Male Retention & Engagement

Ed Foster – NTU & Ruth Lefever Bradford University

INTERVIEW WITH LISA

“… I thought it would be one big party, I heard that you didn’t have to do any work until the last year – it was party time … To begin with it was a party – but when the work started to come I was still partying so I got behind. In the end, I never really managed to catch up.”

(Ozga & Sukhnandan, 1998, pg 321)

Unite Student Living Report (2003)

• Male spending per week

• Alcohol–£29.90

• Food–£29.90

• Female spending per week

• Alcohol–£20.30

• Food–£26.80

Workshop Structure

• Introduce HERE Project

• Impact of doubting on student retention

• Differences in male and female behaviour and approaches to learning at University

The HERE Project

The HERE Project

• Part of the ‘What Works?’ Student Retention & Success Programme – Funded by HEFCE & PHF– Supported by HEA & AonA

• Joint Project – NTU– Bournemouth– Bradford

• Goals– Strand A: Doubters

• Why don’t all doubters leave?• What can we learn from doubters who stay at University?

– Strand B: Programmes• Despite entry qualifications being a very strong predictor of retention, ostensibly similar

programmes often have very different rates of retention• Why?• What can we learn from successful programmes?

Strand A: What impact does doubting have on retention?• Doubting

• Relatively high number of doubters in studies• 21% (Rickinson & Rutherford, 1995)• 42% (Ozga & Sukhnandan, 1998)• Yorke & Longden (2008)

– 40% of first year students with little or no prior knowledge of their programme– 25% of those who were better informed

• Sodexo 2010 – 39% of students considered withdrawing – (Interesting to note that grows as students progress)

» Higher proportion of female doubters than males» 32% compared to 27% (no it doesn’t make sense to me either)

• UK Retention Rates– 10% progression to year 2

HERE Project Research

• Student Transitions Survey

• March – May 2009– Using NTU data – 2 stages

• Initial responses – 656 respondents (9% of first year)• Students granted permission to track progress – 373 respondents

Core Issues

– Have you considered withdrawing (leaving) at any point during your first year at NTU?

– Please tell us what made you consider leaving NTU?– If yes - What has helped you decide to stay at NTU?

– Asked students to measure their experience against 17 factors– (for example – “I have enthusiastic lecturers”)

• How important? (1-5)• How positive has the experience been (1-5)

Non-Doubters

• Non-Doubters – 63% of first years had not considered withdrawing

• Factors associated with non-doubting

1. Positive academic experience • Interesting link between confidence about coping with academic pressures and feedback

2. Positive experience of social support & future goals

3. Positive experience of student life

4. Gender

Doubters (37% of sample)

• 37% of sample expressed doubts

Reasons why Doubters Stay

Reasons why Student Doubters stay at University

HERE Project March - May 2009 NTU data 198 responses from 171 first year respondents

55

3428 27

24

14

7 63

0

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Are Doubters more likely to become Leavers?

Yes

Well, certainly in the first year and amongst the respondents to the survey at our institution

Leavers

• Tested in December 2009

• 373 students gave us permission to follow their progress

• Of these:

Non Doubters Doubters

235 138

Students who failed to progress

4 (2%) 12 (9%)

Doubting by Gender

“I don't like the course, and I don't feel its going to get any better over the next 2 years. This type of learning isn't for me, I need hands on learning so I feel like I am actually learning something and doing something useful. I don’t feel that I have learnt a single thing this year.”

Female student doubter

Doubting by gender

• Male respondents appear less likely to doubt

• In our larger survey 41% of female students expressed doubts, against 31% of male students

• I’m going to use the statistics gathered from those (373) students who gave us permission to track their progress

• 234 female students: 91 doubters – 39%

• 139 male students: 47 doubters – 34%– Therefore appears to contain more worried male students

Retention

Group Gender Withdrawals Percentage of withdrawals

Non-Doubters (235) Female 143 3 2%

Male 92 1 1%

Doubters (138) Female 91 5 6%

Male 47 7 15%

But appear more likely to actually withdraw

Differences in experience

• 17 factors

• Each rated on a Likert scale (1-5)

• Researcher identified three groups closely linked– Academic experience– Support & goals– Student Lifestyle

Female Male % difference

How much have you enjoyed your course so far?

(percentage responding 4/5 out of 5)

72% 66% - 6%

294 from 406 female students165 from 250 male students

Academic Experience

Female Male % difference

My subject is interesting

92% 88% - 4%

The feedback I receive about my work is useful

84% 76% - 8%

I feel confident that I can cope with my studies

83% 80% - 3%

Scale indicates percentage of students rating their response 4 or 5 out of 5 (‘Agree’ & ‘Agree very much’)

Support & Goals

Female Male % difference

My fellow students are supportive

70% 65% - 5%

My family is supportive

87% 79% -8%

Completing my degree will help me achieve future goals

89% 88% - 1%

Scale indicates percentage of students rating their response 4 or 5 out of 5 (‘Agree’ & ‘Agree very much’)

Student Lifestyle

Female Male % difference

I like the house/ flat/ halls that I am living in

77% 70% - 7%

I have an enjoyable social life

73% 73% 0%

I am confident that I will have enough money to complete my course

76% 71% - 5%

Scale indicates percentage of students rating their response 4 or 5 out of 5 (‘Agree’ & ‘Agree very much’)

Other Factors

Degree Classification Goals

% of students aiming for first class grades

Female responses

Male responses

% difference

When you graduate?

54% 54% 0%

By the end of the year?

26% 29% +3%

Scale indicates percentage of students rating their response 4 or 5 out of 5 (‘Agree’ & ‘Agree very much’)

Difficulty

Female Students

Male respondents

Percentage difference

How difficult have you found your studies so far this year?

35% 31% -4%

How hard have you worked so far this year?

62% 44% -18%

Scale indicates percentage of students rating their response 4 or 5 out of 5 (‘hard’ & ‘very hard’)

Priorities

Female responses

Male responses

Percentage difference

My academic studies 80% 62% -18%

Family 52% 36% -16%

Social life at University

49% 48% -1%

Friends from home 33% 27% -6%

Part-time work 25% 20% -5%

Volunteering and other community activities

13% 8% -5%

Scale indicates percentage of students rating their response 4 or 5 out of 5 (‘Agree’ & ‘Agree very much’)

Personal Tutor

Female Responses

Male Responses

Percentage difference

Do you have a personal tutor?

57% 46% 11%

NB – our research does not suggest that the presence personal tutors make a positive difference on doubting

Reasons male students cited for staying

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33 responses from the 47 male doubters

Walking off a cliff?

• Similar outlooks– Social life equally enjoyable– Academic goals are broadly the same (degree classification)

• But engagement is different in key areas– Males appear to have less valuable feedback– Also marginally less confident– Claim to be finding studies less difficult– Apparently working significantly less hard– Apparently less likely to have a personal tutor

– In life factors males appear more disengaged from everything

Self awareness

Discussion activities

• It appears that male students are having difficulty engaging in learning process

• What can be done to help male students engage with feedback?

• What tactics might work to help male students work ‘harder’?

• If male students apparently find their studies easier, why are they apparently less confident that they are going to cope? And how do we help them engage better?