Does Aimhigher work? evidence from the national evaluation

National Foundation For Educational Research, 2006

i Executive summary Background The integrated Aimhigher programme was established in 2004 as 'a national programme which aims to widen participation in higher education by raising the aspirations and developing the abilities of young people from underrepresented groups'. It brought together two previous programmes -DfES's Aimhigher: Excellence Challenge programme and the HEFCE and LSC funded Aimhigher: Partnerships for Progression (P4P) programme -both of which aimed to widen participation in higher education.

This report draws on data collected using the following research methods: o Interviews (nine) with key stakeholders including representatives at a strategic and operational level o Visits to 2 schools in the area: an 11-18 school situated in the coastal strip in Lincolnshire, a deprived area with very little long term employment and an 11-16 school with a shared sixth form, situated in an urban area. At both schools individual interviews were held with the following: senior members of staff (4), Aimhigher coordinators (2) and support staff (2). Group interviews were also conducted with male and female pupils who had taken part in Aimhigher activities: Year 10 (3), 11 (9), 12 (9), 13 (4) o Telephone interviews (13) with parents of pupils involved in Aimhigher activities at the 2 schools of whom were subsequently interviewed. The evaluation also draws on research conducted by the IAS with a further 3 secondary schools and one Pupil Referral Unit involved in the Peer Mentoring and Robot Competition initiatives. Members of the research team visited these institutions and interviews were conducted with staff members and pupils involved. Telephone interviews were also conducted with project team members involved in the Robot Competition initiative. Due to budget constraints the case studies were restricted to 2 of the 37 schools involved in Aimhigher activities. However, it should be emphasised, that the qualitative approach used has allowed the research team to collect more in-depth and richer data from this small sample. Additional interviews with key stakeholders, as identified above, have allowed different perspectives on the programme to be explored. As a final point, it should be noted that the case studies were conducted in March 2006, and as a result some pupils would not yet have experienced all the activities.

2005

The views expressed in this report are the authors' and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department for Education and Skills.

2005

The views expressed in this report are the authors' and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department for Education and Skills.

National Foundation For Educational Research, 2006

2.1 Which pupils were included? 2.2 How representative is the sample? 2.3 The analysis 3. Profile of the cohorts 3.1 Background characteristics 3.2 The cohorts in Aimhigher: Excellence Challenge 4. The impact of Aimhigher: Excellence Challenge 4.1 The analysis 4.2 The impact of Aimhigher: Excellence Challenge on attainment 4.3 In summary 5. Reflections

This case study analysis of the Able and Talented programme, prepared by the Institute for Access Studies, Staffordshire University, presents an analysis of data drawn from students and staff at one Further Education College during the 2007/2008 academic year. The analysis aimed to explore practice and examine the impact of participation upon students.

2006

I've decided that I want more from my life than what the rest of my family had. I want to do better than just go straight into a job -a dead-end job where I'm not going to get anywhere. I want better for myself." (Student, aged 16) "I visited quite a few [universities] with my secondary school. They'd (sic) be students there; they talk about their courses and different things like uni life. It was really good. It made me think more about going. Like, I wanted to go." (Student, aged 16) This document is the short report of a unique three-stage longitudinal research project funded by Greenwich Excellence in Cities and started in 2002. The aim of the project was to look at factors that might be related to young people's educational choices post-statutory education; specifically, their attitudes to higher education and how these may be influenced by participating in Aimhigher activities. Aimhigher is a government initiative aimed at increasing participation in higher education by raising the aspirations and developing the abilities of young people from under-represented groups. The research was instigated by Linda Karlsen, in her then post of Aimhigher Co-ordinator. Linda's commitment to working with, and increasing the opportunities of, young people from a whole range of diverse backgrounds was reflected in her commitment to facilitating data collection and providing expert advice throughout the project. Without Linda the project would not have progressed. This report draws on data collected and analysed by Emmilie Aveling, Kirsty Carmichael and Jennifer Wills at stage three. It also relates to data collected and analysed in the earlier stages by Katie Maras, Stephanie Nash and Swatee Patel, all of whom made a significant contribution to the evaluation. I would like to personally thank all of the schools, post-16 centres, Aimhigher co-ordinators, teachers and other staff who gave up their valuable time and support in collecting data. Most importantly I would like to thank the young people who participated in the research.

2011