E COLOGICAL M ODEL

In this chapter a number of factors associated with understanding progression to HE have been discussed. To conclude it appears that all factors are of importance, however currently some factors such as motivation and self-esteem, are overlooked in the literature. Whilst contextual factors should be considered, a greater focus on psychological factors is required. It is this gap which this thesis aims to address. In depicting the complexity of understanding educational progression and how determining factors are intertwined, it is proposed that an ecological model is useful.

Ecology is a term that refers to the interrelations between organisms and their environment. An ecological approach demonstrates how the environment has a direct influence on behaviours as well as indirectly though factors such as self belief. It addresses the multiple levels of factors or systems that influence behaviour. Models based on an ecological approach are described to be comprehensive, multifaceted and dynamic. This is because there is no unified theory; it embraces a wide variety of theoretical approaches. In an ecological model all levels of influence are described, which differs from theories that focus on one or two factors of influence.

54 The philosophical underpinning of the ecological approach is the idea that behaviour does not occur within a vacuum. Urie Bronfenbrenner (1979) is one of the main contributors to the ecological approach. Bronfenbrenner's (1977) Ecological Systems Theory (EST) depicts the individual with its biological, cognitive, emotional and behavioural characteristics and the context with systems and times (Bronfenbrenner, 2005). The ecological approach has origins in several disciplines e.g. health psychology in health promotion, physical education and sex education. It has however not yet been applied to explain educational progression, but such an approach would explain the multiple levels of influence on the education system intrapersonal, socio-cultural and policy and how this impacts on the developing child; as described in this chapter.

The ecological perspective depicts the range of factors proximal and distal to the individual that potentially impact on educational progression. Educational progression is influenced by proximal factors, which explains those related to the student such as self-esteem and motivation and distal factors related to the school and community. Applying an ecological approach provides an understanding of the multiple levels which may influence educational progression. This model thus summarises the discussions in this chapter that educational progression is determined by interactions with the immediate environment (parents, peers, neighbourhood and school) and the wider society (economy and media). It is therefore important that further work is undertaken to explore the role of distal factors as this chapter has established that at present this is overlooked in the literature but is of great importance. This is the theoretical stance underpinning this thesis and will be referred to later on.

3.4C

The aim of the widening participation agenda is to widen access to HE, this was anticipated to be achieved through the removal of the barriers that are suggested to hinder educational progression. To date much of the literature focused on more visible barriers, which considering the disparities in participation rates persistent needed to be acknowledged but addressed. Labeling young people as disadvantaged or advantaged in terms of understanding progression to HE, ignores the individual variation in achievement (Jones, 2004).

55 Young people face a multitude of barriers to academic success; as described by the Bronfenbrenner's (1977) ecological model. At present much of the research focuses on contextual factors such as socio-economic status. However as will be discussed further in this project not all advantaged neighbourhoods have high participation rates in HE as well as not all most disadvantaged areas have low participation rates. Although socio-economic factors are important understanding participation and non- participation is complex.

Young people from disadvantaged backgrounds can in the face of adverse situations still achieve. This is due to individual characteristics that make them resilient to situations faced. This chapter addressed the need to focus on the individual which at present although mentioned was overlooked. To tackle the disparities in participation rates in HE there was value in exploring the impact of psychological constructs such as motivation, attitude, aspiration and self-esteem on educational decisions (Taylor and Trapp, 2010; Gorard, See and Davies, 2011).Young people's desire to continue their education is related to positive attitudes, adaptive attribution style resulting in high motivation levels, high levels of self-esteem and aspirations. Collectively these factors help explain how students achieve.

Progression to post- compulsory education is associated with several psychological factors that influence choices (Payne, 2003; Gorard, See and Davies, 2011). Exploration of psychological theories of individual differences, motivation, learning styles, confidence, aspiration levels were of importance to understand educational progression (Taylor and Trapp, 2010). A lack of confidence and self-esteem can have a sustained impact on attainment and levels of progression (HEFCE, 2010). Also a low level of self-esteem, motivation and negative attitude can result in a negative learner identify creating a downward spiral of disengagement (Payne, 2003).To tackle persistent differences in progression rates to HE these factor should be incorporated into any strategies used as part of the widening participation agenda.

To improve attainment levels, interventions need to help young people change these psychological constructs as mentioned whilst also being aware of the influence of contextual factors and significant others. In doing so young people are more likely to achieve at their GCSEs if they have greater belief about their own ability at school,

56 believe their actions can make a difference, value school and aspire toprogress to HE (Goodman and Gregg, 2010). An intervention that raises expectations of what they can achieve as well as providing practical solutions to help continue with education is needed.

The political focus of widening access to HE resulted in a significant amount of activity in ways to improve participation rates of under-represented groups. This chapter has identified key factors to understand educational progression that will offer practical steps in the widening participation agenda to improve the participation rates in HE, i.e. designing outreach activities. Outreach activities are strategies used in the widening participation agenda to raise the aspirations of young people to engage them with the idea of HE to increase progression rates. In using the knowledge of this chapter it can help to determine how best to address the disparities in participation rates through the use of outreach activities. The next chapter discusses the limitations of the design and evaluation of outreach activities based on conclusions of this chapter to inform how best to include the individual characteristics that can hinder educational progression (chapter five).

57

CHAPTER 4EVIDENCE-BASE OF OUTREACH ACTIVITIES

4.1C

S

The political focus on increasing the number of non-traditional students progressing to HE led to a plethora of outreach activities to address the under-representation of certain groups of young people inHE, including those from lower socio-economic backgrounds (Chilosi, Noble, Broadhead and Wilkinson, 2010).Although outreach activities are no longer facilitated by Aimhigher (see chapter two), they continue to be of importance in the current model of fair access to HE. Thus outreach activities are a potential strategy to tackle the disparities in participation rates in HE.When considering how to enhance the role of outreach activities to address the patterns of participation, it is useful to reflect back to Aimhigher. This chapter discusses the evidence-base of outreach activities, highlighting the limitations regarding the design and evaluation.