Can undergraduate research experiences widen participation to postgraduate study? Anthony Hudson & Aga Spytkowska Continuum, University of East London 26th FACE Annual Conference 3-5 July, 2019, Sheffield Hallam University

Context Making the case for WP to PG study Complexities of PG study Progression to PG study Policy responses Undergraduate research experiences UEL undergraduate research internship scheme

UEL Undergraduate Research Internship Scheme 2017/18 Demographic characteristics Age Gender Ethnicity Academic Highest qualification on entry Year of study We have conducted Two part evaluation looking at UEL data and survey of all students who participated in the research internship. In the first instance we have looked at demographic characteristics of the cohort: age, gender, ethnicity as well as highest qualification on entry, year of study and most importantly progression to Postgraduate study. In 2017/18 academic year 50 students participated in the scheme, Looking at age: 20 students were between 21-24, 11 students were between 25- 29, seven were 30-34 and 10 students were 35 or above, there were also 4 students who were under 21. Gender profile comparable to UEL general population: 60% female and 40% males In terms of ethnicity; 60% of students were WHITE and 40% from BAME backgrounds. That very much differs when compared to the UEL student body where 65% of all students are from BAME backgrounds. So as part of the evaluation, we looked first at data supplied by the university, so the background demographic information, such as age gender ethnicity school of study year of study at the time of participating in the scheme as well as progression to PG for UG students. In terms of the survey itself, this was divided into 6 sections, which looked at: Research Skills / Learning Gain / Supervisors and Supervision / Research Environment / Research Infrastructure / Career Plans Each of the sections were analysed and presented in a form of Likert scales representing agreement disagreement with series of statements related to each of the sections above. Age - U21 – 4, 21-24 – 20, 25-29 – 11, 30-34 – 7, 35+ – 10 Gender - comparable to the general UEL population (60% females, 40% males) Ethnicity – 60% - WHITE, 40% BLACK (UEL population is different: 65% of students are from BAME backgrounds) Entry Qualifications - largest group progressed to HE with Level 3 qualifications – non traditional qualifications including Access Courses, BTEC and other level 3 qualifications we also have group of students who progressed to UEL with UG degrees - there were 15 students who participated in the scheme in 2018 who were PG students… Year of Study - 2 student were in 1st year of their UG degree, 15 in 2nd and 15 in 3rd , there were 15 students who were studying on PG courses. For small number of students who were studying part time it was not possible to determine the year of study at the time of internship.

Online survey 17/18 Interns’ learning gain – research skills Survey was split into 6 sections: Research Skills/ learning gain/supervisor- supervision/ research environment/ research infrastructure and career plans. I would like to here concentrate on the learning gain and research skills section: In this self reporting part of the survey which was conducted following completion of the scheme students indicate how beneficial in their opinion the scheme was: as you can see, students overwhelmingly self reported either gaining some or considerable experience and made some or considerable improvement in skills and understanding. Overall all students considered this experience beneficial, providing them with opportunity to interact with academic members of staff, they also felt part of a team within the school or department they worked in. Moving on to the survey results, this self reporting learning gain and research skills part of the survey which was conducted following completion of the scheme students indicate how beneficial in their opinion the scheme was. We have three level Likert scale with statements: didn’t develop or gained any experience in this area gain some experience gained considerable experience In relation to the learning gain and research skills students overwhelmingly self reported either gaining some or considerable experience in a number of statements presented on the chart. Overall all student considered this experience beneficial, providing them with opportunity to interact with academic members of staff, they also felt part of the team within the school or department they worked in.

Progression to postgraduate study Most importantly addressing the question set out in the title of our presentation: Can undergraduate research experiences widen participation to postgraduate study? We can only report on the students who either progressed to PG at UEL or who completed the DLHE survey. As you can see, almost 28% of students who took part in the Research Internship progressed to PG either at UEL or other Universities. Comparing this to the statistics reported in the work of Paul Wakelin according to which only about 12% of UG students progress to PG study makes this programme very much a success!

SUPERVISORS Why participate? – Altruistic or instrumental? Outputs Outcomes Developing the scheme

Concluding thoughts Research Monitor aspiration, application and attainment Policy Include postgraduates in Access & Participation Plans Practice Embed WP to PG Recognise that inequalities and barriers still persist

Questions and discussion

Contact details Anthony Hudson Email: a.hudson@uel.ac.uk Aga Spytkowska Email: a.spytkowska@uel.ac.uk Web: www.uel.ac.uk/continuum Blog: https://wideningparticipation.wordpress.com/