HEA ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2010
ENSURING THE SUCCESS OF NONSTANDARD ENTRY STUDENTS IN
HIGHER EDUCATION
KATE KIRK
MANCHESTER METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY
NTF RESEARCH PROJECT
DIVERSITY and ACHIEVEMENT :How non-traditional
entry students succeed in Higher Education.
KATE KIRK
MANCHESTER METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY
Presentation content:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Background to the DIVERSITY AND
ACHIEVEMENT Project in the UK and Australia.
An outline of the Pedagogic Research/Research
Method.
Emergent themes.
How research findings can inform inclusive and
appropriate transition and induction
programmes for non-standard entry students
First Year
Experience
Evaluation
(SWAP)
SHOCK
ABSORBER
NTF project
Reflection on
findings
Reflection on
findings
Diversity and
Achievement
NTF Project
Longitudinal
Study
RESEARCHING THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE
The Diversity and Achievement Research Project
evolved from an Evaluation of the First year Experience
of a cohort of mainly ‘non-traditional entry’ students on
the Applied Social Studies Programme at MMU.
This evaluation revealed evidence of :

Students’ motivation, resilience and drive.

Students as independent and autonomous learners.

Students as people managing learning in complex
circumstances.
‘….........(the) research attitude demands that we consider the role of
teaching to be one of listening at least as much as one of
speaking: that teaching is a two way process of communication,
and that what students have to say about their learning is always
most significant.
Such an approach is to be contrasted with the normal student feedback
questionnaires that have now become an integral part of the quality
control machinery’.
Rowland, S. ( 2000) The Enquiring
University Teacher London: OUP
The DIVERSITY AND ACHIEVEMENT Project
.
The DIVERSITY AND ACHIEVEMENT Project in the UK and Australia:
•Participants are students from social and cultural groups that are
traditionally under-represented in Higher Education.
•Two groups in the UK study:
One generic group and a second a group of African and African
Caribbean heritage students.
•Australian participants include Aboriginal students and refugees.
The DIVERSITY AND ACHIEVEMENT Project
.
A Longitudinal Study involving semi-structured interviews
with students during the second and third undergraduate
years.
Interview foci:
1.Pathways to HE.
2.Managing Life and Learning.
3.Reflection on experience and change.
'Of all the pedagogic tasks teachers face, getting inside students’
heads is one of the trickiest. It is also one of the most crucial. When
we start to see ourselves through our students’ eyes, we become
aware of what Perry (1988) calls the “different worlds” in the same
classroom”.
We learn that students perceive the same activities in vastly different
ways.’
Brookfield, S. D. (1995) Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher San
Francisco: Jossey Bass
Brookfield, S. D. (1995) Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher San Francisco: Jossey Bass
DIVERSITY AND ACHIEVEMENT
INTENDED OUTCOMES of the PROJECT:

To raise the profile of ‘non-traditional’ entry students;

To provide positive role models for future students;

To contribute to the further development of inclusive policies and
practices in widening participation and access to HE;

To influence targeted learning and teaching strategies to support
the development of learning of non-traditional entry students;

To produce materials for publicity and recruitment, pre-course
preparation, student induction.
Reflective
Enquiry
Planning
Change
Impact
Assessment
Data
Collection
Action
Research
Refinement;
Redesign
Critical
Reflection;
Evaluation
of
Practice
Implement
Research
Into
Practice
Pedagogic Research - The Research Ethos
Principles and values of the ‘caring’ professions:
social inclusion, social justice, anti-oppressive practices.
Pedagogic Research - The Research Ethos
Principles and values of the ‘caring’ professions:
social inclusion, social justice, anti-oppressive practices.
Pedagogy: Education as change/transformation (Giroux)
Critical dialogue (Freire), ‘the engaged voice’ (hooks).
Pedagogic Research - The Research Ethos
Principles and values of the ‘caring’ professions:
social inclusion, social justice, anti-oppressive practices.
Pedagogy: Education as change/transformation (Giroux)
Critical dialogue (Freire), ‘the engaged voice’ (hooks).
Participatory Research: transformative, emancipatory.
Freire, P. (1985) Pedagogy of the Oppressed Harmondsworth: Penguin
Giroux, H. (2001) Theory and Resistance in Education: Towards a Pedagogy for the Opposition London:Bergin
and Garvey.
hooks, b. (1994) Teaching to Transgress: education as the practice of freedom. London: Routledge
Maguire, P. (1987) Doing Participatory Research: a Feminist Approach.
Centre for International Education, the University of Massachusetts.
Ethical considerations

Students as research participants.

No association with attendance or assessment
requirements.

Informed consent, right to withdraw.

Consent to publish.

Opportunity to amend transcripts and give
feedback.
Themes
Expected:
Social Class
‘Race’/Ethnicity
Gender
Disability/Dyslexia
First in Family in HE
Family Support
Schooling
Themes
Expected:
Unexpected:
Social Class
‘Race’/Ethnicity
Gender
Disability/Dyslexia
First in Family in HE
Family Support
Schooling
Self-motivation
Aspirations for children
Mental Health
Life-changing events
Complexities : e.g.
perceptions of self as
learner
University?
No, that was never, that wouldn’t even be there, that was
“
for the rich kids, that was for people who had money
and who were interested in their children…..”
“I never even at that time considered going into University.
To me going into Further Education was a stepping
stone to get my life back on track, rather than to go
into Higher Education”.
Motivation
“That’s when you realise….. when it’s time to read to
your son that you think, you can’t hide this
anymore.……. it was definitely me trying to
communicate with my son and me realising that all of
a sudden what was my fear, I was frightened it was
going to become his fear as well, so you want to
change that, everything that you’ve not done good at
– you want your child to do what you never did, I
wanted him to be fantastic in school ………well the
pin just dropped and suddenly I thought, no I’m not
having him the way I am….so he had tutoring for two
years and it did help him”.
Transition
“……………I didn’t think it would make me feel the
way I feel, everyday that I’ve passed, I feel better
about myself, I’m like I’ve done it, I shook on my
first day, from head to toe and you know little
Anna, she’s the one that calmed me
down. ……………she hugged me and said you
look scared stiff stood there at those gates, I was
there for ages at the gate absolutely petrified,
she gave me a dead tight hug and said come on
kiddo we’re going in together and she kind of
marched me in, it was hilarious and then we met D.
and M. the same day, it was great and from that
day to this, I can’t believe how far I’ve come”.
Transition
“Lost, probably. Overwhelmed I think with
everything yea, and scared I think because the
academic side, with being dyslexic. I think maybe a
very small piece in a jigsaw that had to be fitted
together, quite lost in a way really, but excited
about the journey but scared of not being able to
do what was put in front of me.
I walk taller; I actually like myself now. I like being
me actually. For the future, I know where I’m going
it’s exciting I’ve got a degree under my belt now,
it’s going to take me places”.
Transition
“ Oh, I was very, very frightened of coming to university
but I knew it was something I wanted to do. I had
mixed feelings, you know, part of me thought I was
going to be the eldest one, part of me thought I was
going to be the thick one and everybody would know
what they were doing, so it’s changed me a lot. It has
given me a lot of confidence, just knowing that at
university how many people have got dyslexia and
other things that can be as bad...................knowing that
I am as good as everybody else in the room. Yes, that
definitely came through and dyslexia, not letting it take
over everything…..teaching myself to accept it”.
Transition
“I am not afraid now……………I am not fearful to admit my
dyslexia. In the first year, it was worse than swearing at you to
admit I was dyslexic. My head would go down and I would just
feel myself give up inside. I would think, she is not going to
like me, she is going to think I am daft………..whereas now, I
would just say it and there is no hiccup. It was just accepting
myself…..
My ambitions? At the moment, to be a good social worker and I
don’t want to stop learning........... Yet, four years ago, when I
first did my BTEC Care, it was like, I can’t do essays, I can’t
do this. A dissertation of 8000 and 10, 000 words, it was like
wow, all of a sudden, finally I can do things. Talk about walk
tall!”
The SHOCK ABSORBER Project
A Higher Education Academy National
Teaching Fellowship Scheme Project to
Support and Retain the First Year Learner
Five Undergraduate Programmes
Manchester Metropolitan University:
Biological Sciences, Law and Photography
University of Liverpool: Archaeology
Stockport College: Social Work
Alleviating the SHOCK of early weeks at University

The first week was a reality check and it made a lot of people
realise they weren't as ready for university as they first
thought. Sure everyone settled during fresher’s week and
made friends, but the education side of university life was
definitely a culture shock for me. (Straight from school?).

Had not studied for over 12 months and it was a shock to the
system which was greater than I realised it would be. (After a
‘gap year’?).

After having spent two years out of education and working full
time it was a far bigger culture shock than I expected. (Mature
entrant?).
Manchester Metropolitan University SU Survey 2008
a flexible and adaptable ‘toolkit’ for
pre-entry, induction and early first year
activities that alleviate the ‘shock’ or anxiety often
associated with early experiences in HE.
and
• continued learning, teaching and assessment
strategies that increase student confidence,
knowledge and scholarship skills.
•
Key SHOCK ABSORBER components:
 Pre-entry engagement
Inclusive and participatory Induction programme
Early contact with tutor
Opportunities for social learning
Diagnostic assessment
Formative assessment
Early, constructive feedback
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First Year
Experience
Evaluation
(SWAP)
SHOCK
ABSORBER
NTF project
Reflection on
findings
Reflection on
findings
Diversity and
Achievement
NTF Project
Longitudinal
Study