Validating the Information and Identifying the Gaps

It is difficult for students who are first generation HE attenders to obtain full

information and to validate its accuracy so they often lack the same level of guidance as students from families who traditionally attend university (Davies et al, 2008). Unfortunately this means students can make mistakes in their pursuit of HE as a result of poor IAG or because they do not question the validity of the information they are given and its relevance to their decisions (Gorard and Rees, 2002; Moogan, 2011 and Slack et al, 2012).

Moogan (2011), suggests mistakes are a result of information that is limited,

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of information relating to the wider benefits of the university experience further disadvantages the decision-making process.

One of the biggest gaps in information, identified by those from non-traditional backgrounds, was financial information and the benefits HE study offered in relation to employment opportunities, income and the wider experience of HE study (Connor and Dewson, 2001). They suggest that as a result institutions were chosen mainly for reasons of cost particularly in relation to cost of living and ability to live at home. Amongst those who had not considered attending university, there has been reported considerable confusion about the costs of HE. This has included what fees and cost of living expenses include, so that outgoings such as books were not widely

considered. Some were unaware even that fees needed to be paid and many seriously underestimated the cost. Although unclear of what the costs were these potential students still had an aversion to entering HE because they perceived it would result in debt (Hutchings and Archer, 2010). Most participants in their study, looking at non-participants in HE, felt that in order to make ends meet they would need to work throughout their time in HE and they would still struggle and finish with debts.

WP school children aged 11-16 in Moogan’s (2011) case study identified the school careers service as lacking but also viewed it as a potential source of good

information had they had access to it. They also suggested teachers with their first- hand experience could tell them more about their own experiences. Careers

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advisor. There has been much change in the delivery of careers guidance but students still perceive it to be poor.

One of the challenges is everyone’s experience is different based on their background and as such careers guidance needs to be individualised and

assumptions can not be made. Added to this is the scenario that even after pupils appear to have made a decision about the career path they would like to follow this is rarely set in stone and so one session of guidance and rigid planning is not an

effective approach (Hayton and Paczuska, 2002). They go on to suggest that without a family history of HE students from a WP background need a philosophy of post- compulsory education embedding throughout their compulsory schooling.

The students in Moogan’s study (2011) were critical of school events aimed at WP suggesting these were geared to the high achievers and the rest were dragged around open days. The author’s own experience of hosting events in university for schools and colleges has been one of school pupils who already intended to attend university and were often clear about their subject choice being invited by their school to attend. The result was disengagement from any of the activities presented to them that were not related to the subject area they had already identified. One potential student at such an event said she did not know why she was there as she wanted to do dentistry, which was not on offer at WP University. Another pupil commented that the teachers treated it as a ‘jolly’ so why shouldn’t they. The

teachers had, as in previous years, all disappeared off to one of the coffee shops on campus as soon as their charges were in the lecture theatre, missing an opportunity to engage and encourage their pupils as well as to learn more about what the

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Hayton and Paczuska (2002) are very positive about such events but are clear that they should be to the benefit of students, facilitating their entry to HE and built on a strong relationship between schools, colleges and the university sector targeting those who may not otherwise have considered university.

2.4.4 ‘Hot’, ‘Warm’ or ‘Cold’ IAG

The different sources of IAG have been categorised as ‘Hot’ or ‘Cold’ (Ball and Vincent, 1998) and building on this students have been described as ‘Contingent’ or ‘Embedded’ in the way they choose their HE (Ball et al, 2002b). ‘Embedded’

choosers they suggest have the luxury of a wide range of their family and friends network having first-hand experience of university to share. They are therefore able to base their choice on ‘hot’ knowledge from these sources along with ‘cold’

knowledge, which Hutchings (2003) argues, that as a result of their middle-class identity, they are more able to effectively assimilate. ‘Contingent’ choosers,

conversely, they suggest rely on a small number of exposures to ‘hot’ knowledge but are more reliant on ‘cold’ knowledge from prospectuses, websites and other literature because they have fewer direct links to those with first-hand HE experience. Smith (2011) also suggests those from lower socio-economic groups are less able to assimilate the ‘cold’ information and require assistance from those with HE experience to make sense of it.

Slack et al (2012), build on the work of (Ball and Vincent, 1998) around ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ knowledge in relation to parents selecting secondary schools and also Hutchings, (2003) to examine the way prospective HE students from different

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backgrounds use IAG. ‘Hot’ knowledge was initially described as the use of social networks to give first or second hand recommendations based on direct experience. Slack et al (2012), expanded this to be knowledge gained from the grapevine but perhaps where the links to that person were more tenuous than the clear family and social groups Ball and Vincent (1998) and Hutchings (2003) referred to, and they labelled this ‘warm’ knowledge. ‘Cold’ knowledge was that gleaned by researching the literature from prospectuses to web sites. Both Ball and Vincent and Hutchings identified that students perceived the ‘hot’ knowledge to be more trustworthy. The value of ‘cold’ knowledge to supplement ‘hot’ knowledge and therefore assist young people in informed decision-making has been recognised, the challenge is to help students understand this and critically evaluate that information (Smith, 2011; Slack et al, 2012).

2.4.5 Implications

The literature suggets that although IAG has a high profile in WP policy the evidence base to support this is limited. If, as the literature suggests, WP students are at the best ambivalent to IAG, a considerable amount of time and money has been wasted in recent years. What the research appears to be suggesting is a need to support WP students to understand the available choices and their implications.

The literature also indicates students need to be given the skills to assimilate the IAG already available to them. Perhaps then IAG could have a more meaningful impact on students making the most appropriate choice. Understanding how IAG is

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to decode it will, as other authors (Smith, 2011; Slack et al 2012; Moogan, 2011) have identified, help students make the right decisions at the right time.

Classification of the different types of IAG as ‘hot’, ‘warm’ or ‘cold’ is a useful starting point as a framework to help explain the findings of the study in relation to IAG and to better understand its use by prospective students. Understanding how it is used now is important for those in leadership positions to determine what is needed for the future.