Theory, Practice & Impact in Widening Participation A praxis based framework for evaluation Access to Higher Education and Student Success Summit 2017 Annette Hayton, University of Bath Marian Mackintosh, University of Bath Emily Warwick, Oxford Brookes University

Increases in rates of progression Trends in young participation in higher education: core results for England. HEFCE 2010/3 Figure 10: Trends in young participation rate for areas classified by HE participation rates (POLAR3 classification, adjusted)

Monitoring Participant characteristics are monitored to assess and demonstrate success in attracting students who fulfil the targeting criteria.  

Process Evaluation Did they have a good time? Were they safe? Can organisation be improved? Did they like the lunch? Was the session engaging? How was it for the staff and ambassadors?

Tracking: HEAT Bath admitted 600 students who participated in outreach with other HEAT member universities Participants in Bath outreach activities were much more likely to go to a high tariff university than disadvantaged students nationally Twice as many participants from low progression areas went on to university compared with the average for LPN students in the counties surrounding the university.   Participants in Bath outreach activities were awarded an average of two grades higher in their GCSEs than students in the same schools who had the same attainment at KS2 who had not taken part.

Impact Evaluation Evaluation of an HE outreach activity means assessing the impact of the activity on its participants, measured against its intended objectives. Footnote iv The NERUPI framework provides a very rigorous theoretically-informed methodology for linking WP aims and objectives to impact evidence

WP activity: a transformative experience? Overcoming feelings of fear Experiencing university life and a sense of belonging Confidence in their capacity to achieve Challenging perceptions and overcoming doubts Living away from home and meeting new people Developing the capacity for academic and learning challenges Enhancing and contextualising subject knowledge Developing the capacity to make informed choices Experiential impact Transformational effect on learners Pedagogy Active learning and critical pedagogies Content Accessible yet challenging content

The NERUPI Framework Designed to maximise the impact of Widening Participation interventions providing: a robust theoretical and evidence-based rationale for the types of intervention that are designed and delivered clear aims and learning outcomes for interventions, which enable more strategic and reflexive design and delivery an integrated evaluation process across multiple interventions to improve data quality, effectiveness and impact

Bourdieu’s Theories Bourdieu – Field, Capitals and Habitus Cultural model of Widening Participation that locates interventions within a wider field of engagement Capitals - expressions of differences within an unequal social system – enable/restrict engagement with education Intellectual capital (Scientific capital) - subject expertise Academic capital - understanding of rules/customs within academy Social capital – social connections Habitus – situated cultural identity/set of dispositions

Field of HE Progression

The NERUPI Framework SOCIAL AND ACADEMIC CAPITAL HABITUS SKILLS CAPITAL INTELLECTUAL & SUBJECT CAPITAL PROGRESSION CURRICULUM STUDENT IDENTITIES SKILLS CURRICULUM KNOWLEDGE CURRICULUM KNOW CHOOSE BECOME PRACTISE UNDERSTAND Develop students' knowledge and awareness of the benefits of higher education Develop students' capacity to navigate Higher Education sector and make informed choices Develop students' confidence and resilience to negotiate the challenges of university life Develop students' study skills and capacity for academic attainment Develop students' understanding by contextualising subject knowledge

Aims and Objectives Level 3

Reflexivity Framework enables us to share aims and develop activities with Participants Parents School teachers WP outreach workers University academic and professional support staff

Residential Summer School Evaluation Increased understanding, subject knowledge and skills are evaluated through assessment of group projects by academic staff Engagement with the summer school and university life is evaluated by surveys (including open-ended questions) interviews, focus groups, ambassador feedback and observations Knowledge of HE and how to choose a course is evaluated through surveys, discussion and also ‘quizzes’ i.e testing

completely different from any Residential Summer School Evaluation Academic staff completed a post- event questionnaire Before coming to this summer school I was very apprehensive about going to university as I was not sure how different life would be there compared to the life I live currently. This summer school has made me more confident that I can fit into university life and has given me advice about applying to university that I would not have received otherwise. ‘They all grasped the concept and then went over and above that - showing knowledge I would associate with undergrads’   Project was completely different from any school projects and so this insight into engineering was really useful and furthered my interest. I also learnt new formulas and concepts that involved some of the chemistry from school. .

Embedding NERUPI How we approached it Embedding into new activities vs pre existing ones Making it part of planning and evaluation processes Getting buy-in from the team & wider university

Brookes Engage

Brookes Engage: Aims Links to all aspects of Level 3 of the Framework Increase students’ awareness of HE opportunities, and sense of belonging within the University. To improve participants’ confidence in academic skills and knowledge of the university application process: to make them successful students Provide students with an understanding of industries they are interested in, with work shadowing, placements or contacts in those industries. Create a peer group of like-minded students Showcase the links between Brookes courses and employability Provide students with access to high-quality enrichment activities Links to all aspects of Level 3 of the Framework

Brookes Engage: Evaluation Methods: Pre and Post Evaluation Diary Study Control Group Quote from Diary Study summarising Brookes Engage: “A lot of the workshops from Brookes Engage have stuck with me, including note taking and University structure, equally ideas including staying organised have really helped me remain under control of my assignments and work, and I still find myself using the mindfulness techniques to calm down after stressful times which has helped on more than one occasion. All in all really thriving in the University environment and cant wait to see what the future holds.” Objective from framework: Develop students’ confidence and resilience to negotiate the challenges of university life and graduate progression

Next Steps Extend the levels to Student Success and Progression Apply the Framework in different contexts Use with a wider range of methodologies Explore the how the ideas underpinning the framework can be applied to cross- cutting topics e.g. Ambassadors Invite more universities to join NERUPI Event and website launch on the 7 February Hayton, A and Bengry-Howell, A (2016) Theory, evaluation, and practice in widening participation: A framework approach to assessing impact London Review of Education, Volume 14, Number 3, November 2016, pp. 41-53(13)