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Abstracts

Volume 2, Number 1, Spring 2000

Access issues in adult vocational guidance and counselling for people at risk of social exclusion. Perspectives from two qualitative research projects

Pamela Clayton and Paul McGill, University of Glasgow

This paper is based on two research projects: one into the long-term outcomes of adult return to learning and the other on access issues in adult vocational guidance for people at risk of social exclusion. The latter have the most to lose from choosing learning that is inappropriate to their current needs and situation, so guidance is particularly important for them. The problem is that those who could benefit most from guidance are the least likely to access it. We summarise some of the structural barriers to access and suggest some strategies for overcoming them.

Towards developing financial literacy programmes for adults

Meg Bond, University of Warwick and Adrian Boucher, Warwick Business School

The growing expectation in the UK that adults should take increasing levels of personal responsibility for lifelong learning, pension provision and tax assessment assumes a degree of financial literacy that does not exist among the general population. This paper draws on recent research, including that into adult numeracy and financial literacy, to argue that, in the context of increased labour market flexibility and portfolio working, there is an urgent need to develop programmes of learning to enhance adults' knowledge and understandings of the financial services and their inter-relationships with the national insurance, taxation and welfare benefit systems. While Government proposals requiring the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to promote public understanding of financial systems are stimulating consumer education initiatives, learning opportunities rooted in the tradition of radical adult literacy may help to generate wider debate about the power exercised over people's lives by commercial and state financial institutions.

Voluntary participation and involvement in adult education. A reflection on teacher responsibility and student withdrawal

Loraine Blaxter, University of Warwick

The setting for this paper is an argument between adult learners, which, ostensibly, concerned the refusal of one person to take part in an activity. After the argument two people withdrew from the course. Three themes are used to explore these events. One is the association of 'dropping out' with qualitative evidence of involvement in learning activities. A second is the management of the classroom environment and the third is the idea of the classroom in the community. The paper also explores the 'voluntary' nature of participation in adult education and two aspects of participation are considered: voluntary presence and voluntarily taking part.

Making higher education more accessible. The development of a dyslexia information pack

Sarah Earle, University of Central England Sarah Williams and Mike Adams, Coventry University 

During the 1980s and 1990s, many HEIs have been concerned to widen participation, setting targets for the recruitment of those traditionally under-represented within HE, such as women and minority ethnic groups. Most recently, attention has shifted to the recruitment of students with specific learning difficulties and disabilities and the number of such students is thought to have increased. In the last few years, the number of dyslexic students has increased significantly. However, while HEIs can widen access, we argue that this does not necessarily make HE accessible. In this paper, we suggest that HEIs need to provide practical support to ensure that the structural and attitudinal barriers to success in HE are removed. This paper draws on a HEFCE-funded research initiative to explore the ways in which HE can be made more accessible for dyslexic students. It describes the development of 'The Dyslexia Information Pack', which provides support and information for dyslexic students and academic tutors.

Accessing quality guidance

Richard Edwards, Open University and Linden West, University of Kent

It has long been argued that to widen access to learning opportunities adults need access to guidance. Increasing attention is being given to questions of the quality of adult guidance. This paper reports on a short evaluation of the impact of the introduction of a quality standards' 'Award' in one county in England. It focuses on changes in guidance practice, the benefits to users, organisational benefits and staff development issues arising from the 'Award' process. The study raises questions about the adequacy of portfolio-based approaches in the evaluation of quality and the range of practices and practitioners encompassed by such awards. These issues are important not only for the specific award evaluated but also for quality processes more generally and the role guidance does or can play in access.

New structures and protocols for inclusive partnerships between FE and HE?

Lydia Meryll Manchester Metropolitan University

This paper looks at the development of partnerships between FE and HE in the context of the policy imperative to widen participation. It focuses on curriculum design principles and the brokering of differential power relationships exercised in the negotiation of learning pathways. It considers how an understanding of a new inclusive organisational structure may enable participants to act together with greater clarity. It proposes a set of protocols that might be developed between partners to enable more effective progression for learners.

Assessing potential Predicting final performance on an Access to Health Programme

Dianne Gull University of Salford

This study represents the initial stages of a longitudinal study, which tracks four cohorts of Access to Health students from their application to the Access course, through degree level study, to graduation. It identifies factors that contributed to the students' successful completion of their course of study. The criteria used to determine suitability for admission to the Access programme and monitored student performance on the course are considered. The assessment rating assigned on entry is compared with the overall course performance for each student. Two discrete bands of students are differentiated at entry and are found to make a clear prediction of final course outcomes. The problems posed by selection and the significance of the outcomes produced, in terms of class, gender and ethnicity, are also considered.

Unsuccessful mature applicants and Irish universities: A case study

Mark Murphy, National University of Ireland Maynooth and Tom Inglis, University College Dublin 

Although studies have been carried out on mature students in HE, little has been written on mature applicants who were unsuccessful. The present paper outlines the findings of a study carried out on mature applicants who were unsuccessful in gaining entry to University College Dublin (UCD). The research, involving the use of questionnaires and focus groups, found that the application process was fraught with difficulties, and that major barriers existed preventing adult learners from becoming students at UCD. One barrier was the extremely low level of admission rates for mature applicants, combined with the high level of demand from school leavers. Another barrier was the lack of a standardized procedure by which to assess mature applicants. A further important obstacle in the admissions process was the absence of recognized access routes for mature applicants. Implications for both UCD and Irish HE mature student policy are explored.

Part-time HE study in Luton and its environs.  Implications for providers, recipients and beneficiaries

Graham Symon and Stephen Fallows University of Luton

This paper outlines findings from two surveys undertaken by the University of Luton during 1998 and seeks to examine the potential contribution of part-time HE in a localised setting. The first survey of current part-time students at the University focused on the individual learning experience. The second was a market research questionnaire distributed to several thousand homes in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire. Both surveys provided a useful indicator of the local population's demand for and expectations of part-time HE. It can be assumed that there are significant potential social and economic implications for the provider and recipients of part-time HE.

Higher education, regional partnerships and progression: A case study in collaboration

Mike Doyle University of Salford

Widening Participation to HE is a priority of the UK Government. Significant funding is being provided to establish regional partnerships to enable policy to be implemented. HEIs are reacting with interest to the agenda, particularly while funding is available to initiate and implement change. A significant challenge is to ensure that these developments are sustainable. The more demanding challenge is to ensure that Widening Participation means no compromise on standards. This paper looks at initiatives at the University of Salford in a broad policy context, and in the light of research into traditional Access courses, it offers a potential means of reconciliation.

Time to update the Access Recognition Scheme?

Peter Wilson National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, Leicester

This article is adapted from a NIACE Policy Discussion Paper of December 1999. The paper suggests that the Access Recognition Scheme needs to be reviewed in the light of the changes in HE since the inception of the scheme over a decade ago. In particular I argue that the scheme needs to be updated to accommodate the continuing growth in both part-time and sub-degree learning opportunities in HE. The current Access to HE Certificate should be replaced with three different Access to HE qualifications of different sizes. Such a development would not only create a wider range of progression opportunities into HE for learners, but it would also mirror, within a revised set of 'kitemarking' arrangements, some of the key features of other routes to HE now being developed within Curriculum 2000.

Study skills books for mature students in further and higher education

Wendy Ford Tamworth and Lichfield College

For mature students in FE and HE there is a bewildering range of study skills guides available. This review examines two types of guides: those offering advice across a range of skills; and those that focus on specific skill areas, such as exam techniques. The guides are evaluated across a range of criteria, for example, clarity of presentation and readability. However the main emphasis of the review is the value that the guides reviewed have for those returning to learn as Access to HE students. The guides reviewed place emphasis on studying as a problematic but satisfying experience and suggest a variety of strategies to resolve study problems