Feeney, Angela
(2019)
Habitus is a fate not a destiny:
A Study of Student Completion
In First Year at an Irish Institute of Technology.
PhD thesis, National University of Ireland Maynooth.
Abstract
Having worked in The Institute of Technology sector for decades as both lecturer and
faculty manager, the quality of the student experience has always been of prime
interest to the researcher, particularly with regard to student success and retention.
This research examines student completion among first year students including those
who enter from access schools in socio-economically disadvantaged areas. The study
took place over a five year period, 2009-2014 and was carried out through surveys,
interviews and an online diary that involved mainly first year students including,
students who had withdrawn from programmes, as well as academic and
administrative staff. The research sought to capture the student voice primarily but
also the perspective of lecturers and administrative support staff involved with year
one students. Within the binary system that exists in the Irish Higher Education
system the Institutes of Technology have always struggled against public perceptions
of being of ‘lesser value’, that students who study in the Institutes of Technology are
‘weaker’ academically, have lower CAO points on entry and have ‘failed’ to enter the
traditional university. Using Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of habitus the research also
examines the perspectives of academic and support staff on year one completion
among this cohort of students. The findings show that completion rates are higher in
year one for those students entering ITT from the access schools than from non-access
schools. It also finds that there is an association between CAO points on entry and
levels of successful completion in year one. The findings also reveal that habitus does
have a significant impact on the cohort of students and the students’ quality of
experience in year one. There is a notable gap between the perceptions of staff and the
students’ reality in year one.
| Item Type: |
Thesis
(PhD)
|
| Keywords: |
Habitus; fate; destiny; Study; Student Completion;
First Year; Irish Institute of Technology; |
| Academic Unit: |
Faculty of Social Sciences > Education |
| Item ID: |
13582 |
| Depositing User: |
IR eTheses
|
| Date Deposited: |
16 Nov 2020 15:12 |
| URI: |
|
| Use Licence: |
This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available
here |
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