Research projects

We have undertaken the following projects in the last four years:


Degrees of success: The transition between VET and HE (2006 - 2008)

Funded by HEFCE through the ESRC Teaching and Learning Research Project (TLRP), this project is led by Geoff Hayward and Hubert Ertl.

Increased participation in post-compulsory education is regarded by politicians as an important contribution to equal educational opportunities. However, international studies have shown that not all upper secondary education, particularly vocational education and training (VET), leads to improved educational opportunities.

Therefore, this project investigates the transition processes between vocational and higher education (HE). The underlying assumption is that people with vocational qualifications can widen participation in HE. The project will test this assumption by analysing a number of existing datasets, most importantly HE access data provided by UCAS for the last ten years and HE participation data from HESA. The resulting map of the landscape of transition will then be further investigated using a focused research design looking at the learning experiences of young people who have made the transition from VET to HE. Factors affecting their transition processes will be identified and their perceptions of the learning environments at universities and colleges will be investigated. The project regards learning and teaching processes as intertwined, and, therefore, the perceptions of HE lecturers and admissions staff regarding students with a background in vocational education will be analysed.

These two parts of the project are supplemented by User Forums bringing together practitioners in HE and VET. These Forums have a twofold role: firstly, they will be used to discuss and disseminate the findings of the project to make them relevant to the widening participation agenda. Secondly, the User Forums will refine the project's research questions and develop new tasks for the quantitative and the qualitative part of the project. The overall aim of the User Forums is to develop ways in which the transition of people between the contexts of VET and HE be facilitated and in which the learning experience of these people in HE can be improved.

Modelling a Vocational learning System for the 21st Century (2004-2006)

Funded by the Learning and Skills Research Centre this project was led by Geoff Hayward and Cathy Stasz.

This project, guided by policy design theory, involved a systematic analysis of aggregate quantitative data to evaluate the system performance of the UK vocational education and training (VET) system, an analysis of current VET policy and a literature review of the outcomes of vocational learning. Drawing on these analyses the project then made suggestions for improving VET system performance. The work is summarised in 3 publications:

Hayward, G. (2006) Participation, progression and success in vocational learning: A quantitative analysis of system performance. London: Learning and Skills Research Centre

Stasz, C. and Wright, S. (2004) Emerging policy for vocational learning in England: will it lead to a better system? London: Learning and Skills Research Centre

Stasz, C. Hayward, G., Oh S-A and Wright, S (2004) Outcomes and processes in vocational learning: a review of the literature. London: Learning and Skills Research Centre

Nuffield Review Higher Education Focus Groups
This research was undertaken by members of the Nuffield 14-19 Review, and UCAS Outreach department staff. Its purpose was to investigate, through a series of focus groups with some 250 academic and admissions staff at 21 HEIs in England and Wales, the outcomes that higher education lecturers and admissions staff seek from the 14-19 education and training system in terms of the types of knowledge, skills, attitudes and dispositions they would ideally like to see being developed in new students. The preliminary research report is available at: http://www.nuffield14-19review.org.uk/files/documents106-1.pdf

Associated publications include:

'On the same wavelength but tuned to different frequencies?: Perceptions of academic and admissions staff in England and Wales on the articulation between 14-19 education and training and higher education.’ Stephanie Wilde and Susannah Wright (2007) London Review of Education, 5 (3), 299-312.

Chapter 4 in Nuffield Review of 14-19 Education and Training Annual Report 05-06, (pp. 143-183)

‘Articulation between 14-19 education and training and higher education: Clear pathway or obstacle course?’ Full report available at: http://www.nuffield14-19review.org.uk/cgi/documents/documents.cgi?a=129&t=template.htm

Designing the Diploma Evaluation (2006 – 2007)

Funded by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) in collaboration with the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), this project was led by Geoff Hayward and Hubert Ertl in collaboration with Cathy Stasz.

This project involved designing the evaluation for the Diploma programme. The aims of the study were twofold. First to map out the various elements of the entire 14-19 reform programme and ascertain the position of the Diploma within them. Second, to develop an evaluation strategy spanning the whole of the implementation phase (2008-2013) for the new Diplomas that enabled a synthesis of research employing large scale administrative data sets and case studies. This template formed the basis of the recently tendered main evaluation of the Diploma implementation.

Reviewing Diploma Development: An Evaluation of the Design of the Diploma Qualifications (2007 – 2008)

Funded by the Department for Children, Schools, and Families (DCSF) in collaboration with the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), this project is being led by Geoff Hayward and Hubert Ertl in collaboration with Cathy Stasz.

The DCSF has responsibility for the 14-19 reform programme in which development of Diplomas sits.  QCA has the national remit to develop the national qualifications infrastructure and regulate qualifications added to it. The project is part of the wider evaluation framework on Diplomas and focuses on the new approach that has been in place for developing the qualifications.

The aims of this study are twofold: (1) to provide an understanding of how Diploma specifications have been developed and the connections between development processes and development outcomes; and (2) to develop recommendations for the ongoing work on Diplomas in the second, third, and subsequent phases. The main tasks include case studies of all Diploma Development Partnerships (DDP), interviews with other stakeholders within the DDPs and across other agencies and groups, and a validation exercise to assess the coherence between the content and aims of the phase 1 Diplomas. The aim is to develop a better understanding of the ways in which aims and contents of Diplomas are connected.

For this project one post-doctoral research officer has been appointed.

Missed opportunities? Factors influencing the non-placement of applicants to Higher Education

This project, undertaken for UCAS, was led by Michael Hoelscher and Stephanie Wilde.

The proportion of UK-domiciled applicants to higher education (HE) who are non-placed applicants (NPAs) has remained relatively stable over recent years at around 19%. The report analysed the characteristics of the non-placed applicants (NPA), and risk factors for inclusion in this NPA group using the full UCAS applicant data for 2002-2007. The NPAs can be sub-divided into the following groups: those who decline their offer (52%), those who receive no offer (38%), those who withdraw from the application process (6%) and those for whom no further information is available (4%). The results showed that the following groups are over-represented in the NPA groups: older applicants, women, black applicants and those holding qualifications other than general academic qualifications. It also considered those applicants who re-applied in a subsequent year, the majority of whom were placed in HE.

The question remains of the extent to which this relatively consistent proportion of non-placed applicants represents ‘missed opportunities’. The data do not allow for interpretation of the underlying reasons why these applicants (and especially the large group who decline their offers) are non-placed at the end of the application cycle. This will be the topic of future research.

This report was launched at a conference organised by UCAS in London on 4th December 2007.

The student learning experience in higher education (2006 – 2007)

This literature review was funded by the Higher Education Academy, and was led by Geoff Hayward and Hubert Ertl.

The changing nature of higher education (HE), which entails a constantly changing composition of students learning in HE, is the most important starting point for this Review. Therefore, the concept of ‘learning experience’ must be regarded as a dynamic one. Also, subjects in HE and the knowledge associated with these subjects is in a process of flux. Consequently we will adopt a historical perspective in order to ascertain the extent to which conceptualisations of learning (and teaching), and the consequences these conceptualisations have on student experience in HE, have changed and adapted to meet the needs of a changing student body. This literature Review will, therefore, in addition to considering in detail the nature of the student learning experience, also focus on the changing conceptualisation of ‘student learning’ in HE and the methods used to investigate student learning and experience. Against this background the investigation and representation of the HE experience of students in the relevant literature will be traced, analysed and mapped.

To achieve this, our proposal develops an innovative, iterative review methodology for selecting and evaluating research based on its relevance, internal coherence and the extent to which theory and practice are linked. This is informed by the EPPI Centre’s work on systematic reviewing.

For this Review, one research officer was appointed.

Reforming FE in England: The impact of change on Colleges and lecturers (2005 – 2008)

An exploratory project funded by the ESRC Centre on Skills, Knowledge and Organisational Performance (SKOPE), it is being conducted by Hubert Ertl and Professor H.-Hugo Kremer, University of Paderborn.

This research aims to investigate how the wide-ranging reforms in the FE (Further Education) sector influence the work of Colleges and teaching personnel. From an institutional perspective, it examines how far the administrative and leadership structures of Colleges are prepared to embrace changes and how far these structures result in a reactive or proactive stance regarding educational innovation. From a personnel perspective, the lecturers’ attitudes towards change will be investigated. Their perceptions of current reforms will be examined as well as the connection between reforms and their translation into educational innovation.

The ultimate aim of the research is to develop a better understanding of the implementation of reform processes in FE and to suggest ways in which innovative processes at Colleges can be initiated.

ESFOREM Project

This is a cross European study involving a collaboration between our research group and the ESRC Research Centre on Skills, Knowledge and Organisational Performance (SKOPE) based at Oxford University (represented by Geoff Hayward) and  LIHRE at the University of Toulouse, the GRET research group at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, and  the Institut für Höhere Studien. It is investigating the apparently minimal or even negative return to some qualifications in European labour markets by exploring a novel hypothesis that the degree of specialisation of the training undertaken is linked to the subsequent wage premium. This involves multivariate modelling utilising Gini coefficients to measure the degree of specialisation in training. A preliminary SKOPE working paper is being produced. The research team is now developing a proposal for European funding to explore the emerging issues further.

International Comparisons in Further Education

(Tom Leney and Tom May, QCA, and Geoff Hayward and Stephanie Wilde, OUDE)

This research consisted of comparative analysis between selected issues of Further Education (FE) in England and FE or Initial Vocational Education and Training (IVET) in Finland, Ireland, Sweden and Australia (focussing on New South Wales). This research emphasised the complex nature of post-compulsory provision in the four country contexts, and highlighted the acute necessity for ‘joined-up’ policy thinking that crosses different policy domains, carefully designed and prepared reforms, and ‘creeping rather than jumping’ reform. The evidence suggests that excessive reform of one particular feature of a system (such as qualifications) will not provide the stability and coherence that post-compulsory VET systems need in order to be able to attract learners to the VET provision and employers to those who successfully complete that provision.

 
DFES Research Report RR832 (2007) [online]. At: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/RR832.pdf

National Qualification Frameworks: An International Comparison (2007 – 2008)

Funded by the Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung (BIBB) in Bonn, and led by Geoff Hayward, this project forms the English part of this international comparative study. National Qualification Frameworks are a growing part of the international agenda on skills and labour market reform. They are typically intended to be used as policy tools to convey messages about the comparability of qualifications and pathways through qualification systems. In this project we are investigating the use being made of such frameworks by a range of different actors, ilccuding policy makers, educational managers and teachers in two sectors – IT and health care. Methods have included structured telephone interviews with key actors and analysis of aggregate data sets to summarise key trends in the patterns of uptake of different qualifications.

Last modified by Dr Hubert Ertl - 12 February 2009