This paper contends that changes to funding for adult courses will have a negative impact on adul... more This paper contends that changes to funding for adult courses will have a negative impact on adults considering study on the Access to Higher Education Diploma, which is the main route for adults into Higher Education. This study aims to explore, through a mixed methodology approach, the extent to which these changes to funding could negatively impact on learners’ choices to re-enter education and how this, in turn, could have negative consequences for social mobility, which is purportedly a key concern of the current administration. A cohort of Access to HE Diploma learners, consisting of completing and new learners were surveyed and a smaller group were selected to take part in a group interview to explore the impact of changes to funding on learners, their constructions of social mobility and their perceptions of the benefits and costs of undertaking a course of study. The findings were that concerns about fees form a significant part of a complex interplay of concerns which could act as a possible barrier to choosing to study. It will conclude that changes to funding will act as a further disincentive for choosing to study for a group already under-represented in the Higher Education student population.
This paper contends that changes to funding for adult courses will have a negative impact on adul... more This paper contends that changes to funding for adult courses will have a negative impact on adults considering study on the Access to Higher Education Diploma, which is the main route for adults into Higher Education. This study aims to explore, through a mixed methodology approach, the extent to which these changes to funding could negatively impact on learners’ choices to re-enter education and how this, in turn, could have negative consequences for social mobility, which is purportedly a key concern of the current administration. A cohort of Access to HE Diploma learners, consisting of completing and new learners were surveyed and a smaller group were selected to take part in a group interview to explore the impact of changes to funding on learners, their constructions of social mobility and their perceptions of the benefits and costs of undertaking a course of study. The findings were that concerns about fees form a significant part of a complex interplay of concerns which could act as a possible barrier to choosing to study. It will conclude that changes to funding will act as a further disincentive for choosing to study for a group already under-represented in the Higher Education student population.
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Papers by Jodie Travis