young people's perception and experiences of college.

Today I attended a SFC event on more choices, more chances at the City Chambers. This was an excellent event that give an opportunity to disseminate and discuss the current research findings on young people's perception and experiences of college.

The presentation from the event is available to download from this link.

What was interesting about this, was that the young people had carried out the research, after undergoing training and support. The research had been carried out by 35 researchers with 45 focus groups covering a wide range of programmes.

The research findings focused on 3 main areas: attraction, recruitment and retainment.

Attraction: the main attraction to college was the perception that it wasn't like school. It was felt to be less strict , you could have a laugh, make news friends, and get to do something you wanted to do. 83% of young people felt that college was better than they expected it to be.

However, the generic information that was available, via websites, careers offices etc. wasn't particularly good or helpful. 82% of young people felt that there should be more information about colleges available at school, particularly around range of courses, course content and financial support.

The main reasons that young people went to college was to get a job and a qualification, but there were a significant number who just didn't have anything else do do.

Suggested actions: colleges should be actively promoted through schools. This could be through 'college week' events, students from colleges going into to talk about college life, 'inspiring lecturers' going into schools, tasters on a range of subjects in college and in school. They also felt that a self-assessment questionnaire focusing on career choices would be really helpful prior to a careers or college course interview.

It was also recognised that many young people drop out of school early on, and need to be visited so that college options can be discussed. A personalised approach was seen a crucial for encouraging and motivating many young people.

Interestingly there was some discussion around colleges combining to create a 'make something of your life campaign'. There was a strong feeling that colleges should be promoting themselves collectively rather than investing heavily in individual marketing sections. Could savings be made this way ?

Recruitment: it was felt that many young people did not make informed choices about college courses. They had a very limited understanding, often applied late and therefore didn't actually get to do the course they wanted.

Barriers for young people included being lazy/couldn't be bothered, money problems, distance to travel, lack of confidence, looking after children, and a lack of motivation. It was recognised that some young people did not want to engage, and had got caught in a lifestyle dominated by TV, computer games and unmotivated friends. However, it was also recognised that maturity can come over time, and boredom, parental influence and friends can have a positive effect. For some people, having children was an incentive to get an education and a job.

There were particular difficulties around money, with an emphasis on not knowing what financial support you were entitled to, administrative problems, and a feeling that you would be better off receiving benefits.

For those who were interviewed early on , potential barriers were picked up quickly
and young people felt supported.

Recruitment could be improved by: knowing the options, more support throughout the application process, ensuring transport is not a barrier, better induction, opportunities to meet classmates and lecturers.

There should be more bridging opportunities between school and college (stepping stones) with some pre-course sessions, perhaps during the summer holidays, and pre-course team-building . It was also recognised that relationships needed to be built with the variety of agencies who support young people.

Retention: 40% of students considered dropping out due to boredom, no work to do, too easy, too repetitive, didn't enjoy the subject, the format didn't meet their expectations, financial difficulties, personal problems and they couldn't make friends.


One of the main reason young people stayed was their relationship with 'good' lecturers: enthusiastic, passionate, friendly, fun, could explain things in a different way, good at listening, didn't talk down to you, obviously loved their job. Young people felt involved in classes where there was practical work, banter, and where a variety of teaching methods were used, including group work and individual work. They didn't like being given the answers, work that wasn't challenging and lectures.

Another reason for staying was related to building and maintaining friendships. Positive group dynamics and friendship groups helped young people feel secure, while not being able to make friends, or falling out with people led to dropping out.

93% of young people felt that they knew where to go to get help, though it was recognised that support was given by a variety of formal and informal networks. The most important aspect of the support, was that the person should be approachable and easy to talk to.

To improve retention the young people identified the importance of using a self-assessment questionnaire at the beginning of the course, to identify any barriers to learning. This would enable support to be put in early on, while regular review meetings would give individual attention to the young person's progress. The use of peer support was regarded as crucial in improving retention.

Many issues were raised by this research, with some interesting and thought provoking suggestions being made by young people. Should there be a probationary period for lecturers new to teaching in colleges ? Should young people be involved in the recruitment of lecturers ? What kind of support do lecturers need to work effectively with young people ? What kind of CPD do lecturing staff need ?

The current thinking around the senior phase of Curriculum for Excellence suggests that we need to we need to take a holistic approach to teaching young people. Look out for Jerry's blog entry relating to Health and Well-being and 'food for thought' , coming soon.