“Widening Participation”? An analysis of a short University based programme

Abstract

This short report outlines small scale research undertaken within the context of current Widening Participation (WP) practice at Staffordshire University. The focus of this work investigated the effectiveness of a specific approach designed to enable learner opportunities within Higher Education (HE). The data obtained allowed insight into the level of preparation for Undergraduate (UG) level study being provided within this type of programme. The findings of this study have directly informed aspects of current practice particularly in terms of developing problem solving skills.