Access to higher education
| Pages | 73-79 |
| Date | 01 June 1997 |
| Published date | 01 June 1997 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/09684889710165116 |
| Author | Yvonne Hill,Janet MacGregor,Kate Dewar |
| Subject Matter | Education |
Introduction
Until recent times it has generally been the
case that nurses and midwives in the UK have
not had the opportunity to undertake joint
professional and academic qualifications
within higher education settings. The excep-
tions were those few particularly “academic”
individuals who independently arranged for
their own development through degree pro-
grammes at one of the small number of univer-
sities offering appropriate courses.
However, new opportunities have been
opened up through the introduction of Project
2000 (UKCC, 1986) and Post-Registration
Education and Practice (UKCC, 1994) initia-
tives, to establish all nursing education in the
higher education arena. These initiatives have
been fuelled by other changes happening in
the wider national context. For example, the
Robertson Report (HEQC, 1994), commis-
sioned by the Department for Education and
the Employment Department, recognized the
need to open up access to higher education,
particularly to encourage mature students to
return to study. At the same time, it was
envisaged that learning would be more closely
linked to future employment needs resulting
in a system of courses which would produce a
more skilled and flexible workforce. In this
way, through a more responsive educational
strategy, the workforce would be enabled to
respond to employment-led demands more
effectively. In the National Health Service
(NHS), this thrust is evident in the growing
pressure for registered nurses to demonstrate
that they have the “right” qualification for the
job. Leathard (1993) links this NHS develop-
ment with a concurrent demand for measur-
able “value for money” targets in all areas of
client service.
Given the new employment climate that
demands a highly competent practitioner,
nurses lack evidence that they have acquired
qualifications which equip them to deliver the
high quality care expected from both con-
sumer and employer. From our initial discus-
sions with clinical colleagues, we identified
that they were ill-equipped to undertake
professional development courses within
higher education without some help. They
expressed a high level of anxiety about their
73
Quality Assurance in Education
Volume 5 · Number 2 · 1997 · pp. 73–79
© MCB University Press · ISSN 0968-4883
Access to higher
education
Yvonne Hill
Janet MacGregor and
Kate Dewar
The authors
Yvonne Hill, Janet MacGregor andKate Dewar are all
Senior Lecturers in Nursing Studies, Canterbury Christ
Church College, Canterbury, UK.
Abstract
Aims to explore the various factors that influenced the
outcomes of an orientation course for nurses and mid-
wives entering higher education for the first time. Data
were gathered by questionnaire and findings analysed to
determine potential enabling and inhibiting factors
affecting individual academic performance. Evidence
suggests that there are a number of interrelating influ-
ences which affect success or failure and quality issues
related to courses of this type must take a wider view than
just the initial academic profile of the individual.
The authors received a small grant from
Canterbury Christ Church College to undertake
this study.
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