The Effect of University Fees on Applications, Attendance and Course Choice:Evidence from a Natural Experiment in the UK

Over the past two decades, large changes have been introduced to the level of university fees in the UK, with significant variation across countries. This article exploits this variation to examine the effect of fees on university applications, attendance and course choice. It finds that applications decrease in response to higher fees with an elasticity of demand of about -0.4. Attendance also decreases. The reduction in applications and attendance is larger for courses with lower salaries and employment rates after graduation, for non-STEM subjects and for less selective universities

The ‘success’ of looked after children in Higher Education in England: near peer coaching, ‘small steps’ and future thinking

This paper addresses the shortage of studies on the ‘success’ of care-experienced young people in Higher Education (HE) internationally. It draws on the findings of a study of a near-peer, pre-entry coaching intervention developed in England to address stakeholders’ concerns around a lack of ‘success’ post entry to university, linked to gaps in knowledge and the challenge of providing on going support. In delivering reciprocal benefits to the coaches, some of whom were care experienced themselves, the HE Champions model promoted the possibility of longer term ‘success’. The personalised nature of the young people’s programme experiences and difficulties in recruitment highlighted the need for ‘success’ to be conceptualised as ‘small steps’ despite pressure to deliver more measurable outcomes. The research also highlighted the importance of reflexive, human-scale systems that put care and relationships at the centre

The Academic Resilience Scale (ARS-30) : a new multidimensional construct measure

Resilience is a psychological construct observed in some individuals that accounts for success despite adversity. Resilience reflects the ability to bounce back, to beat the odds and is considered an asset in human characteristic terms. Academic resilience contextualises the resilience construct and reflects an increased likelihood of educational success despite adversity. The paper provides an account of the development of a new multidimensional construct measure of academic resilience. The 30 item Academic Resilience Scale (ARS-30) explores process—as opposed to outcome—aspects of resilience, providing a measure of academic resilience based on students’ specific adaptive cognitive-affective and behavioural responses to academic adversity. Findings from the study involving a sample of undergraduate students (N=532) demonstrate that the ARS-30 has good internal reliability and construct validity. It is suggested that a measure such as the ARS-30, which is based on adaptive responses, aligns more closely with the conceptualisation of resilience and provides a valid construct measure of academic resilience relevant for research and practice in university student populations

MAPEAMENTO DE COMPETÊNCIAS – UMA ATIVIDADE PRÁTICA

Entre as disciplinas optativas do Mestrado Profissional em Administração da Unoesc, a disciplina de Conhecimento e Aprendizagem Organizacional se destaca por ter um enfoque voltado para a gestão de pessoas, tendo como objetivo fornecer instrumentos de análise sistêmica que possibilitem compreender os paradigmas e as práticas que norteiam a gestão do conhecimento e da aprendizagem em ambiente organizacional. O tema da gestão das competências foi um dos assuntos estudados na disciplina, sob a perspectiva daquelas requeridas pelas organizações. Para atingir o objetivo desse componente curricular, uma das atividades práticas realizadas foi uma entrevista com candidato a deputado federal, com o intuito de mapeamento de suas competências. Primeiramente, antes da entrevista propriamente dita, foi feito um levantamento com base na descrição do perfil e na legislação prevista pelo Congresso Nacional de quais seriam as competências necessárias para o exercício do mandato de deputado federal. Em seguida, com as competências em mãos, foi organizado coletivamente um roteiro de entrevista pautado pelas dimensões das competências: conhecimentos, habilidades e atitudes necessárias. Definiu-se, também, o nível de proficiência desejado para cada competência listada. Convidou-se um candidato que prontamente se dispôs a cooperar com a atividade de aprendizagem, e realizou-se a entrevista. Ela teve a duração de duas horas e a interação entre alunos, professora e entrevistado foi intensa. Como resultados, foram mapeadas as competências atuais do candidato ao cargo, bem como aquelas que demandariam desenvolvimento e ação da gestão organizacional. Também se evidenciou, na avaliação da atividade, que os conceitos de competência e do seu mapeamento foram assimilados, além da atividade de contribuir com a formação da cidadania.Palavras-chave: Competências. Mapeamento. Aprendizagem

‘They're not girly girls’: an exploration of quantitative and qualitative data on engineering and gender in higher education

This article was published in the journal, European Journal of Engineering Education [© Taylor & Francis] and the definitive version is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03043797.2012.661702Despite sustained efforts to promote engineering careers to young women, it remains the most male-dominated academic discipline in Europe. This paper will provide an overview of UK data and research on women in engineering higher education, within the context of Europe. Comparisons between data from European countries representing various regions of Europe will highlight key differences and similarities between these nations in terms of women in engineering. Also, drawing on qualitative research the paper will explore UK students' experiences of gender, with a particular focus on the decision to study engineering and their experiences in higher education. © 2012 Copyright SEFI

'Let the Right Ones In!': Widening Participation, Academic Writing and the Standards Debate in Higher Education

This paper challenges the frequently expressed concern, post-1992, that widening participation (WP) has contributed to a general ‘dumbing down’ of higher education in English universities *(Burke, 2005; Leathwood, 2010). In particular, it explores the implications of a long-standing ‘moral panic’ (Cohen, 1972) about the poor quality of students’ academic writing, particularly in the ‘new’ universities, which have been raised in various academic reports and countless media articles. A vampire metaphor is used throughout the paper to highlight ways in which assumptions about these falling standards in undergraduates’ academic writing feed on the foundations of a longstanding, albeit implicit, distrust of the growth in the sector on elitist, ideological grounds. The second half of the paper investigates how academic writing practices, whilst difficult to define, nonetheless wield a ‘disciplinary power’ (Foucault, 1980), over lecturers and students in the academy. This includes a discussion about how a situated, New Literacy Studies (NLS) approach to academic writing development challenges the view that students’ academic writing standards are falling. In contrast, the paper suggests that all universities have a responsibility to acknowledge and develop the different literacies that students, especially widening participation students, bring with them to university. (193

‘Don’t call me an academic’: Professional identity and struggles for legitimacy within the vocational field of Events Management higher education.

Events Management is a relatively new subject within universities, and is positioned as a vocational field with links to industry and practice. This paper considers the role of the academic within Events Management higher education, and how individuals within this field position themselves and make claims to legitimacy. Drawing on interviews with 16 Events Management academics in the UK, we identify three narrative strategies adopted by individuals in this field as they position themselves in relation to academic and professional identities. The three narrative strategies identified – the anti-academic, the traditional academic and the blended professional – illustrate the precarious and often unstable identities of those within vocational subjects. Individuals within Events Management experience difficulty in terms of both their professional and academic identities, and may rely on a mixture of both traditional (e.g. research and teaching) and industry metrics in their claims to status and legitimacy

The emerging dental workforce: why dentistry? A quantitative study of final year dental students' views on their professional career

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Dental graduates are joining a profession experiencing changes in systems of care, funding and skill mix. Research into the motivation and expectations of the emerging workforce is vital to inform professional and policy decisions. The objective of this research was to investigate final year dental students' perceived motivation for their choice of career in relation to sex, ethnicity and mode of entry.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Self-administered questionnaire survey of all final year dental students at King's College London. Data were entered into SPSS; statistical analysis included Chi Squared tests for linear association, multiple regression, factor analysis and logistic regression.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A response of 90% (n = 126) was achieved. The majority were aged 23 years (59%), female (58%) and Asian (70%). One in 10 were mature students. Eighty per cent identified 11 or more 'important' or 'very important' influences, the most common of which were related to features of the job: 'regular working hours' (91%), 'degree leading to recognised job' (90%) and 'job security' (90%). There were significant differences in important influences by sex (males > females: 'able to run own business'; females > males: 'a desire to work with people'), ethnic group (Asians > white: 'wish to provide public service', 'influence of friends', 'desire to work in healthcare', having 'tried an alternative career/course' and 'work experience') and mode of entry (mature > early entry: 'a desire to work with people'). Multivariate analysis suggested 61% of the variation in influences is explained by five factors: the 'professional job' (31%), 'healthcare-people' (11%), 'academic-scientific' (8%), 'careers-advising' (6%), and 'family/friends' (6%). The single major influence on choice of career was a 'desire to work with people'; Indian students were twice as likely to report this as white or other ethnic groups.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Final year dental students report a wide range of important influences on their choice of dentistry, with variation by sex, ethnicity and mode of entry in relation to individual influences. Features of the 'professional job', followed by 'healthcare and people' were the most important underlying factors influencing choice of career.</p

How does the choice of A-level subjects vary with students' socio-economic status in English state schools?

The reasons why students from lower socio-economic groups are underrepresented at highly selective universities are not entirely understood, but evidence suggests that part of the gap may be a consequence of differential choice of A-levels by social background. The Russell Group of universities has since 2011 published guidance on subject choices, describing some A-levels as ‘facilitating’ in that their choice keeps the largest number of Russell Group degree courses open to potential applicants. This study uses National Pupil Database data from three recent cohorts of English state school students taking at least three A-levels, and a taxonomy of all 96 A-levels certified for English students in 2014/15. Large differentials in subject choice by social background are found, particularly for facilitating subjects but also for subjects considered ‘less suitable’ by Russell Group universities. Linear probability models show that these differentials substantially disappear when GCSE attainment and subject choices at age 14+ are taken into account. Closing the choice gap at A-level is likely therefore to depend on reducing differentials in attainment and subject choice by social background at GCSE. The introduction of the eBacc may help with the GCSE subject choice element

Looking for Ways to Increase Student Motivation: Internationalisation and Value Innovation

Understanding what constitutes the perceived value of foreign education to international business students is critical for business schools in order to achieve their recruitment targets. One established method relies on a financial interpretation of the costs and benefits of business education. By contrast, this study advocates a holistic approach by employing the concept of “internal” and “external” career success as its theoretical underpinning. A survey of undergraduate Chinese students in two British business schools based on such approach provides confirmation of the importance of an individual's judgement of own success as the foundation of value-related expectations and suggests that academic practice should be concerned with a wider range of competencies and responses to individual attitudes, shifting emphasis towards a greater spectrum of social values