenced equality, enabling students to make use of learning support and develop their abilities to learn.

Naïve reading
Focus groups transcripts were read several times in their entirety, to develop an initial impression in what capabilities represented, when experiences of learning support were useful. Capabilities were symbolised when lecturers empowered students to find answers for themselves. This entailed diverse interpersonal approaches, including aid to understand relevancy of lessons and learning material, besides how to make sense of literature, to enhance critical thinking. Communication appeared to have significance to capabilities, in the way learning support was tailored, to convey comprehension, using different communication techniques, and everyday language (table 1). This signified flexibility via lecturers sharing learning methods and how to conceptualise ideas. Sincerity was also meaningful to capabilities imparting knowledge to promote relevancy, not exhibit academic prowess. Moreover, dignity and respect seemingly had bearing to capabilities, symbolised via lecturers being curious in what may help, while seeking student views and validating their progressions.

Structural analysis
Structural analysis draws on meaning units, rendered from interpreting semantic meanings of words and sentences, to illustrate how transcript text is referential to objects, or ideas, within the participants' world (Wiklund et al. 2002). This evolves interpretation, aided by the researcher attempting to suspend presumptions on the texts' significance (Wiklund et al. 2002). The text was divided into meaning units, relating to the phenomena being explored, the text was then condensed and labelled with codes. Thereafter the researchers discussed how these codes could be sorted into meaningful content as subthemes, whereby the subthemes with similar content were sorted into themes (table 2) (Geanellos, 2000).

Comprehensive understanding.
To further explicate understanding in how capabilities influenced equality, for students to utilise support and aid learning abilities, interpretations from naïve reading and structural analysis were consolidated, and re-examined employing related literature (Lindseth and Norbery, 2004 Capabilities aided this unveiling of students as people, interwoven within a connectedness when lecturers let go, perhaps momentarily of their authority, also offering exposure of themselves, as a person. Kreber and Klampfleitner (2013) associated this authenticity with an attentiveness to engage, so students also revealed personal experiences, raising their self-awareness of thoughts and feelings to envisage potential solutions. Capabilities also shaped conviviality, symbolising a sense of belonging that enhanced student participation via lecturers acknowledging students as fellow affiliates of the nursing fraternity (Kern et al. 2014 (Sen, 1999b). However, rather than only striving for societal ideals that may conflict, capabilities evinces a caring awareness of peoples' authentic lives alongside prospects to achieve the best solutions with what is possible, at the time (Sen, 2009). Given social integration influences academic performance (Farr-Wharton et al. 2018), social relations may also impact on how capabilities are shaped within higher education (Hart, 2012). This was illustrated in the study when initiating opportunities to develop learning abilities emerged from the flourishing interpersonal relations, between lecturers and students.
Nurturing connectedness appeared evident when lecturers eased trust and cooperation, enabling student feelings of community towards the nursing profession.
This sense of belonging seemed to evolve mutual respect to have honest discussions of M A N U S C R I P T A C C E P T E D ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 15 undertaking learning. Den Brok et al. (2010) add that when academic relationships enrich and not obstruct potential abilities, it endorses social justice for students become more active in their own education. This aligned with study findings whereby support raised awareness of the choices students had in how learning abilities could be developed by lecturers engaging students in different ways, and being amiable when addressing the students' needs and abilities (Sen, 1999a). Hence, although the study centred on equity of support and progressing learning abilities, to do so was seemingly aided in how the interactions of lecturers shaped other capabilities for functionings, valued by students; notably self-worth, hope and connectedness. Dunbar and Carter (2017) propose these components are essential for a sense of belonging to the faculty; without which, student nurses' engagement in their learning, may be impeded.

Practice Implication
Universities offer a range of learning activities, yet for these to have utility they need to be accessible for students and inclusive of developing learning abilities. While literature illustrates the benefits of student forums to deliberate challenges in education, utilising Enquiry-Based Learning may be useful, as it fosters exploration of research and discussions pertaining to learning scenarios (Simpson et al. 2008).
However, a shift in its application could be students sharing experiences of learning support, while discussing how capabilities might be enhanced to aid learning abilities.
This process aligns with the study findings when abilities to learn derived from student-lecturer collaborations. Moreover,  advocates such democratic debate, exploring context specific capabilities in how to promote fairness of accessing opportunities. It may also challenge preconceptions, for example, that the use of learning opportunities available within a university is implicitly known (Student Minds, 2017).

Study Limitations
The small sample does restrict generalisability in how findings can be universally applied to nursing education; in addition, self-selection bias was likely owing to characteristics of participants. Students and lecturers either desired to develop M A N U S C R I P T

A C C E P T E D ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
16 learning abilities or deliver support to that affect, signifying a potential benefit of replicating the study, with students who struggle to capitalise on learning support.
Another limitation was the interpretative methodology. Interpretation can be a valueladen endeavour, constraining impartiality to unearth unequivocal truths, as other realities can be discovered (Ricoeur, 1991). Hence the significance of employing participants to validate lived experiences from the findings, while accuracy of interpretation was enriched by two researchers independently conducting dataanalysis and reaching consensus via discussion.

Conclusion
The study has revealed lecturers have a pertinent role in offering learning support; for example, exploring learning needs and navigating the learning environment.
Moreover, the relationships of lecturers with students, appeared to have an impact on opportunities to attain, or work towards learning abilities. Conceivably then, a genuine curiosity of students can enlighten ways to develop learning, while perhaps limit stifling potential abilities. Although applying capabilities to learning support is a facet of social justice by illustrating how lecturers may enhance fairness with assistance, the outcome may also develop social justice by cultivating the students' participation in education. It is acknowledged the paper does not cover the full breadth of social justice within nursing education, however the study has demonstrated a possibility of social justice being shaped via interpersonal means; to enrich opportunities that support students while at university.