International Insights into Widening Participation: Supporting the success of underrepresented group

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International Insights into Widening
ParticipationSupporting the success of
under-represented groups in tertiary education

• Dr Liz Thomas
• e.a.m.thomas_at_staffs.ac.uk

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Research Team

• Australia Margaret Heagney
• Canada Pierre Chenard and Sylvie Bonin
• Croatia Violeta Vidacek-Hain and Renata
  Horvatek
• Germany Klaus Schnitzer and Ulrich Heublein
• Ireland Anne Carpenter
• Netherlands Mary Tupan-Wenno and Rick Wolff
• Norway Etelka Tamminen Dahl
• Sweden Stig Forneng
• UK Gaie Davison-Burnet, Liz Peters, Irene
  Finlayson, Liz Thomas, Jocey Quinn and Lorraine
  Casey
• US Wayne Upshaw

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Research Aims

• Working as a team of 10 national researchers we
  aim to
• Support under-represented groups to be successful
  in tertiary education
• Assist institutions to be successful in
  supporting and retaining students from
  under-represented groups
• Enhance the effectiveness of national systems in
  supporting under-represented groups to succeed in
  tertiary education
• Developed and agreed in Paris, March 2002

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Research Overview

• Using a mutual learning and multi-layering
  research approach
• Focusing on 5 target groups low income/SES,
  first generation entrants, minority groups,
  students with disabilities and mature or second
  chance entrants
• Participation in tertiary education including 2
  year vocational programmes
• Examining rates of access and success using
  data and research evidence
• Considering practices around data collection,
  national policy, institutional interventions and
  micro-initiatives

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Research Outputs

• 10 national reports
• Comparative analysis research report
  International Insights into Widening
  Participation
• International conference Enhancing student
  retention Using international research to
  improve policy and practice, Amsterdam, 5th
  7th November 2003
• Resource bank www.staffs.ac.uk/access-studies
• Journal articles and conference presentations
• Research network, exchanges and further research

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Research Report Contents

• Introduction to the Research
• Country overviews
• Students from lower SEGs and first generation
  entrants
• Minorities Students from alternative country of
  origin, language or racial group from majority
• Students with disabilities
• Mature students
• Conclusions and recommendations for further
  research

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For each target group

• How is this group defined?
• Is it recognised and targeted?
• Is there data available?
• Summary of access data from each country, and
  comparisons where possible
• Summary of retention/ success data, and
  comparisons where possible

• What problems have been identified?
• What strategies have been employed to improve
  access and retention at the macro, meso and micro
  levels?
• Identification of critical success factors
• Areas for further research

This presentation will give a flavour of the
findings
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Exploring Definitions

• Different definitions make comparisons difficult,
  but expose underlying assumptions and challenge
  national thinking. E.g. minorities
• Place of birth of student and/or parent(s)
  Germany, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden
• First language Australia
• Racial/ethnic group Ireland, UK and US
• Emphasise particular barriers - familiarity with
  education system, linguistic and cultural
  differences/discrimination
• Not mutually exclusive, include heterogeneous
  students, but may be usefully combined

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Approaches to targeting

• Broadly similar groups are not targeted equally.
  Lower SEGs and disability targeted most widely
• There are different types and levels of
  targeting, e.g. with regard to students with
  disabilities
• Society e.g. legislation, action planning,
  research
• Tertiary education system legislation,
  targeting, research, quotas
• Educational institution targets, funding, action
  plans, support services
• Individual students funding, support services
• Targeting determines data collection, but it is
  not sufficient and societal attitudes may be
  significant. Access may be mediated by class and
  other factors

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Data availability

• Availability of data is determined by
• Structure of national tertiary education system
  data collection mechanisms
• Targeting
• Definitions
• Sweden has comprehensive national data collection
  system providing data in relation to all target
  groups. Canada has a federated system, and data
  is collected regionally or by institutions
• Australia has a comprehensive targeting system A
  Fair Chance for All identifies 5 target groups
  and collects robust data with respect to this

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Comparative access retention

• Direct comparisons are difficult and limited, but
  there are interesting findings, e.g. low SEGs
• Range of definitions, but all informed by a lack
  economic and cultural capital
• In no country is participation by these groups
  equal to those in the majority, suggesting global
  similarities transcending nation states. These
  students tend to be clustered in shorter, more
  vocational courses and less prestigious
  institutions
• But, retention rates differ markedly. In the UK
  and the US evidence suggests much lower rates of
  completion, but this is not true in Australia,
  Sweden and the Netherlands

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Problems

• The analysis of data and review of published
  literature extended understanding of the global
  challenges to access and success, e.g. for
  matures
• Lack of preparation for tertiary education (Ir)
• Entry qualifications and IAG (Ir, No)
• Finance (Au, Ir, UK)
• Lack of institutional support (Ir, UK)
• Family responsibilities/inflexible institutions
  (Au), lack of childcare (Ir), resources and
  services (UK)
• Lack of time (UK)
• Personal achievements and future rewards (UK)
• Multiple disadvantage (Au, Ir)

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Solutions

• Macro level targeted policy (Ir), monitoring
  (UK), automatic access for those with work
  experience (No, Sw), alternative entry
  qualification (Ge, Sw, UK), specialist study
  centres (Cr, Sw), APEL (Ne, No, UK),
  distance/e-learning (Cr, Ir, Sw), institutional
  funding (Ir, Sw), finance for students (Au).
• Institutional pre-entry and transition support
  (Ir, UK), alternative entry routes (Au, Ir),
  flexible delivery (Au, Cr, Ir, UK), L T (Ir,
  UK), financial support (Au, Ir)
• Individual mature student clubs and co-ops (Au,
  Ir, UK), one-to-one academic support (Cr, UK)

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Critical success factors

• E.G to support students from lower SEGs
• Building an unbroken educational equity chain
• Student-centred approach
• Coherence
• Shared responsibility
• Strategic vision
• Monitoring and evaluation
• Transparency

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Further Research

• E.G with regard to students with disabilities
• Explore the limitations of proactive targeting
• Examine the impact of different disabilities on
  access and success
• Investigate study patterns, e.g.
  vocational/academic, institution type, entry
  mechanisms, subject preferences
• Examine the inter-relationship between disability
  and social class, educational background, age and
  gender
• More qualitative work about the experiences of
  students with disabilities
• More data about the success of these students
• Explore the social interaction of these students

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Conclusions

• This report has brought together data and
  research from 10 countries and extended our
  understanding of the definitions, issues and ways
  forward. E.g.
• A more nuanced understanding of the groups
  examined and effective responses
• Awareness of similarities and differences between
  countries, and in some case challenge to the
  received wisdom
• Insight into alternative ways of tackling
  barriers to access and success
• Dominance of class issues, which needs further
  exploration
• Raised other issues for further consideration

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Future of the research project

• Further analysis of the national reports
• Inclusion of other countries to extend our
  understanding of concepts and practices
• Use the research, especially critical success
  factors, to further explore ways of improving
  access and success for the target groups
• Use this initial analysis for further comparative
  research, both as a group and bilaterally
• Inform national policy and practice