Considering the impact of Further and Higher Education tutor imaginings of BTEC learners upon student learner identities

Ernsting, Freya ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0133-0621 (2022) Considering the impact of Further and Higher Education tutor imaginings of BTEC learners upon student learner identities. Research Report. Society for Research into Higher Education.

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Abstract

It is acknowledged BTEC learners have less success within HE; however, data on progression and award gaps tends towards the quantitative, limiting the narrative and reasoning behind this picture. This research addresses the shortage of qualitative data, illuminating the ways BTEC students are differently imagined and supported within FE and HE, considering how these perceptions shape students’ own emerging sense of self and belonging as learners within HE. This was achieved through a multi-method qualitative approach, synthesising data from students’ own lived experiences and the perceptions of academic staff working in further and higher education, from a Business and Law School context. Key findings included: • Tutors from both further and higher education shared perceptions of the strengths and challenges of students pursuing or entering University with BTEC qualifications. • In HE, awareness of these strengths and challenges are responded to through development of general and tailored support, and sharing experiences with students. • Students recognise a reduction in the level of one-to-one academic support in HE, but similarities were located in personal tutor support. • Students placed value upon the wider network of support within HE, going beyond academic support. • Tutors from both environments perceived a greater challenge for student transition in the expectations of developing as an independent learner within HE. • Students found greater challenge in adapting to the social element of university than the academic side. • Students acknowledged the support received in HE was crucial in their transition into university, cementing their decision to pursue HE and developing a sense of learner identity and belonging. • The stigma of BTEC qualifications reduced self-confidence amongst the student participants, with greater impact before starting university.