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Staging Transformations: What role does learner identity play in FE students’ decisions about progression to higher education?

McConnell, Paul (2024) Staging Transformations: What role does learner identity play in FE students’ decisions about progression to higher education? Masters thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate how learner identity factors into the decisions of Further Education (FE) graduates as to whether or not to progress to Higher Education. Broad literature suggests that the learner identity plays a significant role in academic trajectories. However, little to date has been written on how a student’s learner identity informs the decisions around academic progression post FE. The study, rooted in Interpretivist Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), involved semi-structured interviews with six participants, all of whom had attended FE on the island of Ireland in the last seven years. In addition to the primary research question, several branching questions emerged, specifically around how the learner identity affects the progression decision, and the factors informing it. These questions were: 1) How do previous educational experiences influence the learner identity? 2) How do the contextual factors of one’s life affect the learner identity? The research identified three superordinate themes. These were the impact of previous educational experiences on the learner identity, the role of educational transitions in the learner identity, and the contextual factors informing the learner identity. Among these, several subordinate themes emerged. These included the influence of social relationships, the fluidity of the learner identity and the role of meaning making and interpretation in informing the learner identity.

Item Type: Thesis (Masters)
Supervisors:
Name
Email
Emmett, Yvonne
UNSPECIFIED
Uncontrolled Keywords: Learner identity; Educational transitions; Higher Education progression; Further Education; Educational decision making
Subjects: L Education > L Education (General)
L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB2300 Higher Education
L Education > LC Special aspects / Types of education > LC5201 Education extension. Adult education. Continuing education
Divisions: Centre for Education and Lifelong Learning > Master of Arts in Educational Practice
Depositing User: Tamara Malone
Date Deposited: 26 Nov 2024 14:46
Last Modified: 26 Nov 2024 14:46
URI: https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/7202

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