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Mature Students (mature + student)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	100%

Selected Abstracts

Comparison of academic, application form and social factors in predicting early performance on the medical course

MEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 9 2004
Andrew B Lumb
Objectives, To compare the relative importance of social, academic and application form factors at admission in predicting performance in the first 3 years of a medicine course. Design, Retrospective cohort study. Setting, A single UK medical school. Participants, A total of 738 students who entered medical school between 1994 and 1997. Main outcome measure, Performance in Year 3 objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). Results, School-leaving grades were significant predictors of success in the OSCE. Non-academic activities as assessed from the application form were associated with poorer performance. Mature students performed extremely well, and male and ethnic minority students performed less well. Socioeconomic status and type of school attended were not found to affect performance on the course. Conclusions, The relatively poor performance of male and ethnic minority students urgently needs further investigation. Our results carry no suggestion that, other things being equal, widening access to medical school for mature students and those from less affluent backgrounds would result in poorer performance. [source]

Inquiry-based learning: an instructional alternative for occupational therapy education

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY INTERNATIONAL, Issue 3 2001
Graduate Programs Coordinator with the Centre for Health Promotion Studies, Professor Helen M. Madill Professor
Abstract An inquiry-based learning (IBL) approach was used as the model of instruction in one of three sections offered annually to large introductory occupational therapy classes in a Canadian university during 1994/5, 1995/6, 1996/7. Students' final grades in this pre-entry course form part of the grade point average on which admission to the BSc OT programme is based. The IBL model was employed to (1) increase the amount of student-directed learning, (2) increase the amount of independent problem-solving, (3) increase student,instructor interaction within the learning situation, and (4) reduce the number of in-class hours for students. This study is an evaluation of whether students from the IBL sections would subsequently do as well as those from other sections in selected junior professional courses. Students from the three IBL sections (n=47) were peer matched to students who had completed other sections of the introductory course, but were part of the same admission cohort (n=68). Their grades in three junior professional courses were compared at the end of their first year in the BSc OT programme. Results indicated that students from the IBL sections did at least as well as those from other sections where a different instructional approach was used, and those from the IBL sections in 1994/5 and 1996/7 each did significantly better on two of the junior professional courses used as the outcome measure: therapeutic occupation and assessment and evaluation techniques. Students reported that the IBL experience stimulated them to learn more about the field, helped them develop problem-solving skills in relation to occupational therapy, and enabled them to learn more about career opportunities in occupational therapy. Mature students were more positive about the IBL approach than students in their first year of university. Copyright © 2001 Whurr Publishers Ltd. [source]

Being that bit older: mature students' experience of university and healthcare education

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY INTERNATIONAL, Issue 3 2000
Dip COT Senior Lecturer, Margaret Shanahan MSc, PG Dip Stats
Abstract This study used a phenomenological approach to gain insight into the lives of a small number of mature female students on healthcare programmes at university. The qualitative methods used sought to reveal aspects of that lived experience that would explain why mature students lack confidence in their academic abilities. Data were collected from participants using an in-depth interview, a diary/journal, an open questionnaire and group discussion. The emergent themes showed that mature students see education as a catalyst for change in their lives and feel a tremendous pressure to succeed. With the multiple roles they have to juggle there is not enough time in the day to accomplish all the tasks to the high standard they expect of themselves. These compromises leave the women experiencing feelings of guilt, which seems to be expressed as anxiety about the academic demands of the programme. However, experience of life and the world of work is stated as one of the great advantages of being a mature student, and one that adds to their level of confidence as they prepare to qualify and enter the workforce. Copyright © 2000 Whurr Publishers Ltd. [source]

The admission of students to UK Dental Schools , Recent trends (1983,1998)

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF DENTAL EDUCATION, Issue 2 2000
R. Duguid
Details of student applications and admissions to UK Dental Schools from 1983 to 1998 have been recorded and analyzed. Trends observed include a rise in the proportion of female dental students, a drop in real numbers of male dental students, a recent drop in the proportion of mature students and an increase in the number of EU and overseas entrant dental students. Some implications of these and other factors on workforce planning in the UK are discussed. [source]