Faculty of Education - Theses
Permanent URI for this collection
Search Results
1 - 3 of 3
-
ItemThe admission process and initial performance of mature-age students who enter higher education via non-academic routes( 2004)This study examined a subgroup of mature-age students who had entered university via non-academic routes. The study sought to identify the group; examine the admissions processes used and the efficacy of the Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT) within those processes; and explore how the students performed in their first year of study. For the purposes of the study, 'non-academic background' was defined as non-completion of secondary school and/or limited study since leaving school. Data was gathered from a subgroup of applicants through VTAC, and from three case study Schools, via student questionnaires, staff and student interviews and general results data. Only small numbers of mature-age students from non-academic backgrounds enter university, consistently about 3 - 5 per cent of the first year population across Australia. This is a smaller rate than in the past. While the focus of admissions requirements is based on evidence of academic ability, there are still routes available for applicants to provide other forms of evidence. STAT remains a well-regarded instrument for providing evidence of academic potential. On the basis of the study's findings, the admission of students from non-academic backgrounds appears to be a worthwhile exercise, both for the university, which gains committed, high performing students, and for the students themselves, who are able to achieve personal success while preparing for a career change that they hope will be satisfying.
-
ItemCompletion and non-completion amongst TAFE marketing students at a university of technology( 2001)The numbers of TAFE Marketing students who do not go on to complete the Advanced Diploma of Marketing at Swinbume University of Technology is substantial. This problem has been researched as part of this thesis with a view to identifying those factors, which distinguish persisters from withdrawers. Previous research covering the higher education, vocational and further education sectors, particularly in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia, has identified a number of personal factors, institutional variables and environmental factors which increase the tendency of students to withdraw from courses of study. This study involved conducting a survey of a sample of 165 part-time and full-time students enrolled in the Advanced Diploma of Marketing at the Hawthorn, Wantima, Croydon and Lilydale campuses of the Swinbume University of Technology for the first semester of 2000. The study found that withdrawers are less likely to be satisfied with the standard of teaching, are less likely to have undertaken the course to gain entry to another course, are less likely to consider that their employment prospects will be enhanced by completing the course and are less likely to be satisfied with the extent of their intellectual development and are more likely to be enrolled as a part time student. The tendency of students to withdraw from the course was not affected by satisfaction with services provided by the university, the degree of their social integration, their ability to balance the academic workload of the course with competing demands, personal problems, demographic variables or educational background.
-
ItemPreparing for university : a case study of students in a tertiary preparation course( 2003)Courses that prepare students for tertiary study have been developed in Australian TAFE institutes and universities in response to high dropout rates and government policy aimed at increasing opportunities for tertiary study. One such course, the Adult Tertiary Preparation (ATP) course, at Certificate IV level of the Australian Qualifications Framework, and in particular, its core subject, Language and Learning, was the focus of this study. The aim of the study was to identify and explain changes in characteristics of readiness for self-directed learning, and subsequent changes in identity, in the students enrolled in this course. A group of ten students, broadly representative of the total intake, was interviewed and observed at the beginning, middle and end of the year-long course. When asked to reflect on how they had learned, most placed emphasis on the course content, structure and processes, and on the various forms of participation afforded them within the class group. For some people, relationships with other students, teachers and the wider TAFE community made an important contribution to their learning, with personal preferences for learning in particular ways influencing the direction of skill and identity development. All those who completed the course developed higher aspirations about their future educational and vocational directions. Implications for the future development of the ATP course and its core subject, Language and Learning, and other similar courses and subjects, are discussed.