Thursday, February 14, 2008
BLOG REFLECTION FOR FEBRUARY 14TH 2008
This week I have attempted to define who non-traditional students are and the ways in which they can be affected by widening participation policy. This is turn raises the question of study skills; if universities are tending to recruit more non-traditional students, those who perhaps do not possess the necessary cultural capital to achieve their full potential at university, then it seems probable that their study skills (of which reading is key) will need to be developed. Now that I have my first three headings written, in draft form at least, I can start to review and amend and consequently refine my paper. The process of writing a first draft, whilst often painful (and this was no exception!) has provided me with a basis from which to improve – watch this space!
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3 comments:
Yes - universities are recruiting more non-traditional students - whilst resources allocated to universities are being cut. this also begs several questions:
1. Who are university students these days - what are their strengths and what are their needs?
2. Whose responsibility is it to address the needs of new students?
3. Is it an issue of resources/funding?
4. Are new students only seen as problems? How can the universities embrace their strengths?
Best
Sandra
I think this is not the case just at university level:
a. where are these non-traditional students coming from?
b. problems/needy - why? Maybe but maybe its also important to think how they have been prepared for higher education studying?
Just a thought.
Victoria
Non-traditional (NT) students:
I was a NT student myself - so do not see us as a problem... and as someone who has taught primarily in in FE and now HE, I always found the NT students to be the best ones - they were the most motivated, energetic and committed.
But there have been changes to educational funding and changing to policy - such that FE institutions are rewarded for the number of people they push to university - whether or not it is in that student's best interests to go. And HE institutions are supposed to recruit 50% of the 18-30 age group, again whether or not HE is the best place - or 18-30 the best time.
So - what effect has that had on the HE experience of the old NT student? And what implications does this have for the new NT student - and the institution? More importanly perhaps, it has launched a vicious public 'debate' that talks about 'dumbing down' and so forth.
This can mean that panicking (and elitist?) HE institutions do only see these new students as problems?
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