Lou Graham, Luke Graham & Anna Mountford-Zimdars
For further information contact Luke Graham l.graham@eceter.ac.uk
Forthcoming research funded by the University of Exeter’s Centre for Social Mobility small grants scheme shows relevant finding for Higher Education (HE) policy. The research explored the cultural and academic aspects of university student identity as a product of individual experiences of elective home education (EHE).
A ‘spectrum of reasons’ are offered for choosing to home educate (Adamson, 2021; Morton, 2010) with the decision tending not to be based on one factor but a ‘push-and-pull’ of balancing a best fit for individual children within family considerations (Fensham-Smith, 2017). EHE students in the study also had a high prevalence of neurodiversity, common with other studies of pupils who have left the mainstream school system, though these tend to be under-diagnosed as EHE pupils do not have access to the same support (Fisher, 2023).
While EHE students articulated evolved learning habits, such as the ability to work independently and creatively, the administrative and procedural aspects of accessing HE make it more difficult for EHE students to access higher education. It identified the limitations of university administrative, cultural, and academic structures to celebrate and utilise the potential of this group of highly self-aware and engaged students well-used to independent learning. These barriers include an inherent lack of visibility and perceived prejudice towards those following a non-traditional education pathway, or those with an alternative portfolio of academic experience.
Recommendations are made to work towards equalising access to HE for EHE young people. The overlapping recommendations from students who applied to university at different times over the past four years led to a clear set of suggestions for UCAS and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) which could reduce barriers to access and promote wellbeing for individual EHE students.
The application pathway was made difficult for EHE students, in a number of ways. There is no recognition of EHE in the UCAS application form, and it is functionally difficult for EHE pupils to enter their details, for example they tend to sit exams as external candidates at schools they don’t attend, and it is not possible to add this to the application form. They felt that the application process did not give them an opportunity to explain their atypical qualification portfolio.
HEIs do not have sufficient awareness or understanding of common and unique EHE student circumstances. EHE pupils have to bear the cost of their own exams (Wheeler, 2023) and so tend to sit fewer exams in series over several years. While some EHE pupils do return to post-16 main stream education, many do not. This makes the provision of predicted grades difficult, and many EHE students do not have access to the same applicant support as students in school, they do not receive feedback on their personal statement, and they do not have a teacher who can provide a traditional reference.
Collectively, participants requested a ‘WISE’ culture: a welcoming, informed and supportive admissions process, with EHE visibility. HEIs could do more to provide access support for EHE students and welcome them on applicant facing websites. The welcoming of EHE applicants could be improved by including a statement of inclusion and to promote students sharing their EHE status and including peer stories of successful EHE students at university to provide motivation and inspiration. This would help to overcome the paucity of information for EHE students about the application process. We recommend that HEIs provide information aimed at EHE students that gives a contact to ask specific EHE applicant questions. This should include explicit information relating to standard requirements e.g., practical science endorsements and speaking tests at A level and GCSE. Guidance on how to complete the UCAS form, manage predicted grades, and how to frame a personal statement and academic reference would be a valuable addition to the IAG offered to EHE applicants. Further guidance on how EHE students can identify themselves on their application and reassurance that this will not be detrimental to their chances of being successful would help to raise the EHE visibility and make EHE students more welcome.
Further consideration is required for additional ways to support those EHE young people who have not been able to overcome the barriers to HE due to lack of information, lack of support, ill-health or pandemic restrictions (Atkinson et al., 2007). Where young people have missed moving on through the set educational timeline of qualifications, despite being academically able to achieve a place at university, further accommodations are required to allow these young people to succeed requires exploration and understanding to inform post-16 providers and HE institutions.
Adamson, C. (2021). Stepping out of the System? A grounded theory on how parents consider becoming home or alternative educators. British Journal of Educational Studies, 1-23.
Atkinson, M., Martin, K., Downing, D., Harland, J., Kendall, S., & White, R. (2007). Support for Children Who Are Educated at Home. ERIC
Fensham-Smith, A. (2017). New technologies, knowledge, networks and communities in home-education Cardiff University].
Fisher, N. (2023). A Different Way to Learn: Neurodiversity and Self-directed Education. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Morton, R. (2010). Home education: Constructions of choice. International electronic journal of elementary education, 3(1), 45-56.
Wheeler, L. (2023). Widening access for home-educated applicants to higher education institutions in England. Int. J. Educ. Life Transit, 2, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.5334/ijelt.54