A study of non-completion in dual sector further education in Northern Ireland.

Authors

  • Breda Mc Taggart Insitute of Technology, Sligo

Keywords:

dual-sector, higher education, hot knowledge, retention, social, cultural, and economic capital.

Abstract

Purpose

The paper deals with an empirical question in the under-researched area of student retention in higher education in Northern Ireland; specifically, it explores the barriers to learning and programme completion that full-time higher education students encountered in a specific dual-sector further and higher education college in Northern Ireland from the perspective of ten withdrawn students .

Research Design

Data was gathered with the support of interpretive paradigm and analyzed with the grounded theory method of data analysis.

Findings

On the basis of this analysis, barriers to learning were identified to illustrate students non-completion of studies within the case institution and, in doing so, the theories of hot knowledge, capitals and habitus were explored, modified and added to in the context of this study. However, these barriers in isolation did not lead students to withdraw, it is only when barriers combined that the desire to withdraw was outweighed by the decision to complete.

Contribution to the Field

This subject area of student retention is poorly investigated in an environment which has a long history of conflict, with a legacy of high unemployment and significant poverty. This study will form the foundation blocks and commence a body of knowledge on student non-completion in dual-sector further and higher education institutions in Northern Ireland. Furthermore, this study adds to both national and international knowledge on the barriers to completion which students encounter as members of a dual-sector educational system.

Author Biography

Breda Mc Taggart, Insitute of Technology, Sligo

Breda is a lecturer in Social Sciences in IT Sligo. Her research interests are education and its relationship to improved life outcomes for society members. Her doctorate thesis focused on recruitment, retention and attainment of students within the higher education system. Her current research activities and interests remain in this field, where she is exploring the space and place of education and the challenges to learning within these spaces.

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Published

2014-06-30

Issue

Section

Research Articles