‘They were really understanding’

‘They were really understanding’ The Experience of Transition from FE to an Ancient, Research-Led University

The research team • Viviene Cree • Hazel Christie • Lyn Tett • Velda McCune • Jenny Hounsell • Main contact: viv.cree@ed.ac.uk

Aim of this paper • To explore the transition experiences of nine students who entered an ancient Scottish university in 2004 to study BSc (Hons) Social Work • To locate their experiences in the context of a wider study of FE to HE transition currently taking place at this university

UK context: good & bad news • Rapid increase in participation in HE in the UK during the 20th century • But… socio-economic groups IIIm, IV and V remain seriously under-represented • FE colleges have been successful in attracting students from a wide range of social backgrounds • But… transition to HE is far from automatic, and most students that move from FE into HE enter post-92 universities

Scottish context • Over 50% of young people enter full-time HE before they are 21 years of age, as compared with only 40% for the UK • But… 1/4 of all HE students in Scotland are studying Higher National courses in Further Education colleges • Universities (and some more than others) remain middle-class institutions • Our university is one such university!

Focus and aim of our study • How do students who come from FE with an HNC/HND qualification fare at this university? • What do their experiences have to tell us about • Teaching, learning & assessment at FE and HE? • Formal and informal support at FE and HE? • Managing competing demands of study and home?

Methodology of the study • Longitudinal study over 5 years • In-depth, semi-structured interviews, taped, transcribed and coded using N*Vivo qualitative analysis package • Standardised questionnaires, modified from questionnaires developed by the Enhancing Teaching-Learning Environments in Undergraduate Courses (ETL) project (www.ed.ac.uk/etl)

The sample • 45 students, enrolled in a number of degree programmes, but Childhood Studies and Social Work are the degrees with most FE entrants • Most are women (85%) and 63% are over 30 • Most (85%) are ‘first generation’ to attend university • 9 of the total sample are studying BSc Hons (Social Work)

The social work sample

Findings 1: teaching, learning & assessment in FE • Experiences positive overall • Courses seen as interesting and relevant, particularly the placements • Some felt too many short courses • Some unhappy with ‘spoon-feeding’: ‘like a mother feeding a baby’ (26yr male sw) • Little experience of exams • Opportunities to resubmit assignments • Students at 1st data point scored highly on deep approach and organised effort

Findings 2: support in FE • Lots of formal and informal support from the colleges – from academics, IT staff, learning support, counselling, financial & child care help available too • ‘They were absolutely brilliant. Anything you wanted to know, if the tutors were in the College, you could call them up or you could go in, you know. They were always available. You know, you weren’t sort of told, ‘go on away and get on with it and come back like two weeks on Tuesday and I’ll see you’. They were very good.’ (47yr female sw) • ‘They were really understanding.’ (37yr female sw)

Findings 3: balancing study at FE and home • Most women had caring responsibilities; no single parent dads, tho some had p-t caring responsibilities for kids and parents • Most sw students continued some paid work while studying, often in the social care sector • Support of families is crucial for success – even when partners are not outright oppositional, they can make life difficult - ‘it’s difficult with a traditional husband and kids who are pampered poodles’ (47yr female sw)

Findings 1: teaching, learning & assessment in HE • University is a ‘big shock, a roller-coaster’ (37yr female sw) • ‘It was the biggest library I ever saw’ (35yr, female sw) • ‘I felt like a headless chicken in the first few weeks’ (47yr female sw) • ‘It was a bigger step up than I expected’ (45yr female sw) • Of the 9 who started, only 5 stayed the course: 1 left during 1st year; 3 in or at the end of 2nd year; another repeated 1st year but is still on course

Findings 2: support in HE • Independent study means just that! • Tutors and tutorials are uneven – some great, others not so • ‘..we’ve got study groups going now that we set up for ourselves… we just go away and look through stuff and write stuff up …. Then we read each others, just to get an idea.’ (47yr female sw)

Findings 3: balancing study at HE and home • ‘It works best if you treat uni like a 9-5 job.’ (26yr male sw) • ‘I’m really good at time management because you’ve got to be. I’ve got 3 children and I’m working so you have to set aside time and say “no, nothing else is getting done.” (35yr female sw)

Conclusions • The transition from FE to HE is not a smooth one – differences are great and support is variable • The rate of withdrawal is higher than expected tho numbers are small • The sw students are older than other UG students and older than the HN students in our sample; they share features with other mature students (ie complex lives, financial difficulties, health problems) • This suggests that measures to support FE transition may benefit all mature students – and all students • FE colleges also have a part to play in preparing students for more independent study

Thanks to all the students who are continuing to contribute to this study Thanks to our university for supporting this study Thanks for your attention

‘They were really understanding’