Ensuring the Success of Non-standard Entry Students in Higher Education

1. HEA ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2010 Ensuring the Success of Non-standard Entry Students in Higher Education KATE KIRK MANCHESTER METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY

2. NTF RESEARCH PROJECT DIVERSITY and ACHIEVEMENT :How non-traditional entry students succeed in Higher Education. KATE KIRK MANCHESTER METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY

3. Ensuring the Success of Non-standard Entry Students in Higher Education Presentation content: • Background to the Diversity and AchievementProject in the UK and Australia. • An outline of the Pedagogic Research/ResearchMethod. • Emergent themes. • How research findings can inform inclusive and appropriate transition and induction programmes for non-standard entry students

5. Researching the Student Experience The Diversity and AchievementResearch 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.

6. Pedagogic Research ‘Seeing Ourselves Through Our Students’ Eyes’ ‘….........(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

7. The Diversity and AchievementProject . • 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.

8. The Diversity and AchievementProject . • A Longitudinal Study involving semi-structured interviews with students during the second and third undergraduate years. • Interview foci: • Pathways to HE. • Managing Life and Learning. • Reflection on experience and change.

9. Pedagogic Research‘Seeing Ourselves Through Our Students’ Eyes’ '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

10. 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.

11. Action Research

12. Pedagogic Research - The Research Ethos Principles and values of the ‘caring’ professions: social inclusion, social justice, anti-oppressive practices.

13. 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).

14. 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 OppressedHarmondsworth: 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.

15. 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.

16. Themes Expected: Social Class ‘Race’/Ethnicity Gender Disability/Dyslexia First in Family in HE Family Support Schooling

17. Themes Unexpected: Self-motivation Aspirations for children Mental Health Life-changing events Complexities : e.g. perceptions of self as learner Expected: Social Class ‘Race’/Ethnicity Gender Disability/Dyslexia First in Family in HE Family Support Schooling

18. 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”.

19. 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”.

20. 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”.

21. 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”.

22. 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”.

23. “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!” Transition

24. The SHOCK ABSORBER Project A Higher Education Academy National Teaching Fellowship Scheme Project to Support and Retain the First Year Learner Manchester Metropolitan University: Biological Sciences, Law and Photography University of Liverpool: Archaeology Stockport College: Social Work Five Undergraduate Programmes

25. 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

26. Focusing on the topic of the first assignment theSHOCK ABSORBERprovides: • 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.

27. T O P I C O F F I R S T A S S E S S M E N T 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