School pupil and staff responses to a university careers programme

Description

Our study considers school pupil and staff responses to a university outreach and careers programme, which forms a key element of an ongoing partnership between a south coast university and several local secondary schools.

Specifically, our research focuses on university campus visit events for Year 10 pupils. These annual events offer insights into degree subjects and careers within both the creative and STEM industries. The programme also provides content on career pathways, employability skills and student finance.

Kitching and Hulme (2013) note that the transition from school to university is an exciting one, but one that also generates considerable challenges. Their study therefore recommends further collaborative working between schools, colleges and HE institutions to encourage a smoother process. Studies also indicate that such partnerships are positive for school practitioners (Devia et al, 2014; Polly, 2022) and can be further developed over time to embed research activity in schools (Burn et al, 2020).

Although our literature review includes many studies referring to university-school partnerships for STEM or creative subjects in the UK, there appears to be little research on partnerships that combine both disciplines. Our approach therefore aligns with the combined ‘STEAM’ approach to curricula, which advocates for the incorporation of creative subjects alongside science, technology, engineering and maths (Taylor and Taylor, 2018; Wade-Leeuwen, Vovers and Silk, 2018; Perales and Aróstegui, 2021).

Our study incorporates three broad research areas around participant perceptions, regarding the impact of the events on pupils’ and teachers’ (1) confidence in discussing university study and career options (2) attitudes towards university study and (3) consideration of career pathways in both the creative and STEM industries.

The study therefore considers both the intrinsic and external influences that impact pupil and staff perceptions of university study and career choice. It considers aspects such as career transitions, employment prospects and financial considerations.

The project involves three schools on the south coast of England, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative methods. Survey data was collected from pupils and staff during the campus visit days at the university, with surveys completed both before and after the event (thus showing what impact the sessions may have had on perceptions of university study and career options). Around a week after the event, semi-structured interviews were conducted on site at the three participating schools, in order to gain detailed insights into both pupil and staff perceptions.

Preliminary findings from our dataset provide an indication of how pupils and staff perceive the relationships between schools, universities and employers. Particularly notable are the participants’ significant financial concerns regarding university study, suggesting that this may be a considerable barrier to study for many. However, higher education is still generally considered to offer a holistic experience with the potential to broaden one’s career prospects.

Secondly, our findings demonstrate the important role played by school-university partnerships in both informing pupils of course options and introducing employability discussions. Finally, although the enjoyment of both creative and STEM subjects was broadly shared amongst pupil participants, further study of STEM appears to be dominant in pupils’ perceptions of what is required for a secure and sustainable career.

Our findings therefore suggest that schools, universities and employers can work together to co-create high-quality educational and career opportunities for school pupils and staff. Furthermore, the research responds to the UK government’s encouragement of strengthening partnerships between schools and universities (Department of Education, 2022).

Our study thus has relevance for educational institutions, employers and policymakers, also contributing to the global academic literature on school-university partnerships.

Period	27 Jun 2024
Held at	Solent University, United Kingdom
Degree of Recognition	Local