This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Smith, K. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

School to University

An Investigation into the Experience of First-Year Students of English at British Universities

College of West Anglia, King’s Lynn, UKksmith{at}col-westanglia.ac.uk

This article continues the debate about the transition from school to university begun in the international forum in volume 2(1) of this journal and developed in the thoughtful response from Michael Marland in volume 2(2). It examines some of the many points made there in relation to students’ own views. Interested colleagues at different institutions were invited to issue a short questionnaire to first-year undergraduates studying English, to discover how well prepared they felt for specified aspects of this transition. Some of the outcomes have discipline-specific implications, but others may be applied more widely. The article focuses on students’ responses to the different teaching methods used, the amount of reading required of them, and essay writing. It identifies areas where the transition is fairly smooth, but highlights others where student responses suggest that all those involved, including policy makers and politicians, need to rethink.

Key Words: access • English • higher education • preparedness • quality education • teaching methods • transition

Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, Vol. 3, No. 1, 81-93 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/1474022204039646


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. Winterson and M. Russ Understanding the Transition from School to University in Music and Music Technology Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, October 1, 2009; 8(3): 339 - 354. [Abstract] [PDF]

				B. Lister Latin in Transition Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, June 1, 2009; 8(2): 191 - 200. [Abstract] [PDF]

				A. Green A Desk and a Pile of Books: Considering Independent Study Pedagogy, October 1, 2007; 7(3): 427 - 452. [PDF]

				A. Green University Challenge: Dynamic subject knowledge, teaching and transition Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, October 1, 2006; 5(3): 275 - 290. [Abstract] [PDF]

				C. Atherton A-level English Literature and the Problem of Transition Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, February 1, 2006; 5(1): 65 - 76. [Abstract] [PDF]

				K. Smith and C. Hopkins Great Expectations: Sixth-formers' perceptions of teaching and learning in degree-level English Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, October 1, 2005; 4(3): 304 - 318. [Abstract] [PDF]