Social Futures Institute
     

Extended Youth Transitions, Higher Education And Social Inclusion

Professor Robert MacDonald, Dr Colin Webster, Dr Andrea Abbas, Dr Mark Cieslik, Dr Tracy Shildrick and Dr Mark Simpson

Background

The research seeks to gain understanding of the processes through which young adults from deprived backgrounds and neighbourhoods in Teesside become higher education students (specifically of Teesside University) and the social and economic benefits this brings them.

The numbers of students entering higher education has increased dramatically in recent years and the present government is committed to a policy of widening access and participation to ensure 50% of 18 - 30-year-olds attend university by 2010 from around 40% in 2003. So far the government has struggled to meet it's own targets in relation to widening access policies. Understanding what leads young people from these backgrounds to decide to come to university will provide a valuable contribution to policy debates within this arena.

Aims

  • To develop an understanding of the processes which lead to young people undertaking undergraduate courses at Teesside.
  • To explore the significance of non-educational factors such as social networks, residence and family resources to the shaping of transitions.
  • To develop an understanding of the extent to which degree subject specific knowledge skills and competencies are significant in shaping employment and training (lifelong learning) experiences.
  • To explore the extent to which the informal aspects of university experience (transferable skills and other notions of graduateness) influence the key transitions routes.
  • To examine the impact of the social characteristics and backgrounds (gender, age and ethnicity) of graduates influence post-graduation transitions.
  • To compare post-graduation transition experiences of Teesside with findings on graduate destinations and experiences of students from other UK as well as overseas universities.
  • To situate the qualitative and quantitative data in the context of wider debates around current higher education, research, policy and practice both nationally and internationally.

Methods

  • Analysis of University Data on existing students and student destinations.
  • Interviews with students who are at different stages of their degree and on different courses.
  • To interview students who have graduated.