Widening Participation Backgrounds Research Articles

Engagement with online resources and widening participation status: observations from a large, diverse Foundation Year science cohort

Despite focused effort and attention over recent years, many potential barriers to progression and success remain within Higher Education. This study focuses on a cohort of 168 students studying on two semester-long Foundation Year Biological Sciences modules delivered at the University of East Anglia in the academic year 2021/22. These modules take place in consecutive semesters within the same academic year and specifically target students from underrepresented and widening participation backgrounds. This study seeks to understand whether a student’s widening participation background influences their engagement with online study resources. We analysed the engagement of individual students with resources provided on the virtual learning environment (VLE) and related this to POLAR4 quintiles. POLAR4 classifies local areas across the UK according to the young participation rate in Higher Education within that area. All POLAR4 categories saw lower modules marks as well as engagement with practice assessments VLE-hosted resources in the second of the two semesters. These differences were greatest for students from the lowest POLAR4 quintile, POLAR4q1. POLAR4q1 students have significantly lower average module grades than all other categories across both semesters but with the gap widest in semester 2, despite the student engagement score increasing. There was no difference in the engagement scores for students from POLAR4q1 backgrounds compared to others in their cohort during the autumn semester but in in the spring semester, students from POLAR4q1 backgrounds had on average, higher engagement scores. Students who grew up in a POLAR4q1 area are more likely to have had disrupted education journeys than their peers from other quintiles. As a result, it is likely they will need more than one intervention to be able to close the attainment gap that we see on these modules. We discuss this along with other potential causes and consequences for these findings alongside recommendations for interventions and further research.

Supporting Widening Participation Students Without Creating Dependency or Leaving Them Unprepared for Work in the Neoliberal Era

In a rapidly changing employment context, research holds that the desirable attributes of grit, resilience and context adaptation will become fundamental to the ongoing employability of current students. The employment landscape has become atomised and volatile under neoliberalism, exemplified by the broken psychological contract between employer and employee. Graduates from widening participation backgrounds entering the labour market will see their existing barriers to career success exacerbated by these changes in the world of work. For students from widening participation backgrounds, the neoliberal policies that underpin these changes are congruent with other policies that exacerbate their socioeconomic and educational disadvantages. Consequently, universities must play an increasingly important role in supporting students within and outside of the taught curriculum. This paper explores ways universities can continue to provide students with the necessary support without building dependencies or expectations of support that would inhibit the development of grit, resilience, and context adaptation. As a starting point for further discussion, this paper proposes guiding principles for universities to inform institutional Teaching and Learning strategies.

Experiences of foundation year students integrating into first year

Foundation year courses tend to attract an elevated proportion of students from widening participation backgrounds. Previously, O'Sullivan et al. (2019) showed that sense of belonging and academic confidence increase during the foundation year. The research reported here took the next step, by investigating the experiences of foundation year students as they transitioned into a first year cohort. Students (n= 18) participated in either a focus group or interview. Three themes were identified. The foundation year was viewed as 1) a valuable `stepping stone´ into higher education. Students felt that they had been given a `second chance´ and were more prepared for the first year. The second theme related to 2) identity development as a university student. Challenges were highlighted, including a perceived `stigma´ of a foundation year. The third theme related to 3) integration with other students. Students formed close support networks with each other. None had integrated with others on the wider programme or at the university, attributing this to the perceived inability or lack of opportunity to meet others, or a feeling that this was unnecessary. This study provides new insights into the strengths and challenges of the foundation cohort experience as they progress through their programme, with implications for practice.

Plant a seed series: the impact of an online outreach package on school pupils’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes to medicine

BackgroundMedicine is one of the most inaccessible professions in the United Kingdom (UK). The Plant a Seed (PAS) series was created to address this; it is an online pre-recorded three-part video series to “Inspire”, “Educate” and “Motivate” pupils from widening participation backgrounds on Medicine. We explored the impact of PAS on pupils’ knowledge, skills and attitude to Medicine.MethodsWe conducted a national pretest-posttest study of Years 7–9 pupils in the UK. 503 schools were invited to PAS, following ethics approval. Consented pupils viewed all three episodes asynchronously and completed a pre-and post-series Likert scale confidence questionnaire, which evaluated their knowledge, skills and attitudes to a medical career. A Shapiro-Wilk test showed the lack of a normal distribution (p < 0.05); therefore, a Wilcoxon signed-rank test statistically compared pretest-posttest results of each pupil.Results70 pupils in Years 7–9 from 2 schools participated in this study. PAS was shown to significantly increase pupils’ knowledge of the role and life of a doctor, medicine as a degree, admissions requirements, and careers in medicine (p < 0.05). There was a significant increase in pupils believing they could study medicine. The intervention did not significantly increase the desire for pupils to study medicine (p = 0.187).ConclusionPAS significantly improved pupils’ knowledge, skills and confidence demonstrating the need and benefit to enrolment of the programme at scale. It did not significantly increase the number of pupils wishing to study medicine. Analysis at scale is required to evaluate the effectiveness of PAS as a key intervention to break down barriers to medicine.

Insights into outreach: the research potential of online focus groups

Focus groups have become an established research instrument amongst those involved in widening participation (WP). However, COVID-19 presents a challenge to their use. The very strength of this method of data collection ‐ the opportunity to listen to those from WP backgrounds ‐ has been limited by the restricted access that outreach practitioners and researchers have had to schools and colleges since early 2020. Yet, the imperative of hearing from these students remains. Evidence suggests that the pandemic has had the most severe impact on those from the least advantaged backgrounds. Moreover, there is a need to establish the effectiveness of the outreach response, much of which has involved new modes of delivery. Online focus groups constitute a possible option. Whilst their potential has been recognised for a number of years, few studies have explored their use in the field. In seeking to offer insights, this article draws on the findings from two research projects that deployed online focus groups. Whilst various technical issues were encountered, the practical advantages they offered were evident in both studies, as was their capacity to generate highquality data. In recognising the contribution that online focus groups can make to the evidence base, this article concludes with some recommendations for their use.

Financial well-being and capability of widening participation students and a text message intervention to improve it

University students are frequently cited as having some of the poorest financial well-being of the adult population, particularly those from widening participation backgrounds. Therefore, in a randomised controlled field experiment in 15 higher education institutions in England, we examine the impact of a light-touch text message intervention (over 10???12 weeks) aimed at improving the financial capability and well-being of widening participation students. The results suggest that such an intervention has little impact on improving financial well-being or capability from baseline levels although some effect was found on improved financial attitudes, peer comparison and information seeking. Overall, such an intervention is too light-touch to have a meaningful impact and future interventions are likely to need to be stronger nudges, perhaps changing the context and cognition simultaneously, if meaningful impacts on financial well-being are to be achieved.

The impact of the pandemic on widening participation students: the teaching professionals’ perspective

A number of studies have shown that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionately adverse effect on the education of those from more disadvantaged backgrounds. However, less is known about the pandemic's impact on the educational ambitions of the same young people and their prospects for progressing to higher-level study. Although those engaged in widening access have continued to provide support to these students, the circumstantial evidence suggests that the lockdowns and school closures associated with the pandemic may have further widened the participation gap between young people from more affluent backgrounds and their less advantaged peers. Now schools have reopened and things have return to normal, there is a need to understand the progression challenges those from widening participation backgrounds face. This study seeks to do this by drawing on the insights of 14 teaching professionals from a selection of schools and colleges in the English West Midlands with catchment areas that draw heavily on disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Conducted in spring 2021, the semistructured interviews with these teachers presented an opportunity to reflect on the impact of more than 12 months of educational disruption and to consider what is now needed to widen university access.

Admission to medical school is not the endpoint of widening participation

Scholarly papers addressing widening access and participation in medicine have mushroomed in the last decade or so, but the focus has predominantly been on the first part of the equation: access. The time has come to consolidate the gains in widening access and develop the latter half of the equation and ensure equitable participation of students from non-traditional backgrounds. Academic discussions about class and social mobility concentrate on understanding the factors that determine (or limit) people’s upward trajectory and how class origins still play a strong role in it. This paper builds on a critical evaluation of the published literature on the topic to discuss the barriers (perceived or real) that students from widening participation backgrounds experience on their journey from admissions to progression through to medical training and into the workforce. It is discussed what tangible measures can be taken to break the cycle of social reproduction and help students from disadvantaged backgrounds successfully enter the medical professions.

Engaging non-mathematics students in mathematics learning through collaborative teaching

Abstract Mathematics is a common component of many science and social science degrees, but frequently not considered a prerequisite for their study. This can lead to some students studying mathematics components at undergraduate level with little or no previous mathematical learning and varying levels of motivation, or desire, to study mathematics. This situation has consequences for student experience and teaching practice, including the potential for lower levels of student engagement, higher levels of student anxiety and lack of student motivation for studying a subject that is not what they chose as their degree subject. This paper details an intervention designed to address issues experienced in the teaching of mathematics to undergraduate students, with varying motivation for the study of mathematics and high levels of mathematics anxiety, in their first year of study in a department of Earth Sciences at a UK university. The intervention provided a bespoke mathematics module, designed and taught collaboratively by a teaching specialist in mathematics and a subject specialist in Earth Sciences. The mathematics specialist was able to provide extensive experience in teaching students from widening participation backgrounds and those with mathematics anxiety, making the content more accessible to the students, particularly those with mathematics anxiety. The Earth Sciences specialist was able to contextualize the mathematics content, showing students how the content was applicable to the rest of the degree and helping locate the mathematical content within the broader scope of the discipline. Previous approaches to this module were taught either solely by an Earth Sciences specialist or solely by a mathematics specialist. Compared with those approaches the collaborative teaching intervention improved student attainment by 10% in the average module mark and moved the module from having the lowest student satisfaction scores in the department to the highest. This innovation also benefited both teachers with respect to professional development, which is discussed in the paper.

Inclusivity in transitioning to medical school.

Inclusivity in transitioning to medical school.

Long-range outreach: recognising and responding to the intermediate challenge to widening access posed by post-16 progression

ABSTRACT A growing body of evidence has been assembled in recent years indicating the influence that early educational experiences can have on a young person’s prospects of progressing to university. These include experiences associated with the transition to post-16 study, which can also involve a move to a different educational institution. Whilst applicable to young people from wide range backgrounds, navigating the post-16 education system, and having the knowledge and confidence to advance through it, can be more challenging for those from backgrounds with limited experience of post-compulsory education. However, the nature of the challenges to post-16 educational progression faced by those from widening participation backgrounds, as well as what works and what is needed, remain comparatively under-researched. Moreover, evidence suggests that the disruptions to education wrought by the pandemic may have exacerbated and added to established challenges. This article reports on the findings from an investigation that sought to better understand these issues and how they might be addressed by hearing from those most directly impacted: the young people outreach initiatives seek to support.

Recognising the risks: perceptions of higher education amongst young white British males from areas of educational disadvantages

ABSTRACT Comparatively few young white males from poorer backgrounds progress to university. This paper considers evidence gathered from a study that explores the educational ambitions of these young men from five areas of educational disadvantage in North West England, at two stages in their learner journeys. The first stage relates to school year 10 (14–15 year olds), as pupils work towards their level 2 qualifications. The second focuses on year 12 (16–17 year olds), as post-16 options are embarked upon and attention is turned to longer-term plans. What emerges from this study are a number of shared concerns over higher education as a destination. In supporting claims made in various other studies that have considered learners from widening participation backgrounds more generally, it is argued that these can be expressed in terms of costs. For this group, the potential benefits of HE must be weighed against a range of consequences that, in scale and extent, are unlikely to be encountered by their more affluent peers, and that may not be so acutely felt by those from some other under-represented populations. The study concludes by arguing that practitioners should acknowledge these consequences when developing outreach interventions for this group.

Acknowledging the value of friendships and relationships in supporting personal and professional development

ABSTRACT Covid-19 has driven a move away from face-to-face learning and time spent on campus for all university students. This study explores social restrictions through the lens of friendships and creation of meaningful relationships for students from a widening participation (WP) background embarking upon a Medicine with Foundation Year programme. Previous studies highlight the importance of meaningful interactions in facilitating students’ personal and professional development and highlight how students from WP backgrounds often struggle forming advantageous relationships at university, missing opportunities to increase their social capital during the crucial first few years at medical school. An exploratory approach was adopted for this collaborative study to understand the impact of upon students’ lived experiences and the development of advantageous relationships. Although this is a small cohort study, and too limited for generalisations, it provides valuable insight into the negative impact of restrictions on friendships and relationship building. It highlights the value of embedding opportunities for informal interactions, networking and social activities into university programmes to enable the nurturing of relationships and friendships. As we move into a post-COVID-19 era it calls for further research into the impact of behavioural changes on communities of practice and learning through formal and social interactions.

Research Skills Immersive Induction: Preparing Widening Participation First Year Students for Undergraduate Art School Study

AbstractMuch has been written about the necessity for induction programmes that help students bridge the gap between secondary and tertiary education. Oftentimes the language around this issue focuses on perceived student deficit rather than institutional shortcomings, not least in discussion of students from Widening Participation backgrounds. The purpose of this study was to use action research to critically examine aspects of the bridging programme I helped deliver in my role within an art school Widening Participation programme, and investigate the impact it was having on students entering higher education from high school. My action research project aimed to address the disparity between student preparedness and institutional expectations and explore improvements that could be made at institutional level to smooth students' transition to art school undergraduate study. This article outlines my findings on the impact of this project, drawing on thematic analysis of qualitative and quantitative data collected through participant evaluation forms and interviews conducted with former students on the Transitions Week programme, as well as reflections gathered from my project research diary.

1668 Buying Your Way into A Run-Through Surgical Training Post: The Way Forward?

Abstract Introduction Competition for core surgical training (CST) applications has increased significantly over the last few years. This has been largely attributable to the introduction of limited run-through surgical posts which avoids the bottleneck at ST3 applications. We sought to assess how financial factors may affect current or potential future surgical trainees in their pursuit for run-through posts. Method A 10-point questionnaire was designed to assess various financial considerations for surgical trainees applying to the 2021 CST cycle who had the sole goal of securing a run-through post. Results were analysed using Chi-squared test. Results Of the 40 respondents, 95% were foundation doctors and 5% were core trainees. There was a significant association between willingness to achieve full marks in the CST interview and attending an interview course and obtaining 1-1 coaching sessions (p &amp;lt; 0.05). Familial income was not found to be a significant barrier to spending money on interview courses and coaching sessions (p &amp;lt; 0.05). Conclusions Applicants are willing to pay a significant premium to secure a run-through surgical post. Further research is required to fully understand the reasons behind this phenomenon and the impact on those from widening participation backgrounds.

Recruiting medical students from underrepresented backgrounds to a project to identify support challenges amongst their peers whilst encouraging early career engagement in psychiatry

AimsTo engage lived experience individuals to run a project identifying the mental health challenges unique to medical students who self identify as belonging to marginalised groups;To use the project findings to inform mental health support and education during medical training and beyond;To encourage the individuals to engaged mental health policy and education whilst also using the process to inform their future medical careers, including in the field of psychiatry.MethodLived experience individuals were recruited to the project following open applications from medical students. The role was to design a project to create an evidence base for tailored support methods needed to reduce marginalised medical students’ increased risk of poor mental health. This formed the basis of guidance on how medical schools and healthcare systems can improve wellbeing support for their students and staff. With support from a trained staff and student member, the recruited officers were encouraged to follow their preferred method for fulfilling the project aims, using their own and peers’ experiences to inform what was most useful.ResultRepresentatives were selected from BAME, LGBT+, international, disabled and widening participation backgrounds. The students decided to conduct a survey open to all medical student colleagues across the United Kingdom. The survey questions were split into four sections based on the challenges faced by their own lived experience: General Information; University and Community Experiences; Medical School Experiences and Teaching and Clinical Experiences. There were 58 questions in total including 26 multiple choice; 24 open answers; and 8 Likert scale.Following data collection, the information taken from the survey and focus groups, supported by background reading, was thematically analysed to identify the key challenges. This will then be used to create a report to share with the medical school containing areas for improvement in mental health support, education and engagement. The officers themselves would also reflect on their experiences throughout the process, including their ability to engage in mental health policy, education and further career options such as psychiatry.ConclusionFrom creating an appropriate and supportive structure, it can be possible to encourage students with lived experience to share their challenges whilst becoming engaged in mental health policy and support. Furthermore, from creating a culture of reflection in the area of mental health, they are helping raise awareness of the subject early on in medical careers and promote engagement into specialties such as psychiatry.

Making a difference: insights into effective HE progression practices in further education colleges

Further education colleges (FECs) are significant providers of level 3 (higher education (HE) entry) courses. Yet, their role in preparing students, including those from widening participation backgrounds, for HE is often overlooked. Indeed, recent reports from the Office for Students have focused on the low HE progression rates returned by colleges. However, this focus overlooks the reality that students educated in FECs do progress and that in many instances colleges are very successful in this endeavour, given that those studying with them are more likely to come from educationally and economically disadvantaged backgrounds. This paper reports on the findings from a recent study that sought to identify the effective progression practices being pursued in two FECs. These include institution-wide activities as well as initiatives adopted at subject level. Whilst the latter have received less attention in the literature, the qualitative approach adopted in this study, which involved drawing on the insights of students as well as teaching staff, was able to detail the application of these subject-level practices. The article concludes by arguing for the wider adoption of subject-level as well as institution-wide practices, and for their potential to be recognised by those working in the HE sector more generally.

Power and paragraphs: academic writing and emotion

Emotions play an important role in academic writing (Cameron, Nairn and Higgins, 2009), and, as learning developers, we often support students with the emotional aspects of their work. The process of writing is strongly linked to identity. Research into academic literacies has highlighted the fact that this often involves complex negotiations, especially for students from widening participation backgrounds (Lea and Street, 1998). Students’ past experiences of learning strongly shape their identity as learners. For example, the early challenges with literacy faced by people with dyslexia often continue to affect their emotions in adulthood (Pollak, 2005; Alexander-Passe, 2015). The concept of learning identities (Bloomer and Hodkinson, 2000; Christie et al., 2007) helps us to understand students’ emotional responses in the wider context of their lives. This paper uses two case histories of students with dyslexia, who were also the first in their family to go to university, to explore the role of academic writing in shaping a student’s learning identity. It argues that learning developers are in a good position to help students develop a positive sense of themselves as academic writers.

The role of personal tutoring in supporting the transition to university: experiences and views of widening participation sport students

Despite the large and diverse cohorts annually recruited to Higher Education sport programmes in the UK, research exploring sport students’ experiences of transitioning into university is very limited. This study was conducted in response to several years of low retention and progression rates across first year sport degree programmes at a post-92 university in the UK. Through focus groups, the study explored the role played by the personal tutor in supporting effective transition of recently enrolled first year sport students from widening participation backgrounds. Most noticeably, the main contributory factors were found to be the nurturing of social integration and use of student-centred personal tutoring approaches to do so. The study further outlined how many widening participation sport students enter university with negative previous personal tutoring experiences and have limited understanding and misguided expectations of the role. The collective findings provide academic colleagues and university management with evidence of one model of effective support for a successful transition into university. Practical implications for widening participation students studying both sport and other degree subjects are presented, as are future research avenues and study limitations.

How does a vocational qualification (BTEC) prepare students for a degree in Biosciences at a research intensive university?

Over the last decade the number of students coming to university with a BTEC qualification has risen. As BTEC students are more likely to come from widening participation backgrounds, accepting students with a BTEC qualification has been instrumental in helping universities to broaden access to Higher Education. However, the poorer progression and retention of students attending university with a BTEC qualification is a key area of concern. The aim of this study was to explore the transition experience of Biosciences students entering university with a BTEC qualification in order to better target support for these students. Focus groups with current students who entered university with a BTEC qualification, and semi-structured interviews with teaching staff at feeder colleges, highlighted that the BTEC equipped students with many transferable skills relevant to university study. In particular it prepared students for time management, report writing, practical laboratory work and working independently. However, our findings suggest that further support is required in mathematics, chemistry, examination and revision techniques. We propose that instilling confidence, encouraging friendship groups, more transparent advertising and developing inclusive curricula may help to improve BTEC student retention and progression.