Supporting progression to HE: the role of colleges and vocational courses (original) (raw)
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This article discusses the educational, social and economic backgrounds of Access to Higher Education (AHE) students and how these factors influence students' choice of courses and colleges in which to pursue their desire to enter higher education (HE) despite the risks involved and the initial lack of confidence of many of them in their capabilities as learners. The discussion is based on three main sources: studies about mature students' views of their experiences as learners, national aggregate data about AHE students in England and Wales and the findings from a study of approximately 700 AHE students about their experiences on AHE courses that was carried out in a region of England in seven further education (FE) colleges. The study used a social constructivist perspective and linked case study design to collect and compare trustworthy qualitative and quantitative data. What emerges is that mature students need supportive learning environments that are easily accessible and build their confidence and competence as independent but collaborative learners who can achieve their aspirations as well as meet their needs as adults as spouses, breadwinners and childcarers. This has implications for how further and higher education institutions attract, teach and sustain mature students.
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The paper examines the ways transitions to Higher Education are experienced and narrated by students with Vocational qualifications. Drawing upon the mixed-method project that documented transitions to HE, we utilise interview data to illustrate the centrality of the epistemic and pedagogical struggles that students with vocational background experience. More specifically, a process of differential epistemic positioning is evident in the participants' narratives. This manifests itself through a misrecognition of their worth in the field of HE. Further, pedagogical struggles were also narrated by the participants in relation to the teaching, learning and assessment regimes prevailing in HEIs. The paper concludes by arguing for the need to revisit the narrow and static policy framing that emphasises barriers to access. This requires addressing questions pertaining to pedagogy and knowledge, students' completion and retention rates and their ongoing engagement with the epistemic and pedagogical processes once they are within HE.
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This report presents the findings of research undertaken for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) into the progression to higher education of students from all the FE Colleges and Sixth Form Colleges in England. It is longitudinal research and the report relates to cohorts of students between the academic years 2007-08 and 2011-12 entering higher education (HE) between the years 2008-09 and 2012-13. This research provides a unique and comprehensive picture of the very different factors underlying the progression behaviour of students progressing to higher education from colleges rather than from school sixth forms. It is unique because it traces progression into both full and part-time higher education and into higher education offered in colleges themselves as well as universities. It is comprehensive because it looks at both the college courses that students progress from and the HE courses they progress to and it analyses trends over time looking at underlying...
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