Mind the Gap School, College, University

Background to Research Discrepancy between university and sixth form college teaching No contact between college and university Need to consider students’ experience of transiton Raise awareness in both colleges and universities of some of the key issues

Methodology Anthropological approach Long-term participant observation Research Diary Supplemented by focus groups and individual interviews Study of documents

Goldsmiths Anthropology Department C-SAP Research ( ) Research had several aspects based on an ethnographic approach: Participant observation and research diary Interviews with focus groups in first year Individual interviews with first years at beginning and end of year Other focus groups with second and third years

Findings: Reading They liked the fact that they had more freedom to read what interested them but the difficulties they encountered with the skill of reading overshadowed the positive feelings. “it’s a very new experience to have to go away and read something. In sixth form you are given the information.” “the amount of reading”.

Comments “The reading is very technical and theoretical and it is hard to study on your own. You read and make notes and get bored half-way through.” “I have to force myself into the library. I do a lot of photocopying. I use what other people have underlined. I try and relate it to the seminar and lecture but many people ask- why are we reading this?”.

“There is so much I don’t understand, I do all this reading, I can’t possibly understand it all.” “Reading is difficult. There are words that aren’t in the dictionary. I wasn’t expecting all this reading. It’s very theoretical.” “I know I have to read this or that, but I don’t know what I need to learn.”

It’s like wearing size ten shoes with size three feet Some thrive on challenges Others get demoralised and drop out: “ I wish someone would ask me what’s wrong!” The key is to find a balance between encouraging and fostering independence and initiative, and giving the students the necessary support to do this.

Research at Havering Sixth Form College ( ) Participant observation Interviews with individual students and staff Observation at meetings and training days

An exam factory? Exam results are the basic priority; independent learning is the icing on the cake (Vice-Principal) Our teaching has become worse. The students don’t learn to think, but just how to pass exams. (Teacher at Philosophy Exam Board Meeting) I became a teacher because I wanted to educate. Now I just teach people to pass exams.

Repercussions for teaching Teachers’ skills goes into ensuring that the students learn to pass the exam. No time to allow students to learn any material independently. Teachers control the learning process or “it takes too long”. Teachers are made to feel fully responsible for the exam results.

“Can’t afford the time”. I tried to get the students to do presentations. It is so frustrating because it takes them so long to do anything. Peter has spent two lessons writing one paragraph. Emma is getting fed up because she is the only one in her group to do any work. This topic has taken too long. I’m way behind now.

Lack of initiative Paul said he is trying to revise with his A level history students. “ They were doing mind maps of how they would plan to answer questions. Many of the students just sat there. I asked them why they weren’t doing anything and they said that I would just give them the answer anyway so what’s the point.”

Law teacher “I gave the students four case studies to look at out of interest, but told them they only needed one for the exam. An A-grade student just read one and sat back- didn’t need to read anymore as it wasn’t necessary.”

I’m not going into the library: it smells! Problem of reading

I don’t do reading Student: What does that mean? Teacher: The definitions are in the hand- out that I gave you last week. Student: I’m not going to read that!

Spoon-fed Linda was talking today about how the psychology students are “spoon-fed”. The department gives out hand-outs that provide all the content of the course. That means that the students will never have to go into the library and find any information in a book in their two years.

Lack of Focus You give them something quite easy and they can’t read more than a line without their mind wandering. They have the attention span of a gnat and we pander to this in our teaching. You can’t give them activities that they have to get on with- they ask for help immediately.

School- College Transition Research ( ) Participant observation Interviews with 24 students from 5 schools- 3 within the borough and 2 from inner London Three interviews with each student spread over the two years Visits to the schools, observation of lessons and interviews with teachers

Findings: College Lack of work outside lessons Unable to handle freedom Problems with organisation Passivity: want to be told what to write Over-reliance on textbooks, teachers’ hand-outs, Wikepedia and class notes

Findings: schools GCSE teaching focused on ‘what you need to know for the exam’. Fast pace- no time to think. Target-driven ethos internalised by staff and students: “ I am a 7a”. Lack of initiative: “What do I do next?” Little independent study: homework clubs, Saturday coursework session, after school revision Use of Internet and cut and paste.

“Joining the dots” Changes need to be co-ordinated at all stages Discussions with all stages of education Awareness of what comes before Responsibility for what happens next

What needs to be changed Changing curriculum Free teachers from target culture Rethinking assessment and exams Stressing skills rather than knowledge Changing university entrance criteria Learning to learn

Why things need to change Passive robots or thinking human beings? Lack of preparation for anything- university, work, life.