exploring opportunities to boost adult students' graduation -the reasons behind delays and...
DESCRIPTION
The objective of the study was to find out the reasons why adult students studying either in the bachelor’s or master’s degree programme in business information technology at HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences have proceeded slowly in their studies or dropped out. The other objective of the study was to look for practices and tools to boost graduation of adult learners.TRANSCRIPT
Enabling ICT based growth
WP3 Education
.
EXPLORING OPPORTUNITIES TO BOOST ADULT STUDENTS’ GRADUATION
-THE REASONS BEHIND THE DELAYS AND DROP-OUTS OF GRADUATION
D.Sc. Päivi Aarreniemi-Jokipelto HAAGA-HELIA School of Vocational Teacher Education
M.Sc. Asta Bäck, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
11th International Conference on Cognition and Exploratory Learning in Digital Age,
CELDA 2014, Porto, Portugal
Growing need for adult education growing
Change
New technologies Competition
Work
Family
Hobbies
Frameworks for drop-outs and delays of graduation
• A framework developed by (Jordan et al., 1994; Watt & Roessingh, 1994) defines three factors for drop-outs; push, pull, or fall out of an institution factors.
– Push-out factors, an institution is active and the factors include poor academic performance and disciplinary problems.
– Pull-out factors refer to out-of-institution factors like work or family reasons, or illness.
– Fall out factor mean that a student does not show significant academic progress and in a way a student just disappears.
Objectives of the study
1. Why adult students studying either in the bachelor’s or master’s degree programme in business information technology at HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences have proceeded slowly in their studies or dropped out.
2. What kind of tools and practices could be helpful to students to get them to complete their studies – students’ evaluations of ideated solutions from their perspective, and students’ own ideas.
Research method
• Semi-structured telephone interviews
– Notes taken, duration in average 30 minutes
Back-
ground
• Motivation for studies
• Life situation and changes in it
Studies
• Planning and guidance counselling
• Content and quality
Thesis • Planning and carrying out the thesis
Reasons
• Delays
• Dropping out
New ideas
• Feedback on proposed ideas
• Students’ own ideas
38 students interviewed
Master’s: 60 + 30 credit points
Bachelor’s: 195 + 15 credit points
Average: Average:
55.4 credit points 160.2 credit points
Reasons for delays and drop-outs
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Personal lifesituation and /or
changes in it
Combination of workand studies did not
work
Changes in workingsituation
Interest, motivationended
Career changes Problems related tothe theses
Group work basedlearning
Master's degree students: Reasons for delays and drop-outs
Most important Second in importance Third in importance
Reasons for delays and drop-outs
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Bachelor's degree students: Reasons for delays and drop-outs
Most important Second important Third important Forth important
Evaluation of the ideated tools and practices
The best ideas
Communication tool for the student, workplace supervisor and guidance counsellor at the university.
Contact app to help in easily reaching the guidance counsellor e.g. chat, times to book for a meeting.
Pros
• Forcing parties to communicate
• Good, if helps in early detection of problems
Cons
• Adults do not need something like this
• Email is enough
• The tutor cannot be there in the evenings or weekends
The best ideas (cont’ed)
eLearning
• 42 % regarded as very beneficial, 22 % not beneficial
• ”The most central and critical courses need to be face-to-face but the rest should be offered as eLearning”
• Freedom of time and place
The controversial ideas
Mobile learning in small units
• 36 % for, 36 % against
Strong options of mobile learning
• I do not want to use a device all the time.
• Is smartphone a real tool for learning?
• To learn, I need to concentrate properly.
• Smartphone is good for checking facts.
Automatic notifications
• 30 % regarded as very beneficial, 31 % not beneficial
Cons
• Adults do not need a nanny
• Adults need to learn to manage their time
The worst ideas
Lightweight weekly reporting not favored
• Individual schedules and reporting
Stricter timetables
• Detrimental
Better books and handouts
• Electronic format preferred
Students’ suggestions
• Easy access to school information systems so that small hurdles would not lead to quitting
• Clear course descriptions so that it is easy to evaluate if the course topic and level are suitable
• Live online lectures – adopt good practises from work life
• Personal messages from the guidance counsellor to keep up motivation and to indicate that the student has not been forgotten
Conclusions
Life situation and changes in it not as central as assumed
Connecting the thesis to working life caused delays
Heterogeneous students with very diverging opinions on tools
Processes in which students requested guidance
Guidance counselling
Thesis
Learning process
Prior competence recognition
Alternative ways to study
Someone to be in touch
GRADUATION
Interaction between
a student and a
named guidence
counsellor
Speeding up the graduation
Prior competence recognition
Learning at working places
Online learning Flexible learning
strategies
Knowledge, skills and
competences