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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by OpenGrey Repository University of Huddersfield Repository Thelwell, Helen Wendy The student experience of Foundation Degrees: a case study of a cohort in a Foundation Degree in Educational Administration Original Citation Thelwell, Helen Wendy (2008) The student experience of Foundation Degrees: a case study of a cohort in a Foundation Degree in Educational Administration. Doctoral thesis, University of Huddersfield. This version is available at http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/2614/ The University Repository is a digital collection of the research output of the University, available on Open Access. Copyright and Moral Rights for the items on this site are retained by the individual author and/or other copyright owners. 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For more information, including our policy and submission procedure, please contact the Repository Team at: [email protected]. http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/ The student experience of Foundation Degrees: a case study of a cohort in a Foundation Degree in Educational Administration Helen Wendy Thelwell A thesis submitted to the University of Huddersfield in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education May 2008 ABSTRACT This thesis is the result of a qualitative case study of a group of ten part-time, mature, non-traditional learners enrolled on a Foundation Degree. The thesis identifies how students think, communicate with one another and manage the learning processes. It explores the attitudes of students who are a new type of cohort entering Higher Education. The thesis commences by identifying entry barriers to Higher Education and how these were overcome. Despite earlier failures, students retained a belief in their abilities, were motivated and maintained aspirations to achieve a Higher Education qualification. The research then identifies how this group of adult learners developed strategies to support them in their quest for continuing success and achievement, including developing supporting relationships with other students. Students were also very pragmatic in the way they handled the complexities of learning whilst at the same time coping with multiple roles. E-learning contributed to the learning experience and achievement and the research identifies new patterns and modes of learning for this group of students. Insights into human adaptation to a new learning environment are revealed and the research shows how students utilised technology in order to be successful in their learning. For example, students used discussion boards and email to continue social interaction, communication and relationships formed at day schools. Other issues that arose from the research are gender issues as well as student change. For example, students reported they felt they had gained confidence. This increased confidence manifested itself in the way they approached their academic work and approached their jobs. In addition, students also believed employers saw their value as enhanced. Students were goal driven yet highly interested in the process of learning, very much in line with mature female goals. This is a study, therefore, not only of a new type of degree but of new kinds of students following the huge expansion of entrants into Higher Education. 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my grateful thanks to the University of Huddersfield and especially to my Director of Studies, Professor Cedric Cullingford for all his faith, help and encouragement. Grateful thanks are also extended to the ten students who agreed to take part in this research over the two year period and who gave their time willingly. Enormous thanks also go to my husband who patiently supported me through the seven years and this support has been invaluable. Finally I wish to remember my late father, Mr Horace Holmes, who sadly did not live to see the completion of this thesis but whom I know, would be very proud of the achievement. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS 4 APPENDICES 8 ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS 9 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION AND AIMS 10 1.1 Introduction 10 1.2 Aims of the research 11 1.3 The Foundation Degree 12 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 15 1 THE FOUNDATION DEGREE 16 1.1 Background 16 1.2 Research Cohort 18 1.3 The Foundation Degree in Educational Administration 19 1.4 Blackboard 20 1.5 The nature of Foundation Degrees 22 2 E-LEARNING 28 2.1 Technology and Learning 29 2.2 The Changing Learner 31 2.3 The advantage of the VLE 33 2.4 ICT and the Changing Role of the Teacher 36 2.5. Discussion Boards 38 2.6 Blended Learning 39 3 WOMEN LEARNERS 41 4 LEARNING AND HIGHER EDUCATION 46 4 CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 51 1 GROUNDED THEORY 52 2 DEMOGRAPHICS 54 3 ETHICAL ISSUES 55 4 DATA COLLECTION 58 5 DATA PREPARATION AND DATA ANALYSIS 60 CHAPTER 4 DATA PRESENTATION 63 1 MOTIVATION 63 1.1 Previous Educational Experience 64 1.2 Choosing to do the Foundation Degree 71 2 THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE 80 2.1 Adapting to Higher Education 80 2.2 Course Organisation Issues 95 3 E-LEARNING 114 3.1 Previous Experience 116 3.2 The VLE Blackboard 117 4 PERSONAL AND HOME LIFE ISSUES 138 4.1 Coping 138 4.2 Support - Family 143 4.3 Time 144 5 ISSUES OF WORK AND THE FUTURE 149 5.1 Work Issues 149 5.2 The Future 160 5 CHAPTER 5 DATA ANALYSIS 162 1 ASPIRATION AND MOTIVATION 163 1.1 Past Experience 163 1.2 What enabled students to enrol? 166 2 THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE 170 2.1 Adapting 170 2.2 Course Organisation 174 2.3 Support 177 2.4 Changing role of the Tutor 179 3 E-LEARNING 184 3.1 E-Community 185 3.2 Virtual Communication issues 186 3.3 Familiar way of working 187 3.4 E-learning and Educational Theory 189 3.5 New Patterns of Learning 190 3.6 Discussion Boards 192 3.7 Blackboard and student adaptability – Working in e-mode 196 4 PERSONAL AND HOME LIFE ISSUES 201 4.1 Coping 201 4.2 Time 202 4.3 Support 204 5 ISSUES OF WORK 206 6 6 GENDER ISSUES 212 7 STUDENT PRAGMATISM – A New Way of Thinking 217 8 THE FOUNDATION DEGREE 219 CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSIONS 223 1 THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE 226 1.1 Self-Knowledge and Self-Belief 226 1.2 Achieving and Aspiration 227 1.3 Self-Efficacy 228 2 STUDENT PRAGMATISM 229 3 BLENDED LEARNING AND E-LEARNING 232 3.1 New Patterns of Learning 234 4 ISSUES CONCERNING SUPPORT 238 5 WIDENING PARTICIPATION AND GENDER ISSUES 239 6 POLICY AND EMPLOYMENT 241 7 THE FOUNDATION DEGREE 245 7.1 The Foundation Degree 245 7.2 Opportunity and the Foundation Degree 247 7.3 Value of the Foundation Degree to the student 248 8 FUTURE RESEARCH 251 REFERENCES 253 APPENDICES 266 7 APPENDICES Appendix 1 - Ethics document Appendix 2 - Blank interview schedule Appendix 3 - Early educational experiences Appendix 4 - Self-Belief Appendix 5 - Internalisation and Externalisation Appendix 6 - Unfulfilled Ambition Appendix 7 - Student response to the theme of Opportunity Appendix 8 - Examples of the importance of Funding Appendix 9 - Student perception of the level of Foundation Degree Appendix 10 - Barriers Appendix 11 - Peer Support Appendix 12 – Student perception of progress Appendix 13 - Understanding Strengths/Weaknesses. Appendix 14 - Adapting to academic work Appendix 15 - Increased confidence Appendix 16 - Impact of Course Organisation on Student Motivation Appendix 17 – Day Schools Appendix 18 - Student responses on the theme of peer support and day schools Appendix 19 - Tutor Support Appendix 20 - The three themes of: practical gains, student perceptions and communication Appendix 21 - Colleague support Appendix 22 - Student previous experience and/or expectations of e- learning Appendix 23 - Advantages and disadvantages of Blackboard to support learning Appendix 24 - Negative aspects of Blackboard Appendix 25 - Table of Print Appendix 26 - Discussion Boards Appendix 27 - Student decisions over home life and the need to do work for the Foundation Degree Appendix 28- Juggling: Dilemmas and coping strategies Appendix 29 - Issues of time Appendix 30 - Employer Support Appendix 31 - Student change - What, How, Outcome Appendix 32 - Progression at Work Appendix 33 - Student change and work Appendix 34 - Research Outcomes 8 ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS Fdf Foundation Degree Forward FE Further Education HE Higher Education HEFCE Higher Education Funding Council for England HUBS Huddersfield University Business School LEA Local Education Authority LSC Learning and Skills Council QAA Quality Assurance Agency SWOT Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats VLE Virtual Learning Environment WBL Centre for Research on the Wider Benefits of Learning 9 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION AND AIMS 1.1 Introduction This thesis is the result of a two year case study of the experiences of a group of part time mature students enrolled on a Foundation Degree in Educational Administration at Huddersfield University. The aim of the research was to explore the experiences of a new cohort of students who are not traditional Higher Education students entering university straight from school. The thesis examines the attitudes of these students who, in their background and expectations and in their experiences, differ from students in the past. The research takes a phenomenological approach and all data is derived from the student conversation and perspective.

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