Thesis (M.Ed. 1978)--Department of Education, University of Adelaide, 1977.

This research explores constructions and understandings of fluctuating or recurring impairments in Higher Education in the UK. It considers ways in which institutional discourses within one UK University have shaped policy and provision for disabled students, and how students with fluctuating or recurring impairments negotiate and enact identities in this context. For many students, impairments such as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)/ myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), epilepsy or diabetes, for example, have the potential to vary in intensity, and thus impact, on participation in learning activities and on self-perception/ identity. With increasing disclosure, yet limited recognition, of such types of impairment comes a need for institutions to better understand changing impact in terms of inclusion and in observing anticipatory aspects of legislation, as well as furthering insight into how student identities are negotiated and constructed in an educational context. This research uses a social constructionist framework to explore constructions and subjectivities as regards fluctuating or recurring impairments, and comprises both staff and student perspectives. The staff perspective is based on the thematic narrative analysis of interviews with three members of staff, and is presented in conjunction with an example of institutional policy to highlight discourses drawn upon in constructing disability and disabled students. The impact of these discourses on institutional constructions and practice is key to the analysis. The student perspective is based on two phases of data collection: firstly, 24 semi-structured interviews with students who self-described a fluctuating or recurring impairment; and secondly, five students’ responses to six bi-weekly emails over the course of one academic trimester (January – April 2011). Summary data from the first phase is used to frame discussion on issues raised by students regarding institutional constructions and support. A ‘hybrid’ narrative analysis framework incorporating positioning analysis as well as both ‘big’ and ‘small stories’ has been used in analysing the phase two data. The approach considers the influence of institutional discourses on how students are positioned institutionally and position themselves, as well as ways in which performances of identity may be shaped. The thesis concludes by considering the implications of the research outcomes for Higher Education. In so doing, it notes the significance of policy implementation and cultural change, and makes recommendations for areas of focus in raising institutional awareness of fluctuating or recurring impairments within existing constructions of disability.

Post-compulsory education in England is divided into two sectors: one for higher education (HE) and one for further education (FE). Although they mostly function separately, there is an overlap between the two in terms of HE provision. Currently around eight per cent (159,000) of HE students in England are taught at FE colleges (Association of Colleges, 2016) and approximately 14 per cent (22,060) of these students are pursuing a bachelor's degree (Higher Education Statistics Agency, 2016). To offer bachelor's degrees, FE colleges must partner with universities to validate their qualifications. Consequently, college graduates enter the labour market with university-validated degrees. However, very little is known about how college students' journeys through HE compare with those of their university counterparts. This study used semi-structured interviews (N=30) and a questionnaire (N=78) to explore how the decisions, experiences, post-graduation expectations and employment or further study outcomes of business undergraduates at English universities compare with those at English FE colleges. In particular, this research focused on students from six institutions (four FE colleges and two universities) across Yorkshire and Humberside and the West Midlands who were in the final year of bachelor's degrees in business-related subjects in 2013. The differences between these two groups of students emerged throughout their HE journeys. Whereas university students portrayed their pursuit of HE as inevitable, college students (depending upon their age) described making an active choice to go to HE, being directed towards it or drifting into it. When selecting an institution, most university students made a choice based on preferences, while college students made one based on constraints. Their student experiences were largely shaped by the particular environment of their type of institution, meaning college students often faced tension between HE and FE that did not feature in the university student experience. This tension permeated every aspect of the college student experience, from the style of teaching to the facilities and services available at their institution. Although college students appeared to have slightly more realistic post-graduation expectations (especially in terms of salary), university students tended to have more positive outcomes, largely due to the fact that they completed work placements during their course which led to full-time jobs after they graduated. The data from this study were analysed using the concepts of the 'figured world' (Holland et al., 1998), boundaries, identity and culture. In so doing, it becomes clear that despite the fact that these two groups of students undertook similar qualifications in similar subject areas, they did not achieve similar outcomes. As a consequence, it is argued that although HE in FE does widen participation in terms of offering more students the chance to pursue HE, it does not necessarily grant access to the same types of post-graduation opportunities.

The research investigated the perspectives of the management team on strategies in managing a British college with a mainly South African market, namely Blake Hall College (BHC). The study aimed to identify teaching methods used at the college to be competitive in the distance education and higher education market. The approach was qualitative. Eight participants were purposefully selected and interviewed by means of an interview schedule that focused on management and teaching methods in particular. Information was also collected on quality assurance and cooperation between BHC and other higher education institutions. The results illustrated the influences of institutional growth and progress, maintenance, management structure and leadership, quality control, collaboration and communication. Regarding teaching methods, the advantages and disadvantages of distance education and face-to-face methods were illuminated. Participants also described a number of innovative teaching methods used. From the aforementioned, recommendations were made for surviving the competitive higher education market. / Educational Studies / M.Ed (Educational Management)

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / English / Master / Master of Philosophy

The present thesis is an investigation into the impact and role of formal peer mentoring programmes as retention and enrichment strategies within UK Higher Education. Reviews of the literature highlighted several limitations within the empirical evidence for benefits of mentoring schemes. This thesis systematically evaluated the availability and impact of peer mentoring schemes within UK Higher Education. Firstly, a new measure of wellbeing was constructed and validated in student samples. A UK wide survey of 94 Universities supported the notion of increasing popularity of formal peer mentoring schemes and demonstrated the perceived benefits of peer mentoring as a retention strategy. Employing a theoretically driven longitudinal methodology a controlled comparison between first year students’ attending a UK university with a peer mentoring scheme versus a university without a peer mentoring scheme further substantiated the benefits of peer mentoring. Those within the peer mentoring university were three times less likely to think of dropping out of university, were coping better with the transition to university and were better adapted to university life: an important predictor in intention to leave. The relationship between peer mentoring and intention to leave was mediated by integration in university as proposed by Jacobi (1991). In support of the ‘buffering’ hypothesis existence of peer mentors moderated the relationship between predicted changes in social support, affect and self esteem during the transition to university. Within the fourth research study of first year students at a Scottish university; attitudes towards the introduction of a peer mentoring scheme within a university without such a scheme was investigated. Results indicated a positive perception of mentoring, with no student stating that they would not seek advice from a peer mentor if one was available. Although individuals who were experiencing greater levels of stress and homesickness were more likely to indicate they would use a peer mentor demographic variables did not differentiate between individuals who wanted peer mentors and those who felt less need. The most important attributes of a peer mentor for this sample of 158 first year students were commitment to the scheme and listening skills. Finally the impact of formal peer mentoring schemes within Higher Education was assessed from the perspective of the mentor, employing a qualitative (focus group) methodology at a university with an established peer mentoring scheme. Multiple benefits were indicated including personal, emotional, and academic advantages of becoming a mentor. All of the mentors within this study highlighted numerous motives for becoming a mentor although most important was their own previous experience (negative and positive) of the peer mentoring scheme. The results of each study are discussed in line with previous literature, limitations of the research and suggestions for future research. This thesis concludes that formal peer mentoring schemes can have a positive impact on the mentees, mentors and institutions involved and specifies nine recommendations for policy and practice.

The research investigated the perspectives of the management team on strategies in managing a British college with a mainly South African market, namely Blake Hall College (BHC). The study aimed to identify teaching methods used at the college to be competitive in the distance education and higher education market. The approach was qualitative. Eight participants were purposefully selected and interviewed by means of an interview schedule that focused on management and teaching methods in particular. Information was also collected on quality assurance and cooperation between BHC and other higher education institutions. The results illustrated the influences of institutional growth and progress, maintenance, management structure and leadership, quality control, collaboration and communication. Regarding teaching methods, the advantages and disadvantages of distance education and face-to-face methods were illuminated. Participants also described a number of innovative teaching methods used. From the aforementioned, recommendations were made for surviving the competitive higher education market. / Educational Studies / M.Ed (Educational Management)

This thesis is a study of Durham University, from its inception in 1831 to the opening of the College of Physical Science in Newcastle in 1871. It considers the foundation and early years of the University in the light of local and national developments, including movements for reform in the church and higher education. The approach is holistic, with the thesis based on extensive use of archival sources, parliamentary reports, local and national newspapers, and other primary printed sources as well as a newly-created and entirely unique database of Durham students. The argument advanced in this thesis is that the desire of the Durham authorities was to establish a modern university that would be useful to northern interests, and that their clear failure to achieve this reflected the general issues of the developing higher education sector at least as much as it did internal mismanagement. This places Durham in a different position relative to the traditional understanding of how universities and colleges developed in England and therefore broadens and deepens the quality of that narrative. In the light of the University's swift decline, and poor reputation, from the mid-1850s what were the ambitions of the founders and how did this deterioration occur? Were the critics' accusations against the University - principally that it was a theologically-dominated, inadequate imitation of Oxford, bound to the Chapter of Durham and ruled autocratically by its Warden - based on fact or prejudice? And if the critics were wrong, what were the factors that lead to the University's failings?

Research on the experience of international students often suffers from conflation, in that it uses culture (or nationality as a proxy for culture) as a categorising agent, thereby granting causal powers to cultural differences, and contributing to a deficit model of international students. In this research, I will argue that, while culture and structure both provide new sets of constraints and opportunities for international students, participants are active agents in shaping their own experiences, as they think, reflect and act in response to their situational context. Drawing on Archer’s concept of reflexivity, this thesis demonstrates that because international students are often not immediately able to exercise agency through conversation (thought and talk), they find a need to reflect on their experiences and develop a course of action based on greater autonomy (that is, they become more independent). However, while some students make the transition to independence relatively smoothly, for others, it is not so easy, and some participants may find it difficult to convert thoughts into effective action (or displaced reflexivity). Participants in the international student experience confront a situational context marked by four specific features: first, a lack of a sympathetic interlocutor (that is, they find themselves on their own); second, contextual incongruity (commonly conceptualised as culture shock); third, shared experiences, which leads to congruity; and fourth, troublesome events, which blocks agential action. This research provides empirical evidence of specific generative mechanisms which contribute to the shaping of agency in the international student experience.

In 1877 the University of St Andrews initiated a unique qualification, the Lady Literate in Arts, which came into existence initially as the LA, the Literate in Arts, a higher certificate available to women only. Awarded by examination but as a result of a programme of distance learning, it was conceived and explicitly promoted as a degree-level qualification at a time when women had no access to matriculation at Scottish universities and little anywhere in the United Kingdom. From small beginnings it expanded both in numbers of candidates and in spread of subjects and it lasted until the early 1930s by which time over 36,000 examinations had been taken and more than 5,000 women had completed the course. The scheme had emerged in response to various needs and external pressures which shaped its character. The purpose of this thesis is to assess the nature and achievements of the LLA in its first fifteen years and to establish its place within the wider movement for female equality of status and opportunity which developed in the later decades of the nineteenth century. The conditions under which the university introduced the LLA, its reasons for doing so, the nature of the qualification, its progress and development in the years before 1892 when women were admitted to Scottish universities as undergraduates and the consequences for the university itself are all examined in detail. The geographical and social origins and the educational backgrounds of the candidates themselves are analysed along with their age structure, their uptake of LLA subjects and the completion rates for the award. All of these are considered against the background of the students' later careers and life experiences. This thesis aims to discover the extent to which the LLA was influential in shaping the lives of its participants and in advancing the broader case for female higher education. It seeks to establish for the first time the contribution that St Andrews LLA women made to society at large and to the wider movement for female emancipation.