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A survey of the foundation sector in terms of content and skills

A survey of the foundation sector in terms of content and skills. Mike Groves The University of Birmingham. Outline. What is a foundation? What’s online? What do we need to ask next?. Some personal experience. 2001-2 Reading College- An access to HE course in an EFL department

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A survey of the foundation sector in terms of content and skills

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  1. A survey of the foundation sector in terms of content and skills Mike Groves The University of Birmingham

  2. Outline What is a foundation? What’s online? What do we need to ask next?

  3. Some personal experience 2001-2 Reading College- An access to HE course in an EFL department 2007- Nottingham. CLIL, EAP, IT and quants 2009- Nottingham Malaysia. Disaparte courses . Some had 10/180 credits of English. Majority modules on a lecture/seminar model 2016- Birmingham. Heavy EAP, but flexible. Content modules held in colleges (faculties). Academic director non-EAP

  4. So- differences in • Ownership and position • Staffing • Balance of content and English • Diversity of students • Purpose?

  5. Observations It’’s a very diverse sector It’s a very lucrative sector It’s a very competitive sector It’s an under theorised sector

  6. Definitions of a foundation programme Owned and delivered by the university taking students Undergraduate preparation Involves some content at least- plays a bridging role in qualifications Aimed at International student market

  7. Method Web survey of all UK universities trying to see the balance of skills vs content Entry requirement also surveyed Any privatised, foundations disregarded Due to the bewildering array of course- this I focussed on 2 semester course leading to a business degree Note- Structure/ownership not always apparent. very mixed offering in terms of amount and quality of information available.

  8. Headline figures In house foundation 64 Private Foundation 29 No Foundation 26 Total 119 Courses with apparent structures etc- 48

  9. English language Entry requirement (some not easily apparent) IELTS 4.5 17 5 10 5.5 17 6 4 Grand Total 48

  10. Statistically speaking Correlations There was a significant correlation between the IELTS entry grade and the position in the Guardian League table (r=-0.626, p<0.001, n=48)

  11. Types of modules EAP- specifically about English language improvement Skills- about essay writing, presentation skills Project- Independent study Quantitative- Mathematical Skills Culture- Cultural awareness, normally British culture Content- Undergraduate type units

  12. Breakdown of modules by type and university ranking

  13. Statistically speaking There is a strong negative correlation between the university ranking and the amount of content (r=-0.518, p<0.01, n=48) and a strong positive correlation between the amount of EAP and the university ranking (r=0.333, p>0.05, n=48). The amount of quantitative methods is negatively correlated with the amount of EAP (r=-0.400, p=0.05, n=48)

  14. What does this mean? Some clear trends Content weighting at better unis

  15. Questions Is this a pragmatic move in order to deal most effectively with the profiles of students who step through the door, or a reflection more ideological move into market led competitiveness? Is there a move from foundations into their own departments? How much language improvement can genuinely be expected? Where does foundation sit in the minds of policymakers? Is the language of the publicity the language of recruitment, progression or education?

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