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SCOTTISH SPECIAL ENTRY SUMMER SCHOOLS:
A SECRET SUCCESS STORY?
JOANNA McPAKE AND SHEILA WATT
SYNOPSIS
This article highlights the lack of independent research into the Scottish Special Entry Summer Schools scheme, designed to facilitate access to higher education for WKRVHZKRZRXOGEHQHÀWIURPVWXG\DWWKLVOHYHOEXWZKRIRUDYDULHW\RIUHDVRQV KDYHQRWDFKLHYHGWKHHQWUDQFHTXDOLÀFDWLRQVXVXDOO\UHTXLUHG(YLGHQFHDYDLODEOH from participants suggests that the scheme is successfully meeting its aims, but systematic research into the long-term effects of this initiative, and its implications for supplementing access provision generally would be valuable, particularly in the light of a long-standing concern for educational underachievement in areas of social DQGHFRQRPLFGHSULYDWLRQDUHDVVSHFLÀFDOO\WDUJHWHGE\WKHVXPPHUVFKRROV
- INTRODUCTION
Special entry summer schools are organised by Scottish Universities to provide short courses (normally ten weeks long) for students—usually school leavers—with the SRWHQWLDOIRUXQLYHUVLW\VWXG\EXWZLWKRXWWKHQHFHVVDU\TXDOLÀFDWLRQV7KHFRXUVHV are designed as an introduction to university level study, with an emphasis on study VNLOOVDQGWKHGHYHORSPHQWRIVWXGHQWV·FRQÀGHQFHLQWKHLURZQDELOLWLHV,QWHUPVRI academic content, students select subject areas relating to the choices they would be OLNHO\WRPDNHDVÀUVW\HDUXQGHUJUDGXDWHV LQRWKHUZRUGVWKHVXEMHFWWKH\H[SHFW to be their main degree subject and two or three subsidiary subjects. Students who successfully complete the courses—which include course work assessment and exams—are guaranteed university places. Special entry summer schools fall into two types: ‘general’ schools, which cater for students interested in pursuing degree courses in arts or social sciences; and ‘science’ schools, set up to address the particular problem of expanding participation in science and engineering in higher education, and therefore placing special emphasis on developing the knowledge and skills seen as essential for GHJUHHOHYHOVWXG\LQWKHVHÀHOGV7KHUHDUHFXUUHQWO\ÀYH¶JHQHUDO·VFKRROVLQ6FRWODQG in Glasgow, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Dundee. The Glasgow school is organised by a consortium of universities: Glasgow, Strathclyde, Glasgow Caledonian, Paisley and Glasgow School of Art. Aberdeen and Edinburgh Universities are responsible for the schools in their areas, and the two schools in Dundee are run by Dundee University and the University of Abertay. There are six science summer schools, run by the Universities of Strathclyde, Paisley, Glasgow Caledonian, Napier, Abertay and Robert Gordon. Successful students usually progress to degree level studies in the university to which the school is attached; but in some cases, those who complete the courses opt for other universities, for further education or to defer entry for a variety of reasons. For most of the schools, 1997 is their seventh or eighth year of existence. To date, some 6000 students have entered Scottish universities as a result of the scheme. However, there has not, as yet, been any systematic research into its achievements. Most of the available data comes from evaluations carried out by participating institutions in the form, for example, of end-of-course reviews. From this evidence, reviewed in this paper, it appears that the schemes have been markedly successful, and the aim of this article is therefore to argue for further, independently funded research, and to suggest key areas for investigation. Furthermore, if the schemes are proved to be as successful as the preliminary evidence suggests, it is argued here that this initiative has broader implications for our understanding of success in higher education.
- WIDENING ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION
Policy context
Government policy over recent years has been both to increase the numbers of students LQKLJKHUHGXFDWLRQDQGWRZLGHQDFFHVVWRLQFOXGHSHRSOH¶ZLWKDELOLW\WREHQHÀW· from academic studies, regardless of whether they met the ‘traditional’ minimum entry requirements of three Highers. Participation in higher education in Scotland has expanded by 30% in the last decade. However, as Gallacher et al. point out in their review of access policy and provision in higher education (1996), government policy which focuses on expansion does not necessarily lead to greater participation in higher education from groups which, traditionally, have been under-represented in this sector. More needs to be done to link the drive for expansion (whose origins may be in notions of economic competitiveness or in demographic changes affecting the number of ‘traditional’ applicants to Higher Education) to principles of social MXVWLFH,WFRQWLQXHVWRSURYHGLIÀFXOWWRDWWUDFWVWXGHQWVIURPIDPLOLHVZLWKDKLVWRU\ of manual or unskilled work, or long-term unemployment, and little experience of post-16 education. Children from areas of social and economic disadvantage may have grown up in a context in which educational underachievement is the norm and there are few role models to support educational aspirations. In addition, pupils whose HGXFDWLRQLVGLVUXSWHGWKURXJKLOOKHDOWKRUGLVDELOLW\RUIRURWKHUUHDVRQVFDQÀQG LWGLIÀFXOWWRDFKLHYHTXDOLÀFDWLRQVPDWFKLQJWKHLUDFDGHPLFSRWHQWLDO
Alternative routes to higher education
There are now a number of routes by which school leavers without the ‘traditional’ three Highers may seek to enter higher education. They may progress to further education and sit Highers there after one or two additional years of study. Successful completion of Higher National Diploma courses enables students to transfer from further to higher education, sometimes waiving one or two years of a degree level studies. For adults wishing to return to education after a period of time, the Scottish Wider Access Programme (SWAP), aimed primarily at adults who would like the opportunity to study at degree level, is one of the best-established routes. Access students normally study for a year on modular, continually assessed courses and, if they successfully complete these courses, are guaranteed a university place. In all of these cases, entry into higher education for those without Highers will usually require a minimum of an additional year of study.
Summer schools initiative
The summer school scheme differs in a number of ways from other initiatives which aim to encourage ‘non-traditional’ students to consider higher education. Firstly, it LVGHVLJQHGSULQFLSDOO\WRPHHWWKHQHHGVRIVFKRROOHDYHUVDQGVSHFLÀFDOO\SXSLOV who have themselves recognised their potential for higher education or who have been successfully persuaded by teachers at their school or other guidance workers to consider the possibility. Summer schools are not, therefore, dealing with ‘returners’ to education, in the main, but with people with recent experience of studying, often with some degree of success or at least with reasons for believing that success is possible. One reason for the likely effectiveness of the relatively short courses which the summer schools provide is therefore this combination of recent experience and a degree of self-belief. In contrast, SWAP and other forms of access provision take a gentler and longer-term approach as part of their task is to revive the study habit, DQG WR ERRVW VWXGHQWV· FRQÀGHQFH LQ WKHLU RZQ DELOLWLHV 6HFRQGO\ WKH VXPPHU VFKRROVKDYHLQYHVWHGFRQVLGHUDEOHHIIRUWLQWKHHIIHFWLYHLGHQWLÀFDWLRQRISRWHQWLDO candidates. Course co-ordinators work closely with local secondary schools and with the regional authorities. Schools in disadvantaged areas and those with a poor
- PREPARING TO STUDY IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Summer schools courses
7KHVXPPHUVFKRROFRXUVHVDUHE\GHÀQLWLRQLQWHQVLYH6XPPHUVFKRROVWXGHQWV have both to cover the content of the course and take exams in the space, on average, of 10 weeks. In this, they contrast with SWAP courses, which, as we have seen, tend to be less intensive and to be continuously assessed, precisely because they are designed to replicate the kind of approach to study which students will have to adopt when they begin degree level study. Research has shown that students can experience considerable differences in approaches to teaching and learning, when the modular curriculum, range of teaching styles and continuous assessment give way to a more integrated, hierarchical view of knowledge, formal lectures and exams; and that WKLVFDQEHDVRXUFHRIFRQIXVLRQIRUWKHPDQGOHDGWRDODFNRIFRQÀGHQFH 0XQQ 0DF'RQDOGDQG/RZGHQ 7KHFRQWHQWRIVXPPHUVFKRROFRXUVHVUHÁHFWVWKH view that what academically disadvantaged students lack are principally skills for effective learning rather than academic ability per se. The summer school courses set the twin goals of extending the students’ knowledge base and their study and communication skills, and also seek to integrate these two goals wherever possible by drawing students’ attention explicitly to the range of strategies they require, to cope with the demands being made of them in the course of their learning. Approaches include modelling learning strategies, making the criteria for academic outcomes explicit and providing in-depth feedback on performance. Aberdeen University has conducted research into factors which existing and potential students in higher HGXFDWLRQUHJDUGDVVLJQLÀFDQWLQVXSSRUWLQJDFDGHPLFVXFFHVV &XGZRUWK These include:
FRQÀGHQFHVHOIEHOLHI
- knowing what is expected
- feedback about work
- competence in academic writing
- competence in note-taking
- support and encouragement
Academic staff in the university were also asked to identify the characteristics RI¶HIIHFWLYH·VWXGHQWVDQGLWZDVVLJQLÀFDQWWKDWWKHVHZHUHVLPLODUO\¶DOWHUDEOH· YDULDEOHVVXFKDVZULWLQJVNLOOVWLPHPDQDJHPHQWHWFUDWKHUWKDQÀ[HGPHDVXUHV of ability. Other aspects of the summer school courses also replicate characteristics of university life. A key element of the experience is to introduce potential students to a university environment: in many cases, the students stay on campus, and they make use of university facilities such as the library or the computer centre. Early familiarisation with the environment in which they are likely to study as undergraduates (most summer school students go on to study in the university whose summer school they attended) is thought to be of considerable psychological, as well as practical importance, and former summer school students recognise this as particularly valuable:
,ZDVDOUHDG\RQHVWHSDKHDGRISHRSOHDUULYLQJLQ8QLYHUVLW\IRUWKHÀUVWWLPH I knew how the system worked—so it made me more prepared. (Students from the Aberdeen Summer School)
,WZLOOWDNHVRPHRIWKHVKRFNRXWRIWKHÀUVW\HDU,I,QHHGKHOS,ZLOOIHHO more comfortable about getting it. (Student from the Strathclyde Summer School)
EFFECTIVENESS OF THE COURSES
Course completion rates and take up of higher education places
In order to judge the success of the courses both in familiarising students with the nature of university life and in preparing them for the academic demands and the study skills needed, a range of evidence is required, although currently, only some of this data is available. For example, course completion rates will indicate whether the selection process is effective, in terms of identifying students who will last the FRXUVHDQGEHQHÀWIURPLW7KHDYDLODEOHHYLGHQFHVXJJHVWVWKDWWKHVXPPHUVFKRROV are highly successful in this context: approximately 90% of the students who attend VXPPHUVFKRROVFRPSOHWHWKHLUFRXUVHVDQGJRRQWRIXUWKHUVWXG\ 7KHÀJXUHYDULHV from year to year and across the various institutions concerned.) Table 1, below, shows the available statistics for 1996, for a selection of summer schools, and indicates the range of rates of course completion and take-up of university places.
Table 1: &RXUVHFRPSOHWLRQDQGWDNHXSRIXQLYHUVLW\SODFHV ÀJXUHV
Number of Dundee Strathclyde Robert Paisley TOTAL students University University Gordon University University
starting 75 53 78 20 226 course completing 72 37 66 20 195 course (86%) taking up 62 20* 66 20 168 university (74%) place
7KLVÀJXUHUHODWHVRQO\WRVXPPHUVFKRROVWXGHQWVZKRWRRNXSSODFHVDW6WUDWKFO\GH
8QLYHUVLW\ 1R ÀJXUHV DUH DYDLODEOH IRU VWXGHQWV ZKR PD\ KDYH JRQH WR RWKHU
universities.
A purely numerical account of the outcomes of the special summer schools is misleading, however, in attempting to gauge their success. It has to be borne in mind that some of the factors which initially hampered students’ progress at school do not vanish overnight. In particular, students whose education was disrupted before for reasons of ill health, disability or for other personal reasons may continue to be affected and thus fail to complete the course or to be able to take up the university place they achieve. It is important to recognise that even in cases where the proportion going on to higher education appears relatively low, this represents an improvement on the likely situation if the summer schools did not exist: i.e. that very few of the students would have progressed to higher education, and fewer still would have done so by the autumn following the summer they left school. Data from Dundee has compared outcomes for those who attended summer school courses in 1993, 1994 and 1995 with outcomes for those who applied but did not attend. (This latter group can be seen as a ‘control’ group, in that they had similar social backgrounds to those who did attend the course, according to access criteria, and similar levels of academic achievement, as measured by ‘points’ scores at Higher grade.) Comparative data shows that those who attended were far more likely than those who did not to go on to Higher Education; and far less likely to be unemployed (Watt and Blicharski, 1997). Furthermore, even where students do leave courses, they are doing so on the basis of informed judgement: they may have decided that higher education is not
example, it has been suggested that ‘non-traditional’ students who are accepted under rigorous admissions policies are more likely to complete their courses than those accepted under more liberal policies. However, it is also important to bear in mind that ‘prestigious universities’ are more likely to have very high standards of DGPLVVLRQIRUDOOVWXGHQWVDQGLQSDUWLFXODUWRUHJDUGVWDQGDUGHQWU\TXDOLÀFDWLRQV as by far the most desirable. In these institutions, it may be the case that only the PRVW GHWHUPLQHG DQG KLJKO\ TXDOLÀHG QRQWUDGLWLRQDO VWXGHQWV DUH DFFHSWHG DQG consequently, it is not surprising that they do well. More ‘liberal’ institutions may WDNHPRUHVWXGHQWVZLWKORZHUTXDOLÀFDWLRQVDQGWKHUHIRUHWKH\PD\KDYHDKLJKHU drop-out rate and more non-traditional students who do not achieve ‘good degrees’. But the non-traditional students in these institutions who do complete their course and achieve ‘good’ degrees may represent greater ‘value added’ than is the case with non-traditional students in ‘prestigious’ institutions. Assessing the impact of WKHVSHFLDOHQWU\VFKHPHVLQWKLVFRQWH[WLVOLNHO\WREHGLIÀFXOWIRUWKHVHUHDVRQV and as yet, it is, in any case, probably too early to attempt an evaluation of the scheme as a whole, although formative evaluation along the lines suggested here, exploring the take-up rate for the summer schools, course completion rates, transfer to university and appropriateness of university courses, would be desirable. Clearly, it will be important in the near future to assess the value of the special entry schemes in relation both to the ‘traditional’ and to other ‘non-traditional’ routes. Fundamental variables which must be taken into account in assessing the success of any particular HQWUDQFH VFKHPH LQFOXGH TXDOLÀFDWLRQV RQ HQWU\ H[WHUQDO SUHVVXUHV RQ VWXGHQWV gender^1 , subject choice, and the quality of support for students while studying in Higher Education. It is likely that considerable variation across universities, and perhaps also across departments will emerge.
Other measures of effectiveness
Those involved with the summer schools have suggested various criteria by which the success of the scheme may be judged. In their commentary on the available data from Dundee University on the progress of students who attended summer schools, Watt and Blicharski (1996) state that an acceptable measure of success for these VFKRROV VKRXOG EH WKDW WKH ¶ULJKW· OHYHO RI HGXFDWLRQ LV LGHQWLÀHG IRU WKH VWXGHQW within a year of completing the course. On this basis, the Dundee school must be judged to have been very successful: in addition to the 88 students still attending the university (i.e. the 1993–95 cohort mentioned above), 12 students continued in education elsewhere (11 in higher education and 1 in further education), and the remaining 16 indicated an intention to return either to degree or HND level study in WKHIXWXUH$EHUGHHQ8QLYHUVLW\KDVGHYHORSHG¶SHUIRUPDQFHSURÀOHV·ZKLFKPHDVXUH gains in the quality of academic writing (Cudworth, 1996). Strathclyde University KDVVHWDVLWVDLPWKDWVXPPHUVFKRROVWXGHQWVVKRXOG¶VXUYLYH·WKHÀUVWVHPHVWHU ‘Research has shown that this is the critical period for students with non-standard TXDOLÀFDWLRQV· 0XUUD\ 7KHUHDSSHDUVWRKDYHEHHQOLWWOHV\VWHPDWLFUHVHDUFK as yet into the views of former summer school students once they are established as undergraduates, though there is anecdotal evidence of continuing recognition of the value of the summer school course:
6XPPHU6FKRROJDYHPHDJUHDWDGYDQWDJHLQP\ÀUVW\HDU,WWDXJKWPHWR study properly and think logically. It was a great psychological advantage, because you don’t feel like the ‘new kid on the block’. If it wasn’t for the Summer School, I probably still wouldn’t know where I am or what I’m doing—some of the third years still don’t! (Former students from the Aberdeen Summer School)
- THE VALUE OF THE SUMMER SCHOOL INITIATIVE
Cost effectiveness has become a pressing issue for some of the summer schools in view of local government reorganisation in April 1996. Some of the schools are funded entirely from existing university funds, but others have been funded in conjunction with local authorities who also sponsored students, providing a small grant, a travel subsidy and free or subsidised meals. Without the contribution of the DXWKRULWLHVVRPHRIWKHVFKRROVZRXOGKDYHFRQVLGHUDEOHGLIÀFXOW\LQUXQQLQJWKH courses and without local authority sponsorship, some of the students would be unable to attend. Following local government reorganisation, some authorities found that they could not afford to continue to support the summer schools at the level which had previously been possible, and some summer schools were therefore forced to rely on a ‘cocktail’ of private donations and contributions from charities 2 in order to run the 1996 course, as well as absorbing tasks which had previously been the responsibility of the authorities. (For example, the course director of the Dundee summer school had personally to take on the work of recruiting students for the course, an additional responsibility which both the external examiner and the external quality assessor, in their reports, pointed up as being entirely inappropriate.) This section therefore considers the value of the scheme to various ‘stake-holders’.
%HQHÀWVIRUVWDNHKROGHUV
Cutting the funding to these schemes may be a short-sighted move on the part of the authorities. In order to argue the case, it is clearly important to establish the value which these courses represent to each of the groups with a stake in their success: the universities, the students, the local authorities, the schools and, more generally, the FRPPXQLWLHVVHUYHG:KLOHWKHUHLVOLWWOHVSHFLÀFÀQDQFLDOGDWDFXUUHQWO\DYDLODEOH^3 there are a number of issues which the various groups should take into consideration, LQGRFXPHQWLQJWKHDGYDQWDJHVRIWKHVFKHPHDQGZKLFKDUHUDLVHGKHUHEULHÁ\ taking each group in turn.
Universities
2QHRIWKHGLUHFWEHQHÀWVIRUXQLYHUVLWLHVLVLQWKHLQFUHDVHGSDUWLFLSDWLRQRIVWXGHQWV with high academic potential. As we have seen, the students targeted are perceived to have slipped through the ‘traditional’ net for a variety of reasons but nevertheless to have the potential to do well in higher education. Any scheme which successfully LGHQWLÀHVWKHVHVWXGHQWVDWWUDFWVWKHPWRXQLYHUVLW\DQGSUHSDUHVWKHPZHOOIRUWKH experience is clearly of great value and deserves protection. Furthermore, we have seen that those working with this group of students, both in the summer schools and subsequently, when the students become undergraduates, are beginning to raise TXHVWLRQVDERXWWKHZD\VLQZKLFKWKHSRWHQWLDOWREHQHÀWIURPKLJKHUHGXFDWLRQ is recognised and judged. The work at Aberdeen University exploring key factors supporting academic success suggests that these are learnable skills rather than VRPHNLQGRIÀ[HGSUHGLVSRVLWLRQ,IWKHVHÀQGLQJVDUHVXVWDLQHGWKH\PD\OHDGWR a review of the ways in which university entrance is currently determined, and, in the long-term, of the ways in which schools identify and prepare students with the SRWHQWLDOWREHQHÀWIURPKLJKHUHGXFDWLRQ
Students
The principal gain for students is likely to be time. As they are recognised as having the ability to succeed in higher education, but do not, at the point at which they are about WROHDYHVFKRROKDYHWKHQHFHVVDU\TXDOLÀFDWLRQVLWPD\ZHOOEHWKHFDVHWKDWWKH\ZLOO eventually reach higher education via one of the other routes described earlier (section 2). However in every case, this route would take longer than the summer school route,
on pupils who come into direct contact with the mentors, but is also likely to have ORQJHUWHUPEHQHÀWVIRUWKHVFKRROVFRQFHUQHG DVPRUHSXSLOVJRWRXQLYHUVLW\DQG become, in their turn, role models for those who follow them, the phenomenon should generate its own momentum, independently of the summer school scheme. ,QWKHSUHYLRXVVHFWLRQRQEHQHÀWVIRUVWXGHQWVZHQRWHGWKDWDZDUHQHVVRILPPLQHQW IDLOXUHWRDFKLHYHWKHQHFHVVDU\TXDOLÀFDWLRQVWRHQWHUXQLYHUVLW\ZDVOLNHO\WROHDG to frustration and disillusionment. This may be the experience not only of the pupils but also of their teachers who, indeed, may be more aware of the ways in which circumstances beyond their control prevent pupils with the ability to do well from progressing along the conventional route to higher education. Providing an alternative opens up new possibilities for teachers too, and instead of the vicious circle of failure breeding frustration and cynicism, leading to further failure, a ‘virtuous’ circle of success leading to renewed enthusiasm and then further success may be instigated. :HDOVRQRWHGLQWKHVHFWLRQRQEHQHÀWVIRUXQLYHUVLWLHVWKDWWKHVFKHPHPD\LQ WKHORQJWHUPSURYRNHFKDQJHVLQWKHZD\WKDWVWXGHQWV·SRWHQWLDOWREHQHÀWIURP KLJKHUHGXFDWLRQLVLGHQWLÀHGDQGVXSSRUWHG7KLVZRXOGDIIHFWWKHZD\LQZKLFK schools prepare university candidates, and it seems a particularly pertinent issue to raise currently, in the light of Higher Still. Clearly entrance procedures which focus RQVWXGHQWV·SRWHQWLDOWREHQHÀWUDWKHUWKDQRQDFKLHYHPHQWVWRGDWHPLJKWEHQHÀW VFKRROVZKLFKFXUUHQWO\KDYHWR¶ÀJKWDJDLQVWWKHRGGV· DQGSRVVLEO\OHDGWRDUHYLHZ RISULRULWLHVLQWKRVHZKLFKFXUUHQWO\EHQHÀWIURPWKHH[LVWLQJV\VWHP
Communities
)LQDOO\LWLVLPSRUWDQWWRFRQVLGHUWKHEHQHÀWVZKLFKWKHVFKHPHRIIHUVWRWKHZLGHU community. It is clear that areas where educational disadvantage is widespread stand to gain substantially. But beyond this, it is important to recognise that, if it is the case that students who have entered university via the summer school route perform comparably with those who have entered via the conventional route (as is suggested by existing results and would be implied by the fact that the scheme targets WKRVHRIFRPSDUDEOHDELOLW\ZLWKRXWWKHQHFHVVDU\TXDOLÀFDWLRQV WKHQXOWLPDWHO\ the result will be an increase in the number of able graduates with the potential WR PDNH VLJQLÀFDQW LQWHOOHFWXDO SURIHVVLRQDO DQG HFRQRPLF FRQWULEXWLRQV ,I WKH VXPPHUVFKRROVFKHPHPHHWVWKHVHDLPVLWZRXOGDSSHDUWRÀOODZHOOUHFRJQLVHG gap in current provision and to enhance the educational status of the population as a whole. It therefore deserves wider recognition and support.
- THE NEED FOR EVALUATION
The evidence available from summer school providers suggests that the initiative is meeting the needs of the students who attend the courses, and also that it offers a response to current concerns to ensure that higher education is accessible to social groups traditionally under-represented among undergraduates. However, it is important to be able to substantiate these indications. Those involved in the summer schools need to be clear, for their own purposes, that the courses they run are meeting their aims as effectively as possible. Indeed, individual courses already carry out their own evaluations and, in many cases, are subject to the same quality control procedures as other university courses, but independent evaluation of the ZKROHVFKHPHZRXOGEULQJDQXPEHURIZLGHUEHQHÀWV7KHDFKLHYHPHQWV³DQG OLPLWV³RIWKHVFKHPHQHHGWREHFOHDUO\HVWDEOLVKHGDQGSRVVLELOLWLHVIRUUHÀQHPHQW LGHQWLÀHG6XFKDQDVVHVVPHQWZRXOGKHOSLQUDLVLQJDZDUHQHVVRIWKHVFKHPHDPRQJ the relevant professional and policy-making bodies, and in protecting the sometimes precarious funding models on which the courses currently rely. In the course of WKLVDUWLFOHDQXPEHURILVVXHVUHTXLULQJIXUWKHUUHVHDUFKKDYHEHHQLGHQWLÀHG7KH research questions raised are summarised here:
- In comparison with other schemes targeting ‘non-traditional’ students, how successful have the special entry summer schools been in ensuring access for students from areas of social and economic disadvantage and a history of educational underachievement?
- How effective is the summer schools’ approach to teaching and learning in supporting transition to higher education?
- How many summer school students
- successfully complete the course?
- take up places in higher education? ¶VXUYLYH·WKHÀUVWWHUP RUWKHÀUVW\HDU RIKLJKHUHGXFDWLRQ"
- graduate?
- How do summer school students’ degree results compare with those of other VWXGHQWV JHQHUDOO\ DQG PRUH VSHFLÀFDOO\ ZLWK WKRVH ZKR KDYH HQWHUHG university via other non-traditional routes?
- What variables (type of university, subject choice, gender, nature of external SUHVVXUHVRQVWXGHQWVHWF LQÁXHQFHWKHVXFFHVVRIIRUPHUVXPPHUVFKRRO students in higher education?
- How do students themselves (including those who do not go on to take up higher education places) assess the value of summer school courses? :KDWDUHWKHFRVWVDQGEHQHÀWVRIWKHVFKHPHIRUXQLYHUVLWLHVVWXGHQWVORFDO authorities and the communities from which the students are drawn?
If the summer school schemes are proved successful, they add to our understanding of what it takes to be successful in higher education. Both the approach to teaching and learning which most schools adopt, and the work of Cudworth (1996) in exploring the qualities of a successful student, suggest that the development of particular ‘studious’ attitudes and skills has a prominent part to play in preparing the target group for degree-level study. This may be contrasted with the knowledge-based DSSURDFKHVSRXVHGE\WKH¶WUDGLWLRQDO·+LJKHUVURXWHDQGZLWKWKHFRQÀGHQFHEXLOGLQJ focus of other access routes (while acknowledging that each route contains all three elements, with differing emphases). Both for their potential to identify and support WKHHQWU\LQWRKLJKHUHGXFDWLRQRIVWXGHQWVOLNHO\WREHQHÀWIURPWKLVDQGIRUWKHLU contribution to our understanding of academic success, they therefore deserve to be explored in detail.
NOTES
- Johnes (1990) noted marked gender differences in relation to the factors which are used to predict non-completion rates generally, while Yates and Davies’s study (1987) of access students in higher education found that men were almost twice as likely as women to drop out of courses. Gallacher (1994), reviewing the success of the Scottish Wider Access Scheme, reports higher numbers of women than men overall, but also that women are more likely to be found on courses which traditionally have been female dominated, such as education and nursing. Gallacher’s study also notes that there has been little systematic research into the impact of access schemes on people from minority ethnic groups or those with disabilities.
- In addition to a number of small grants from locally-based charities, BP and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, which both have interests in sponsoring access to higher education, have provided substantial support over a number of years: BP has supported both the student tutoring scheme and the summer schools initiative, while Paul Hamlyn has provided funding to develop and extend the scheme.
