The use of enabling programs as a pathway to higher education by disadvantaged students in Australia

Book chapter


McKay, Jade, Pitman, Tim, Devlin, Marcia, Trinidad, Sue, Harvey, Andrew and Brett, Matt. (2018). The use of enabling programs as a pathway to higher education by disadvantaged students in Australia. In University Pathway Programs: Local Responses within a Growing Global Trend pp. 45-66 Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72505-5_3
AuthorsMcKay, Jade, Pitman, Tim, Devlin, Marcia, Trinidad, Sue, Harvey, Andrew and Brett, Matt
Abstract

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.

KeywordsHigher Education; Study and Learning Skills; Learning & Instruction; International and Comparative Education; Educational Policy and Politics
Page range45-66
Year01 Jan 2018
Book titleUniversity Pathway Programs: Local Responses within a Growing Global Trend
PublisherSpringer International Publishing
Place of publicationUnited States
ISBN9783319725048
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72505-5_3
Web address (URL)https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-72505-5_3
Open accessPublished as non-open access
Research or scholarlyResearch
Publisher's version
License
All rights reserved
File Access Level
Controlled
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Print15 Jun 2018
Publication process dates
AcceptedJun 2018
Deposited05 Dec 2024
Additional information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature.

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