Using counter-story to increase belonging in an HEI: exploring the potential of posters to contribute to the institutional habitus

This paper narrates one story and two counter-stories in its exploration of the extent to which posters can have an impact on staff and students' sense of belonging within higher education institutions (HEIs). It argues that within a context of increasing marketization, most HEIs have carefully re-aligned their public images to match their student profiles, showing inclusivity and diversity on their websites and within social media. However, attention to their visual academic image (Masiki, 2010) has not automatically extended to the posters on display within the universities themselves. Using an auto-ethnographic approach, this paper discusses the negative impact of some posters and the messages they convey about privilege, entitlement and belonging, especially to minority staff and students. The possibilities of using posters as a means of providing counter-story to such narratives is explored as well as their potential to increase a sense of belonging to the organisational culture.