13-3-2014 Attitude toward honors education
Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen, the Netherlands
• Practically-oriented education – more than 25.000 students
• 70 bachelor and 14 master programs
• Applied research by 304 professors, teachers and PhD's and
929 students
• Spearheads: Energy & Healthy Ageing
• Themes: Entrepeneurship & Honors education
Professorship Talent Development in Higher Education and Society by dr. Marca Wolfensberger
Judith J.M. Volker Msc.
Lammert Tiesinga Msc. Dr. Marca Wolfensberger
Ambition Dutch government and business:
In 2014, ten percent of all higher education students have to
participate in a program that promotes excellence. A culture of challenge, performance and capacity has to be established by 2025 (Ministry of Education, 2012).
But what does a ‘culture of challenge, performance and capacity’ a.k.a. ‘ambitious study culture’ or ‘culture of excellence’ look like?
13-3-2014 Attitude toward honors education
Culture of excellence
Waiting for a mind shift
‘Just act normal, that’s grazy enough’ ‘Don’t stand out from the herd’
‘Why work hard, with a minimal result of a ‘six’ you also pass’ ‘Teach to the test’
13-3-2014 Attitude toward honors education
Opinion of students about excellence and exceeding
• Few studies who investigate the differences between honors and non-honors students (Randall & Copeland, 1986; Randall, Salzwedel, Cribbs & Sedlack, 1990) and the reasons why students decide to participate in an honors program or not (Rinn & Plucker, 2004).
• Research by Platform Béta Techniek, YoungWorks and Motivaction (2011) shows an insight in the opinion of students about academic merit.
13-3-2014 Attitude toward honors education
Four different types of attitude toward exceeding:
1. Self-assured generalists 39%
Wide range of interest, clear idea of abilities and future achievement, broad interpretation of excellence, mainly positive about it.
2. Easygoing fun-lovers 34%
Satisfied with their lives and not worrying about the future, school and studies aren’t that important, mediocre grades are enough and the good job will come one day.
3. Compliant followers 16%
Attached to environment and don’t like to step out the comfort zone, don’t look for challenges, afraid for negative consequences of excellence.
4. Ambitious status seekers 11%
Clear idea of the future and performs well to be guaranteed successful, competitive by nature, like to work hard, money and prestige are important motivators.
School culture
‘a set of variable, loosely organized systems of meanings (e.g., beliefs, values, goals) that organize group members’
perceptions, behaviors, and interpersonal processes (e.g., expectations, social norms, communications styles) within the particular ecocultural niche of the school (i.e., the cultural and ecological context in which people in the school community live out their daily lives)’ (Hudley & Daoud, 2008, p. 188).
13-3-2014 Attitude toward honors education
Study culture
A discipline of study forms a sub-environment on its own: not only focussing on someone’s interest in a certain subject but also the type of students that are being attracted (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991).
Explorative research Social Studies Hanze UAS Groningen 2012
How do students of the School of Social Studies of the Hanze University of Applied Sciences appreciate the opportunity to exceed in education by participating in honors programs?
Population: All fulltime students of the School of Social Studies (N=1918)
Research group: 100 students (5,2%), unequally distributed (participation in honors programs, gender and study).
13-3-2014 Attitude toward honors education
Instrument:
• A digital survey containing 49 opinion items on a five point scale and background variables (gender, age, study, year of study, average grade, earlier schooling, average grade at the final exams and activities besides school).
• The survey was based on the research of the Platform Béta Techniek, YoungWorks and Motivaction (2011) and literature in combination with the honors programs of the School of Social Studies.
Conclusions part I:
1. The most important reason to participate in honors programs is to get a better chance in the employment market. Finding enough challenge in the regular curriculum counts as most important reason to not participate.
2. The attitude toward honors programs is related to whether a student has concrete plans to participate in a certain program.
13-3-2014 Attitude toward honors education
Conclusions part II
Based on cluster analysis a division into four clear categories of students regarding their attitude toward exceeding in education, similar to The Excellence Model, can not be made at the School of Social Studies.
Further research
Based on interviews with management, teachers and students a (kwantitative) survey will be designed to determine school cultures inside Hanze University of Applied Sciences.
Insight in different school cultures and learning
environments
13-3-2014 Attitude toward honors education
References
Hudley, C. & Daoud, A.M. (2008). Cultures in contrast. Understanding the influence of school culture on student engagement. In C. Hudley & A.E. Gottfried, Academic motivation and the culture of school in childhood and
adolescence. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Ministry of Education (2011). Kwaliteit in verscheidenheid. Strategische Agenda Hoger Onderwijs,Onderzoek en
Wetenschap. The Hague: Ministry of Education.
Pascarella, E.T. & Terenzini, P.T. (1991). How college affects students. Findings and
insights From twenty years of research. San Fransisco/Oxford: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Platform Bèta Techniek, Youngworks & Motivaction (2011). Het Excellentiemodel. Jongeren over uitblinken. Amsterdam: YoungWorks.
Rinn, A.N. & Plucker, J.A. (2004). We recruit them, but then what? The educational and psychological experiences of academically talented undergraduates. Gifted ChildQuarterly, 48, 54-67.
Randall, C. & Copeland, S. (1986). Are honors students different? Forum for Honors, 17, 46-52.
Randall, C.J., Salszwedel, K.D, Cribbs, H.L. & Sedlack, R.G. (1990). Honors students as “prometheans”. Forum for Honors, 20, 29-34.
Wolfensberger, M.V.C. (2012). Teaching for Excellence. Honors Pedagogies Revealed. Waxmann, Münster, New York, München, Berlin.
Judith Volker Msc.
j.j.m.volker@pl.hanze.nl
Lammert Tiesinga Msc.
