This presentation was delivered as part of a symposium organised by the Higher Education Academy, Summer 2010.

1. Male Retention & Engagement Ed Foster – NTU & Ruth Lefever Bradford University

2. Interview with LISA “… I thought it would be one big party, I heard that you didn’t have to do any work until the last year – it was party time … To begin with it was a party – but when the work started to come I was still partying so I got behind. In the end, I never really managed to catch up.” (Ozga & Sukhnandan, 1998, pg 321)

3. Unite Student Living Report (2003) Male spending per week Alcohol £29.90 Food £29.90 Female spending per week Alcohol £20.30 Food £26.80

4. Workshop Structure Introduce HERE Project Impact of doubting on student retention Differences in male and female behaviour and approaches to learning at University

5. The HERE Project

6. The HERE Project Part of the ‘What Works?’ Student Retention & Success Programme Funded by HEFCE & PHF Supported by HEA & AonA Joint Project NTU Bournemouth Bradford Goals Strand A: Doubters Why don’t all doubters leave? What can we learn from doubters who stay at University? Strand B: Programmes Despite entry qualifications being a very strong predictor of retention, ostensibly similar programmes often have very different rates of retention Why? What can we learn from successful programmes?

7. Strand A: What impact does doubting have on retention? Doubting Relatively high number of doubters in studies 21% (Rickinson & Rutherford, 1995) 42% (Ozga & Sukhnandan, 1998) Yorke & Longden (2008) 40% of first year students with little or no prior knowledge of their programme 25% of those who were better informed Sodexo 2010 – 39% of students considered withdrawing (Interesting to note that grows as students progress) Higher proportion of female doubters than males 32% compared to 27% (no it doesn’t make sense to me either) UK Retention Rates 10% progression to year 2

8. HERE Project Research Student Transitions Survey March – May 2009 Using NTU data 2 stages Initial responses – 656 respondents (9% of first year) Students granted permission to track progress – 373 respondents

9. Core Issues Have you considered withdrawing (leaving) at any point during your first year at NTU? Please tell us what made you consider leaving NTU? If yes - What has helped you decide to stay at NTU? Asked students to measure their experience against 17 factors (for example – “I have enthusiastic lecturers”) How important? (1-5) How positive has the experience been (1-5)

10. Non-Doubters Non-Doubters – 63% of first years had not considered withdrawing Factors associated with non-doubting Positive academic experience Interesting link between confidence about coping with academic pressures and feedback Positive experience of social support & future goals Positive experience of student life Gender

11. Doubters (37% of sample) 37% of sample expressed doubts

12. Reasons why Doubters Stay

13. Are Doubters more likely to become Leavers? Yes Well, certainly in the first year and amongst the respondents to the survey at our institution

14. Leavers Tested in December 2009 373 students gave us permission to follow their progress Of these:

15. Doubting by Gender

16. “I don't like the course, and I don't feel its going to get any better over the next 2 years. This type of learning isn't for me, I need hands on learning so I feel like I am actually learning something and doing something useful. I don’t feel that I have learnt a single thing this year.” Female student doubter

17. Doubting by gender Male respondents appear less likely to doubt In our larger survey 41% of female students expressed doubts, against 31% of male students I’m going to use the statistics gathered from those (373) students who gave us permission to track their progress 234 female students: 91 doubters – 39% 139 male students: 47 doubters – 34% Therefore appears to contain more worried male students

18. Retention But appear more likely to actually withdraw

19. Differences in experience 17 factors Each rated on a Likert scale (1-5) Researcher identified three groups closely linked Academic experience Support & goals Student Lifestyle

20. 294 from 406 female students 165 from 250 male students

21. Academic Experience Scale indicates percentage of students rating their response 4 or 5 out of 5 (‘Agree’ & ‘Agree very much’)

22. Support & Goals Scale indicates percentage of students rating their response 4 or 5 out of 5 (‘Agree’ & ‘Agree very much’)

23. Student Lifestyle Scale indicates percentage of students rating their response 4 or 5 out of 5 (‘Agree’ & ‘Agree very much’)

24. Other Factors

25. Degree Classification Goals Scale indicates percentage of students rating their response 4 or 5 out of 5 (‘Agree’ & ‘Agree very much’)

26. Difficulty Scale indicates percentage of students rating their response 4 or 5 out of 5 (‘hard’ & ‘very hard’)

27. Priorities Scale indicates percentage of students rating their response 4 or 5 out of 5 (‘Agree’ & ‘Agree very much’)

28. Personal Tutor NB – our research does not suggest that the presence personal tutors make a positive difference on doubting

29. Reasons male students cited for staying 33 responses from the 47 male doubters

30. Walking off a cliff? Similar outlooks Social life equally enjoyable Academic goals are broadly the same (degree classification) But engagement is different in key areas Males appear to have less valuable feedback Also marginally less confident Claim to be finding studies less difficult Apparently working significantly less hard Apparently less likely to have a personal tutor In life factors males appear more disengaged from everything Self awareness

31. Discussion activities It appears that male students are having difficulty engaging in learning process What can be done to help male students engage with feedback? What tactics might work to help male students work ‘harder’? If male students apparently find their studies easier, why are they apparently less confident that they are going to cope? And how do we help them engage better?