Context: Many students who drop out of university do so within the first year, as it is generally understood as a time of substantial and significant change and adjustment. Often expectations for students to be self-regulatory and motivated produce feelings of anxiety and stress within students. This particular university emphasises 'independent learning and learner autonomy. Learner autonomy is primarily concerned with decision-making on the part of the learner, with the locus of control and responsibility lying in their hands (Pierson 1996)' (406). However, students are often underprepared with 'little idea of what to expect and little understanding of how the university environment can affect their lives' (406). The move to modularization programmes to aid students' progress through credit accumulation has been implemented more widely since the 1990s, but the effect is a summative assessment that does not happen until the end of the module, leaving little room for tutoring and student engagement with formative assessment or feedback.
Aim: To examine the significance of 'preparedness' with specific reference to assessment and to ascertain any potential transitional issues and therefore any areas for development in Year 1 programmes at a modern university in England to aid student progress and enhance retention (retention was a particularly fraught topic at the time of the study due to a turbulent economic climate in the UK) (405). Specific research questions were: 'How are our students prepared for study and, with particular reference to this article, for assessment in HE? And similarly, how prepared are we as lecturers and as assessors of our student body?' (407).
Theoretical frame: N/A
Methodology: Qualitative - semi-structured questionnaires distributed to Year 1 initial teacher training students and their lecturers and focused conversations with a small group of students.
Findings: Independent study and assessment processes pose challenges for students in their first year at university, who generally consider independent study as akin to 'homework'. Students indicated that they were insufficiently prepared for the independent aspects of HE study particularly because they were 'hand-held' in pre-uni educational venues. Lecturers noted lack of confidence and need for significant guidance with regards to composing independent assignments. Students generally believe it is the responsibility of pre-HE institutions to prepare them.
Core argument: Further consideration needs to be given to the notion of independent learning, particularly there is 'a need for university lecturers to clarify the curriculum of their programmes such that requirements are made explicit and the teaching, learning and assessment strategies are used to build independent learning as students progress from Level 4 to Level 6. Furthermore, there is evidently a need for students to have a clear notion of what independent learning is and how they can manage this themselves prior to entry to programmes' (414). Overall, the author suggests transparency in assignments - both in assessment and expectations - at the pre-programme stage.
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They give us homework! Transition to higher education: the case of initial teacher training
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Author: Murtagh, L.
Location: United Kingdom
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Three Dimensions of Equity of Access to Higher Education
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Threshold practices: becoming a student through academic literacies
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Author: Gourlay, L.
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Author: Harris, M.; Barnett, T.
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Time
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Author: Adam, B.
Location: United Kingdom
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Time as the Fourth Dimension in the Globalisation of Higher Education
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Author: Walker, J.
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Time for inclusion?
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Author: Thomas, M.K.E.; Whitburn, B.J.
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Time future - the dominant discourse of higher education
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Author: Clegg, S.
Location: United Kingdom
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Time in education: Intertwined dimensions and theoretical possibilities
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Author: Compton-Lilly, C.
Location: USA
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Time, Equity and Higher Education
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lensResearchlensOpen Access BibliographylensHigher EducationaddView Annotation
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Towards a Structural Inequality Framework for Student Retention and Success
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