Why UK Students Fail the First Year at the University - Essay Example

Why UK fail the first year at the Research proposal To analyse the factors behind high dropout rate among the 1st year in UK, a research is conducted. The research question is developed to define the research and to provide direction. Research question: Analysing the level of satisfaction among 1st year students and evaluating the factors behind their rational behaviour. The hypothesise is as follows- H0: The current education system followed by universities in UK appears dissatisfactory to the 1st year students. H1: The current education system followed by universities in UK does not appear dissatisfactory to the 1st year students. A broad research question is developed so that it assists in covering almost all the vital factors related to high dropout among 1st year UK student in the university. For better understanding of the factors effecting UK university students, it is planned to conduct a qualitative analysis. For data collection the questionnaire will be used that will possess mainly the closed ended questions. Few open ended question will also be introduced so that the students can get a chance to express their personal thoughts. Later on secondary research will be done to justify the empirical findings obtained from primary research. While conducting the research, it is important for follow certain code of ethics. First of all, honesty shall be maintained by prohibiting falsification or mispresentation of data. Any kind of biasness should be prohibited while designing, conducting, analysing and interpreting the results. Care should be taken to minimise errors throughout the process. Respect will be given to intellectual property and confidentiality of the respondents. That is why name and other details related to the participants will be kept confidential. Even respect will be given to social responsibilities while conducting the research. Acknowledgement I am grateful to my institution and the Head of the Department for giving me the opportunity to conduct this research project on a topic that is so relevant in the contemporary context. I want to thank those people vehemently whose inspiration and influence have helped me to shape this research project. I acknowledge my indebtedness and gratitude to my mentor and teacher, who was a source of continuous inspiration and guidance and without whose support this research project would not have seen the light of the day. I also thank all my friends and faculty members who have helped me to complete this research project. Abstract The increase in the number of failures of the first year students at the university is a major cause of concern, both for the education system of UK and also for the universities. The primary reason to be attributed is the change in the learning environment. However, there are also other factors that are equally responsible for this deplorable situation and this paper aims to identify these factors with the help of primary and secondary research. Table of Contents Research proposal 2 Acknowledgement 4 Abstract 4 Introduction 6 Literature Review 6 Research methodology 9 Results, analysis and discussion 10 Summary 18 Conclusions 19 Recommendation 20 Reference 21 Introduction Students undergo different transition phases in the course of achieving academic education. The journey begins at home and then gradually a child goes through different educational institutions like elementary school, high school, and university respectively. Each of these educational environments is different from each other in terms of surrounding, education level, culture, rules and regulation etc. Problem occurs when a student fails to synchronise with the flux. This often results in failures and dropouts which not only hampers the operation of the educational system but also the society as a whole. This research paper aims to explore the factors that are resulting in the failure of the first year students at university. To identify it, a survey will be conducted with the help of a relevant questionnaire. This paper will also include a literature review aimed at providing a comprehensive understanding of the prevailing situation. The data collected through the questionnaire will be analyzed and discussed to infer the overall findings of the research. All the findings will be concluded and relevant recommendations will be suggested so as to help the universities to overcome this problem. Literature Review The failure of the first year students at the university level has been the cause of serious concern for many universities. According to an article published in The Independent, “More than 100,000 students are dropping out of degree courses after their first year” (Garner. 2007). This report has also disclosed that students from science, maths, and engineering background are more prone to drop out in their first year examination which has led to their withdrawal from the university education. In Britain, most of the dropouts are from the subjects like “Maths and computer sciences (11.9%), Engineering (11.7%) Business studies (11.1%) Architecture (10.7%) and Veterinary science (10.6%)” and the “overall drop-out rate” is 22% (Grimston, 2008). The first year of university is the transition period for students. Many students are unable to cope up with this sudden transition. They find a huge chasm existing between their expectation and their experience (Cook, Rushton & Macintosh, 2006). This transition period involves the changes in the environment, social and academic structures. Many students can easily adapt to these changes and others who cannot, are “forced to leave their study at its early stage” (Olani, 2008). The first year of the university is a transition period for students. They need to put an extra effort though the pressure is not made obvious. Many students have admitted that the lack of hard work makes them forego their responsibilities. Véronique Johnston has recognised two groups of factors affecting the success of the first year university students. These are problems related to academic & university, and non-academic (Johnston, 1997). One of the major academic problems is that, most of the failed students do not find the course module interesting or are not able to integrate it with the course module. Generally, the students fail to involve themselves in the group work as they are new to the university culture. According to Beder (1997), a successful social integration within the university helps the students to be a “competent member of an academic or social community within the university” (Roddan, n.d.). The seriousness of the students regarding their attendance is also important for their success in the first year of the university. Ken Petress has realized that the students at this stage do not have sufficient maturity to understand the implication of being absent from their regular classes. He has advocated a well designed attendance policy in the university that will help to have a better “classroom management, student learning, and meeting various legal/moral professional responsibilities” (Petress, n.d.). Students’ regularity in their classroom helps them to involve themselves in the university activities helping them to understand the socio-culture ambience of the university. The method of study in the high schools and the universities are different and the experiences of students from the high school are not at all similar with that of the university level. This gap between the study methods of the two learning environment, poses problems for the students preparing for the study plan at the university level (Leone et al, n.d.). The role of the mentor at the university is crucial for student development. The students complete their high school education and join universities and they are new to this environment. Therefore, they need an efficient mentor to make them understand the course structure and the study plan. The role of mentors is important as they offer proper guidance, support and professional friendship to students (Boreen et al, 2009). However, apart from these major problems, there are certain non-academic problems that too result in student’s failure in the first year of the university. Due to financial difficulties, the students engage themselves in part-time jobs. It becomes difficult for them to cope up with the increasing academic pressure as they are unable to devote sufficient time to their studies and university activities (UK Centre for Legal Education, 2002). Research methodology A research was executed to find out the main causes that lead to the high rate of student failure in UK. For conducting primary research, a survey was arranged where the teachers as well as the students were asked to answer the questions present in the questionnaire. Often the respondents are reluctant to participate in the survey because they feel these activities are time consuming. To motivate the participants, majority of the questions were therefore kept ‘close ended’. This also made the process of data collection as well as data analysis more synchronised. However, a few ‘open ended’ questions were introduced in the questionnaire. The main aim of introducing the open ended question was to collect information that what specific change the students as well as the teachers want to be introduced in the prevailing education system followed by universities in UK. A few universities of UK were selected randomly. For ethical reasons, the names of the universities as well as the participants were not revealed. Both teachers as well as students were asked to participate in the survey. For convenience sake, the questionnaires were distributed in different universities among various teachers and students. They were asked to fill up the questionnaires and submit it in the prescribed box. Later on, the data obtained for the questionnaire were segregated and analysed to identify the major factors responsible for the high rate of student failure during the 1st year in UK. While developing the questionnaire, 5 points ‘Likert scale’ was used. The five points were –strongly disagree, disagree, indifferent, agree and strongly agree. The participants were asked to answer by ticking on the option from 1 to 5. The questions asked are as follow: S.N   1 Is the modules of 1st year interesting? 2 Did the induction session inspire you to work hard on your studies? 3 Is the assistance provided by the mentor satisfactory? 4 Did the grade obtained in the 1st year influence the grade in the next year? 5 Do you think that high study pressure is responsible for the failure of the students? 6 Is the culture of the university effective in handling cultural diversity? 7 Do you feel the study module provides appropriately balance between theoretical knowledge and practical exposure? The open ended questions asked in the survey were as follow: 1. What changes do you want to be implemented by the University for ensuring success of the students in the 1st year (paid work, domestic responsibilities, time spend on independent study, extracurricular activities, etc)? ___________________________________________________________________ 2. How university policies can assist the students to manage the cultural diversity? ___________________________________________________________________ 3. What changes you required to be introduced in the gradation system followed by different universities in UK? ___________________________________________________________________ Results, analysis and discussion The data collected through the questionnaire was segregated in two parts, the first one was the data collected from the students and the seconds one from that of the teachers. Out of 50 students, 45 participated in the survey and out of 12 teachers, 8 took part by filling the questionnaire and submitting it. Analysis of the response of the students Almost 1/3rd of the participants reported that they strongly disagree and 2/5th reported to disagree with this fact. More than half of the student who responded in the survey accepted that induction process fails to motivate them to put strong effort to achieve good grades in 1st year examination. The response given by the student was mixed because 38% disagree but at the same time 33% accepted that assistance provided by the mentor is satisfactory. The response makes it quite clear that most of the students taking admission in the graduation level are less bothered about their grade in 1st year. Some feel that this grade will not influence their grade in final years whereas many students have no clear idea about it. In UK, the educational authorities modify the education structure on time to time basis to make it more competent and this result in high pressure on the students. More than 50% of the respondents blamed high pressure for the poor grades in 1st year. In universities, students from different cultures and social class take admission, but often they fail to cope up with the new environment. As per the data 49% of the respondents believe that universities in UK fail to manage this cultural diversity in the students but 33% gave a positive response. Student will only be interested in a course if they feel the education will assist them to develop a strong career in near future. According to the data collected from the survey it appears that many students are unsatisfied with the practical exposure they receive at the university. This leads to poor motivation and high rate of student drop out in 1st year. Analysis of the response given by teachers The teachers are quite confident that the modules that are being taught in 1st year are good enough to generate interest among the student. Many of the teachers are aware of the fact that the induction process followed in the universities fail to motivate the students. However some are of the opinion that it is effective in generating interest Majority of the teachers responded positively towards assistance provided by the mentors to the students. However, surprisingly few teachers expressed their disagreement on it. More than 50% of the respondent teachers accepted that the grades obtained in 1st year have no effect on the grades obtained in the successive years. The teachers supported continuing with the prevailing pressure on the students in the 1st year. More than 75% teaches believe this pressure assist students to learn time management skills. This was a difficult question for the teachers to answer because they hardly get that much chance to analyse the interrelation among students belonging to different culture and social class. According to 50% of the teachers, the university possess a healthy environment to handle cultural diversity among the students. The teachers try their level best to assist the students to gain practical experience. They often motivate the students to do projects where they can gain real life exposure. For conducting secondary research, the data published by different colleges and universities regarding the performance of their students in the last few years were taken into consideration. Figure 1: Module completion rates: part-time undergraduates 2008/09 (Source: HESA, 2010) For further information on the dropout rates among 1st year students in different universities, the below given data was taken into consideration. Figure 2: Dropout rate (%) among 1st year students (Source: Telegraph, 2008) After undertaking the results of primary research as well as the secondary research it can be concluded that the null hypothesis is accepted. Summary The data collected through the primary and the secondary research disclosed the major reasons that cause the increase in the number of failures of the first year university students. The questionnaire includes seven close-ended and seven open-ended questions related to the research topic. Nearly 50 students and 12 teachers have been interviewed and their responses reflect that teachers and students have contradictory views regarding the education system followed by universities in UK. Most of the students believe that the university does not provide necessary support and guidance to the students and they are also not much satisfied with the quality of assistance offered by the mentors. However, the responses from the teachers do not match with the students’ feedback. The teachers complain that the failed students have very poor time management skills and they need to cooperate with their mentors for proper guidance. The overall findings of this research reveal a wide chasm between the perception of the teachers and that of the students. Conclusions The literature review section has disclosed the findings of the previous research. Based on these facts and findings, the questionnaire has been prepared. The literature review along with the primary data has revealed that the university culture is one of the most crucial factors responsible for such bizarre happening. The other factors that influence the performance of the students in the university are the assistance offered by the mentors and the practical exposure they receive along with the theoretical knowledge. After analysing the responses of the students as well as the teachers, it has been found that the teachers are unable to understand the specific requirement of the students. All these factors together have led to high dropout rate at the university level. Recommendation After analysing the results of the primary as well as secondary research, it appears that prevailing education system of UK needs an immediate revision. On the basis of the participants’ response to the open-ended questions, the below given recommendation was derived. 1. The universities should introduce more flexibility so that the students can opt for those modules which they really find interesting. 2. The mentors should be motivated to develop a healthy relation with the students so that the students feel free to express their problems to the mentors. 3. The prevailing education system should pay more emphasis on the practical experience so that the students can learn practical application along with the theoretical modules. 4. The prevailing policy should be modified to develop a better culture in the university so that the foreign students do not feel alienated. Reference Boreen, J., Niday, D., Johnson, M. K. and Potts, J. 2009. 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