School of Education

Bachelor of Education Pathway to Success Participatory Action Research Pilot Project

This is a one-year Higher Education Participation Program (HEPPP) funded project. The project involves 30 students from communities identified as low socio-economic who have self-selected to participate in the program. The project involves two parts:

  1. Intensive one-to-one support with the Pathway to Success Coordinator, to identify challenges and develop strategies to overcome them;
  2. A "Participatory Action Research" (PAR) project coordinated by the Research Assistant. PAR involves an 'action research loop' where participants submit reflective journals about key themes, and meet as a group to identify themes for action. Rather than being passive subjects of an intervention designed to 'help' them, the student participants are active members of a reflective research team.

The research team will address the following research questions:

  • What does a student-centred retention intervention which address the challenges faced by low SES students 'look like?'
  • What strategies for future retention interventions/initiatives which best support and empower low SES students within the Bachelor of Education program (with transferability to other School and university settings) would be most effective?

The project's success will be measured by:

  1. Rates of attrition for participating students;
  2. Identification and implementation of strategies at the program and Faculty level which addresses themes raised by participants.

The Pathway to Success Participatory Action Research Pilot Project is running from March, 2015 to December, 2015. The staff involved with this project are Margaret Stewart, Mika Pediaditis, Adele Echter-Baltrunas, Karen Felstead, Dr Bruce Schmidt, Dr Peter Sellings, Dr Rob David and Dr Christina Sadowski. This project aligns with Priority 3 in the Student Retention and Success Strategic Plan 2015-2017. For more information on this particular project, please contact former Associate Dean, Student Retention and Success, Dr Christina Sadowski.

If you would like to contribute to the School of Education's examples of effective practice, please contact Associate Dean Teaching and Quality, Jenene Burke , or Initiative Coordinator Kim Ferguson .