An investigation of school pupil and staff responses to a university careers programme

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).
Through the Solent University’s Access and Widening Participation (AWP) team, Solent University has established a number of partnerships over the years, however, the effectiveness of these school programmes to date has never been fully investigated. The study will incorporate three broad research areas around participant perceptions, regarding the impact of the events on pupils’ and teachers’ (1) confidence levels (2) attitudes towards university study and (3) consideration of career pathways in both the creative and STEM industries.
The aim of this research project is therefore to collect and analyse primary data from a sample of pupils and staff members at three participating local schools, hence helping to assess the programmes held to date to inform future interventions while also adding to the global academic literature on school-university partnerships.