The Use of Enabling Programs as a Pathway to Higher Education by Disadvantaged Students in Australia

This chapter explores the use of enabling programs by Australian universities to improve participation and success for students historically underrepresented in the nation’s higher education system. It draws on empirical evidence from a national research project designed to undertake a review of cu...

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Main Authors: McKay, Jade, Pitman, Tim, Devlin, Marcia, Trinidad, Sue, Harvey, Andrew, Brett, Matt
Other Authors: Agosti, Cintia
Format: Book Chapter
Published: Springer 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/81660
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author McKay, Jade
Pitman, Tim
Devlin, Marcia
Trinidad, Sue
Harvey, Andrew
Brett, Matt
author2 Agosti, Cintia
author_facet Agosti, Cintia
McKay, Jade
Pitman, Tim
Devlin, Marcia
Trinidad, Sue
Harvey, Andrew
Brett, Matt
author_sort McKay, Jade
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description This chapter explores the use of enabling programs by Australian universities to improve participation and success for students historically underrepresented in the nation’s higher education system. It draws on empirical evidence from a national research project designed to undertake a review of current enabling programs offered by Australian higher education providers and to examine the effectiveness of these programs in increasing access to, participation in, and subsequent success in undergraduate courses for domestic students from disadvantaged groups. This chapter firstly outlines the rationale for providing enabling programs, their history of use in Australia against the wider context of higher education disadvantage, and a review of previous research. Secondly, it provides a typology of enabling programs in Australia detailing: their design and composition; how they are delivered; their prevalence throughout the sector; how they articulate to tertiary degrees; the types of students targeted; and numbers of students using them. Specific attention is on the representation of disadvantaged students throughout. Thirdly, the chapter provides a statistical analysis of the efficacy of these programs, as defined by retention and success. The fourth section details the findings of a national survey of 980 students who transitioned to higher education studies via an enabling program. This survey explores student perceptions, their experience of the program and their reflections on the extent to which it did or did not prepare them for tertiary studies. Finally, concluding comments are made and suggestions to improve the ongoing tertiary success of disadvantaged students are proposed.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-816602021-05-20T03:15:50Z The Use of Enabling Programs as a Pathway to Higher Education by Disadvantaged Students in Australia McKay, Jade Pitman, Tim Devlin, Marcia Trinidad, Sue Harvey, Andrew Brett, Matt Agosti, Cintia Bernat, Eva Education This chapter explores the use of enabling programs by Australian universities to improve participation and success for students historically underrepresented in the nation’s higher education system. It draws on empirical evidence from a national research project designed to undertake a review of current enabling programs offered by Australian higher education providers and to examine the effectiveness of these programs in increasing access to, participation in, and subsequent success in undergraduate courses for domestic students from disadvantaged groups. This chapter firstly outlines the rationale for providing enabling programs, their history of use in Australia against the wider context of higher education disadvantage, and a review of previous research. Secondly, it provides a typology of enabling programs in Australia detailing: their design and composition; how they are delivered; their prevalence throughout the sector; how they articulate to tertiary degrees; the types of students targeted; and numbers of students using them. Specific attention is on the representation of disadvantaged students throughout. Thirdly, the chapter provides a statistical analysis of the efficacy of these programs, as defined by retention and success. The fourth section details the findings of a national survey of 980 students who transitioned to higher education studies via an enabling program. This survey explores student perceptions, their experience of the program and their reflections on the extent to which it did or did not prepare them for tertiary studies. Finally, concluding comments are made and suggestions to improve the ongoing tertiary success of disadvantaged students are proposed. 2018 Book Chapter http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/81660 10.1007/978-3-319-72505-5_3 Springer restricted
spellingShingle Education
McKay, Jade
Pitman, Tim
Devlin, Marcia
Trinidad, Sue
Harvey, Andrew
Brett, Matt
The Use of Enabling Programs as a Pathway to Higher Education by Disadvantaged Students in Australia
title The Use of Enabling Programs as a Pathway to Higher Education by Disadvantaged Students in Australia
title_full The Use of Enabling Programs as a Pathway to Higher Education by Disadvantaged Students in Australia
title_fullStr The Use of Enabling Programs as a Pathway to Higher Education by Disadvantaged Students in Australia
title_full_unstemmed The Use of Enabling Programs as a Pathway to Higher Education by Disadvantaged Students in Australia
title_short The Use of Enabling Programs as a Pathway to Higher Education by Disadvantaged Students in Australia
title_sort use of enabling programs as a pathway to higher education by disadvantaged students in australia
topic Education
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/81660