Widening participation between 2001 and 2021: A systematic literature review and research agenda

Widening participation has been a vehicle to facilitate access and support towards the successful completion of university studies for underrepresented groups who are less likely to pursue higher education. Yet, despite its widely accepted importance and adoption across countries such as Australia and the United Kingdom, studies to date remain largely fragmented – often employed through the lens of a single institution, or a particular priority group. Amidst this backdrop, universities and other higher education providers are increasingly probed as to their role in supporting social capital mobility, of which widening participation plays a vital component in delivering wider societal imperatives. In addition, the COVID-19 effect has worsened university participation and completion rates, as the global pandemic has placed vulnerable students (often those involved in widening participation initiatives) in more precocious conditions than ever before. Nevertheless, the purpose of this paper is to conduct a systematic literature review comprising 102 journal articles that derive 15 meta-themes to provide a timely introspection of widening participation, show key trends over time, and chart future areas of investigation for scholars and practitioners in this space

Exploring Diverse Adolescents & Youth Education Across the Displacement Linear: Education in Emergencies (EiE) Experiences and Colonial Entanglements

This thesis explores diverse, forcibly displaced youths'experiences of education in emergencies (EiE) responses in South Sudan, the UK and Jordan and how colonial legacies continue to permeate the types and modes of education programmes that are designed, funded, and implemented. This thesis draws on the Black radical tradition (BRT) as a conceptual and methodological framing. In addition, connecting EiE and BRT scholarship enables new discourses that counter hegemonic and ahistorical narratives of aid to surface and instead illustrate power asymmetries, coloniality, and conflict-affected communities' cultural wealth in challenging limited educational opportunities. This study intends to contribute to critical EiE scholarship, highlighting the heterogeneity of forcibly displaced youth and challenging universalising discourses that erase the EiE experiences of racialised and othered identities. To explore the research inquiry, I use a multi-sited, multi-scalar research approach to co- design a digital storytelling action research praxis with 60 young people in South Sudan, Jordan and the UK, alongside 26 key informant interviews with EiE practitioners to address the research areas. The key findings highlighted that intersectionality matters in EIE, in that forcibly displaced young people's educational experiences are intimately connected to their situated positions, often shaped by colonialism. Similarly, these dynamics profoundly impact and shape the EiE sector. Notwithstanding, some young people resist limited education trajectories, in myriad ways, from leveraging family and community networks to exercising personal agency, seeking out, and setting up learning opportunities. A secondary objective of this study is to challenge the dominant modes of knowledge production and ways of working in the EiE field and to interrogate its conceptual framings by bringing to the fore the issues that young people want to highlight in their educational experiences when enabled to do so through using the digital storytelling research praxis

Work-Based Learning Symposium Proceedings 2009

Prof. Michael Ward Head, Department of Food Business and Development, University College Cork I am honoured to have been invited to chair this morning’s session. My day job is here in UCC where I’m the Professor and Head of the Department of Food Business and Development and the Director of the Centre for Cooperative Studies. I’ve a particular interest in this work-based learning symposium because I, with my colleagues in both the department and the centre, have been involved in Work-Based Learning initiatives of various kinds over the years. So it is a great pleasure to be invited to chair this morning’s proceedings. This work-based learning symposium is being hosted by CIT in association with UCC. The focus of this Higher Education Authority Strategic Innovation Fund project is on work-based learning opportunities through partnership, which is a particularly important focus. Certainly for any of us who have been involved in this type of activity, we know you’re not going to go far without that focus on partnership and getting the various actors to integrate and work together. The focus is very much on education for those in employment, which might sound very strange this morning in the context of when we turn on the radio we hear all of the people who are unemployed or are losing their jobs on a continuous basis. But, in fact when you think about it, it makes very great sense indeed, because the only way we are going to, “create jobs” is to maintain the jobs that we already have. That can only be done through a focus on upskilling, on training, on preparing for a different world, competitiveness and so on. So, as I said the focus is on partnership, and no better person to welcome us all here this morning than someone who is very much involved in partnership and that is Dr Tom Mullins. Dr Tom Mullins is the Director of the Centre for Adult Continuing Education here in UCC. Prior to taking up that position a little over a year ago, Tom spent most of his academic career in the Department of Education

Work Based Learning - Graduating Through The Workplace

Higher education is currently undergoing rapid, unprecedented, and accelerating change. Employers and individuals are demanding an increase in the diversity of curricular choice and mix, reflecting increasingly rapid changes in the workplace and in society generally. Much of the rate of change has been driven by exponential advances in information and communications technology over recent decades. Until recent years, the emphasis in state-funded third-level education was almost entirely towards “foremployment” rather than “in-employment” education and training. In-employment training has, for the most part, been largely disconnected from the formal education qualifications system. The newer emphasis on upskilling of persons already in the labour force poses new and significant challenges. This is particularly true for those at the lower skills level who find it difficult to access education and training opportunities. Learning for Life (2000), Ireland’s first White Paper on Adult Education, confirmed that skill shortages continue to threaten Ireland’s economic prospects, a view endorsed by all stakeholders, who also agreed on the priority status of the skill shortage issue. The White Paper, however, reported that “there is less agreement as to how workplace education should be organised and financed” (Department of Education and Science, 2000: 76). Since the publication of the White Paper, educators, employers, and politicians have given increased attention to the concept of learning as a lifelong activity. Within the context of lifelong learning, learning required by the workplace and which takes place at work and through work has a predominant role in determining the content and direction of learning. As work environments increasingly move to knowledge-based environments, with their increasingly dynamic and changing contexts, ongoing upskilling of employees is required. Work-based training and education is ideally suited to serve this need. Rapidly changing contexts now require training and education curricula that are fluid, dynamic, and continually responsive to volatile workplace environments and to societal change. Third-level institutions need to continually engage with the crucible of changing work environments, where newly created contexts continually demand educators to respond quickly to new and everchanging circumstances

A systematic literature review of service-related research on refugees

Purpose: This study systematically reviews and conceptualises service-related research on refugees to identify gaps in the literature, derive future research avenues and stimulate interdisciplinary research and practice to improve wellbeing of refugees. Design/methodology/approach: The study employs a systematic literature review (SLR) of 102 journal articles published or available online from 2000 to 2020. Findings: Ten themes are identified across the three phases of the refugees’ service journey (entry, transition and exit). Most of the articles focus on the exit phase. One-third of the literature analyse refugees’ access and adaptation to healthcare services. The dearth of research on other refugee services reflects the failure to attend to all aspects of service provision across all phases of the refugee service journey. Research limitations/implications: While the ten themes across the three phases require scholars’ and practitioners’ attention, different aspects of the SLR’s findings necessitate further investigation. To reinvigorate research and practice, and stimulate interdisciplinary collaboration, a novel Communities of Practice approach is suggested. Practical implications: Practitioners and policymakers should place more focus on the entry and transition phases of the refugee service journey. Social implications: Lack of research and engagement with the first two phases of the refugee journey might come at the expense of refugees. More service support is needed to buffer the journey from homeland to host country. Originality/value: This SLR on refugee-related services is the first of its kind from a service research perspective

Abridged international perspectives of technology education and its connection to STEM education

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) areas are integral content disciplines in all economies. Although most countries have and continue to ensure quality science (S) and Mathematics (M) education for primary (elementary) and secondary school students, the technology (T) and engineering (E) content areas tend not to be regarded as core to national curricula in the same way that science and mathematics are regarded as essential. This article discusses efforts in various countries to better promote and integrate Technology and Engineering Education (TEE) in schools. This paper highlights common themes and argues that we can learn from each other’s efforts in TEE. We argue that dialogue across nations can help us to build international STEM education collaboration networks, better understand the nature of STEM and how to better engage pupils and students in STEM subjects, and work towards gaining inputs to national TEE policy that can leverage positive change

Youth Entrepreneurship in Europe: Values, Attitudes, Policies

[Excerpt] The level of youth unemployment remains very high in several EU Member States, and there is increased awareness of the economic and social consequences associated with long‑term disengagement from the labour market. In light of the high potential of entrepreneurs to create employment and sustainable growth, promoting youth entrepreneurship and making Europe more entrepreneur‑friendly has recently become a priority on the EU policy agenda. Self‑employment and entrepreneurship are not a panacea for solving the youth unemployment crisis, as only a minority of young people have the right skills, ideas and personality traits. However, making Europe more business‑friendly and helping young people transform their creative ideas into successful business plans by removing the barriers to entrepreneurship has many potential benefits, including direct and indirect job creation and the development of human capital and new skills. This report provides an overview of youth entrepreneurship in the context of the European policy agenda and individual Member States. It looks at factors that influence the decision to become self‑employed and examines the individual and social attitudes of young people towards entrepreneurship, comparing Europe with other comparable parts of the world. To identify the specific traits that characterise the ‘entrepreneurial personality’, it investigates work values and personality traits of young European entrepreneurs as compared with young employees. Finally, the report analyses selected policy measures aimed at fostering youth entrepreneurship in Finland, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain, organised around three main support pillars: fostering an entrepreneurial mindset and culture among young people; providing information, advice, coaching and mentoring to young would‑be entrepreneurs; and removing perceived practical and logistical barriers

The predictive value of Grade 12 and university access tests results for success in higher education

Thesis (MEd)--Stellenbosch University, 2013.BibliographyENGLISH ABSTRACT: The final school examination is the gateway to higher education (HE) in most countries. Many students are however ill-prepared for HE because of a lack of quality education. Internationally, alternative access programmes are offered to address this problem. SciMathUS is the Science and Mathematics bridging programme at Stellenbosch University with the aim to allow educationally disadvantaged students whose Grade 12 results are below the standard entrance scores for admittance to HE, a second chance to improve their scores in Mathematics and Physical Sciences and then reapply for HE. SciMathUS follows a hybrid Problem-based Learning (PBL) philosophy, encouraging students to take responsibility for their own learning. While it is expected that performance in the final school examination correlates with performance in HE, this is questioned in the case of students who do not have access to good education and, as a result thereof, leave school with poor to low results. With the high demand for HE internationally, identifying students with the potential to succeed is however a huge challenge. Alternative measurements have been and are being considered and researched. The focus of this quantitative research is to determine whether Grade 12 results (Mathematics and Physical Sciences) and Stellenbosch University Access Test (AT) results could predict success in HE for students who first attended a bridging programme. Success was defined quantitatively and measured by the results obtained at the end of their first year in HE. Quantitative techniques were used to analyse the possible relationships between the different variables. The findings were that SciMathUS students managed to improve their Grade 12 Mathematics and Physical Sciences and AT significantly after attending the bridging programme. These results allowed them to participate in HE. No correlation could, however, be found between their NSC results or the AT results and their performance in HE. In spite of this, more than 40% of the students in this group passed their first year in HE with an average of more than 50%. Another almost 40% obtained between 30% and 50% and were therefore allowed to continue with their studies. In three faculties at Stellenbosch University, the former bridging programme students performed on par with their peers from the same schools who enrolled in HE directly after school.AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die finale skooleksamen bied internasionaal toegang tot hoër onderwys. As gevolg van ʼn gebrek aan goeie skoolopleiding, is baie studente egter nie voldoende voorbereid vir hoër onderwysstudies nie. Om hierdie probleem aan te spreek, het alternatiewe toegangsprogramme ontstaan. SciMathUS is die Wiskunde- en Wetenskapoorbruggingsprogram by Stellenbosch Universiteit. Die program bied aan opvoedkundigbenadeelde studente, wie se Graad 12-punte nie voldoende is om toegang tot hoër onderwys te kry nie, ʼn tweede kans om hul punte in Wiskunde en Fisiese Wetenskappe te verbeter. Met hierdie nuwe uitslae kan hulle dan weer aansoek doen vir toelating. SciMathUS volg ʼn hibriede probleem-gebaseerde leerbenadering wat onder meer daarop gemik is om die studente aan te moedig om self verantwoordelikheid vir hul eie leer te aanvaar. Die verwagting is dat daar ʼn korrelasie sal bestaan tussen skooluitslae en prestasie in hoër onderwys. Dit word egter bevraagteken vir studente wat nie toegang tot goeie skoolopleiding gehad het nie en as gevolg daarvan swak presteer in die finale skooleksamen. Omdat meer studente tot hoër onderwys wil toetree, raak dit toenemend belangrik om die studente met potensiaal te kan identifiseer. Alternatiewe meetinstrumente word dus geruime tyd al oorweeg en nagevors. Dit is ook die fokus van hierdie kwantitatiewe studie: om te bepaal of Graad 12 uitslae (in Wiskunde en Fisiese Wetenskappe) en die uitslae van die toegangstoetse van die Universiteit van Stellenbosch gebruik kan word om sukses van studente wat eers die SciMathUS oorbruggingskursus bygewoon het, in hoër onderwys te kan voorspel. Vir hierdie studie word sukses kwantitatief gedefinieer en gemeet aan die student se gemiddelde persentasie wat aan die einde van hul eerstejaar in hoër onderwys behaal het. Statistiese analises is gebruik om die moontlike korrelasies tussen die verskillende veranderlikes te bepaal. Die bevindinge van hierdie studie is dat die SciMathUS-studente se Graad 12 Wiskunde en Fisiese Wetenskappe uitslae en toegangstoetsuitslae noemenswaardig verbeter het nadat hulle die program gevolg het. Hierdie uitslae het hulle toegelaat om toegang te kry tot hoër onderwys. Geen korrelasie is egter tussen die Nasionale Senior Sertifikaatuitslae of die toegangstoetsuitslae en prestasie in hoër onderwys gevind nie. Ten spyte daarvan het meer as 40% van die studente in die groep hul eerstejaar met ʼn gemiddelde persentasie van meer as 50% geslaag. Ongeveer nog 40% van die studente het tussen 30% en 50% behaal en is dus toegelaat om met hul studies te kon voortgaan. In drie fakulteite by Stellenbosch Universiteit het die voormalige brugprogramstudente net so goed gevaar soos die studente wat dieselfde skole as hulle bygewoon het maar direk na skool by Stellenbosch Universiteit ingeskryf het

Toward Developing a Valid and Reliable Assessment of Learners’ Nature of Engineering Views

Nature of Engineering (NOE) refers to the epistemological beliefs pertaining to engineering (Antink-Meyer & Brown, 2019; Deniz et al., 2019; Hartman & Bell, 2018; Kaya et al., 2017; Pleasants & Olson, 2019). Given that a person’s engineering values and beliefs can affect how that individual perceives not only certain tasks, but also his/her ability to accomplish them, it is important to support pre-college teachers and students in improving their NOE understanding. This continues to be one of the main goals of pre-college Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education, and has become particularly relevant since the release of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in 2013. NGSS elevated the engineering design process to the level of scientific inquiry and focused on the aspects of NOE implicitly. Just as researchers have been calling for a greater emphasis on the understanding the Nature of Science (NOS) during the last fifty years, including the need for K-12 students to develop adequate NOS views, students today need to be better informed on the key NOE aspects in order to appreciate and understand engineering. Recently, some researchers have attempted to explore relevant NOE aspects for K-12 students with the aim of generating more sophisticated views of NOE among students. However, at present, assessment of NOE understanding, which is a fundamental part of NOE research, is a challenge, due to the absence of a reliable instrument. It is therefore imperative to develop a NOE instrument that can be adopted in pre-college engineering instruction, as the findings yielded can help close the gap between learners’ NOE conceptions and the actual engineering practice. Most importantly, pre-college engineering education can be modified by using a spectrum of instructional methods geared toward enhancing learners’ NOE understanding. This was the aim of the proposed study, and it was achieved by accomplishing the following two goals: (a) describing the NOE aspects relevant to K-12 education based on the NGSS and the National Research Councils’ Framework for K-12 Science Education; (b) developing a new empirical, reliable, and valid open-ended Nature of Engineering Instrument – Version B (VNOE-B), in part derived from a Views of the Nature of Engineering (VNOE) questionnaire designed to assess learners’ NOE perceptions. This research mainly focused on the development and validation of the VNOE-B questionnaire while also discussing the implications of the use of the new VNOE-B questionnaire in educational practice. It is envisaged that the findings yielded by this investigation will guide the science and engineering education community in devising the most appropriate ways to help students and teachers develop fully-informed NOE views

The Power of VPL: Validation of Prior Learning as a Multi-targeted Approach For Access to Learning Opportunities For All

Preface from Ruud Duvekot: Learning is more than ever important and valuable, people are encouraged to invest in their potential throughout their lives, taking into account their prior learning. According to policy papers all across the globe, this should concern all citizens, including the underrepresented groups and non-traditional learners with regard to higher education because everywhere the knowledge-economy needs more higher-educated participation from all..