TCELT research seminar - September 2023

Dr. Sam Shields, is a Senior Lecturer in Education at Newcastle University, UK. Her research interests include social inequalities in higher education, particularly focused on social mobility and students’ experiences of university. She has a long-standing interest in the ‘first-year experience’ of undergraduates from widening participation backgrounds. Sam is a member of the Society for Research in Higher Education (SRHE), British Educational Research Association (BERA) and British Sociological Association (BSA). Her new project explores the experiences of international students from less advantaged socio-economic backgrounds. Sam’s teaching is underpinned by her research into qualitative methodologies and intersections between gender, social class and education. Email: Samantha.shields@ncl.ac.uk

It is well known that privately educated young people benefit from access to competitive degree programmes at the most prestigious universities. Less is known about how stratified post-secondary education provision and socio-economic differences impact upon state educated young peoples’ transitions into higher education. This presentation draws upon interview data with undergraduates to explore differences in post-secondary education experiences. Differences in relation to socio-economic background are considered in terms of how they impacted upon the transition to university for participants. Middle-class entrants appeared to be exposed to a number of cultural practices which facilitated a transition to university which could be conceptualised as ‘smooth’. In contrast, a more typical understanding of transition indicating ‘uncertainty’ was relevant to working-class participants. Working-class participants were more likely to encounter structural factors which impacted upon their transition to university, unless tailored support had been provided by teachers. Given the disparities in post-secondary education characteristics, the role of teachers in supporting students from widening participation backgrounds in the transition to university should be the focus of future studies.

Shields, S. (2023). Undergraduates’ Perceptions of how Post-secondary Education Characteristics Shaped their Transition to University. International Journal of Educational and Life Transitions, 2(1): 17, pp. 1–14. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/ ijelt.51