Access to Higher Education in the United Kingdom:

A closer look at support provided to deaf and hard of hearing students and non-native English speakers in England’s universities - By Katie Fitzgerald & Joshua Albair

Introduction

As two American undergraduate students, we embarked on this research project with many false assumptions about the educational system in the United Kingdom (UK). Namely, we assumed that the system would be similar to our system found in the United States (US). After spending one month in the England, we have learned much about the system and how truly different it is. Both researchers have a vested interest in the support offered to underrepresented groups. More specifically, the researchers’ interests are deaf and hard of hearing students, and non-native speakers of English (NNS).

Here, it is important to briefly outline the problem. In the US, support for deaf and the hearing impaired are still improving because the research continues to yield important findings. For example, Holt, Traxler, and Allen (1997) along with the Gallaudet Research Institute (1996) found 17 and 18-year-old deaf and hard of hearing students in school scored a median reading comprehension subtest score of about a 4.0 grade level compared to hearing students. In addition, the chair of the communication-disorders and deaf-education department at Lamar University, Gabriel A. Martin, expressed in an article that "Historically we have taught deaf students material way below their conceptual level since we taught them through English” (Bollag, 2006). These findings and comments point to the need to continually examine the methods and supports used to instruct deaf and hard of hearing students.

Further, with regards to non-native English speakers in England, the 2001 census “recorded that out of seven million inhabitants in the capital, nearly three million were from minority ethnic communities (Preece, 2010, p. 22)”. Moreover, Preece (2010) noted that while many students in higher education may speak fluent English and be conversant in English culture, they may be “less conversant with academic uses of English (p. 29)”. In addition, the UK does not operate within the same cultural frame as the US in terms of race; in fact, in the UK the word race is rarely used, as the term ethnicity is preferred instead. Despite the efforts to target students from different ethnicities, very little attention is given to NNS within the UK. Many universities claim they are interested in linguistic and cultural diversity, but Martin (2010) believes many of these claims are “tokenistic” (p. 11). Therefore, these issues raise concern about the types and degree of services offered to NNS.

Finally, the researchers’ experience in England provided an intense and personal look at the overall education system, as explained by a wide variety of professionals employed in various universities and organizations over the course of four weeks. Further, it offered an inside look into each of the study target groups. The research project examines support systems in place for deaf and hard of hearing students, as well as systems to accommodate non-native English speaking students. In particular, this paper attempts to give an overview of the UK educational system, including the structure and current efforts in ”widening participation”, and it further explores the supports offered to the targeted student groups of the study.

Background of the UK Educational System

In the UK, children start schooling around the age of three at nursery school. They then move on to primary school between the ages four and ten. Next, they follow to secondary school from about age ten until they turn sixteen, where they complete their eleventh year of schooling. When students are fourteen, they begin selecting subjects that they wish to take for the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). Students typically select about ten subjects in which to do GCSE, and to successfully continue into higher education (HE) they are expected to do well in five of them. The GCSEs are extremely important, as they not only act as test scores for eligibility into colleges or universities, but they also are pre-requisites for certain programs. For example, taking GCSEs in art and music will bar a student from going into the field of chemistry or physics, although students are able to take (or even retake) GCSEs later in life. This process is the standard path most students take up until they are sixteen.

With this system of GCSE subjects, the choices made at the age of fourteen may seriously affect a student’s life course. If a student is not serious about schooling or if she selects GCSE subjects that do not meet the prerequisites set by a particular university or by a particular field, she will be unable to enter into that subject in HE. This can be fixed by taking the appropriate GCSEs later in life in order to meet the demands of the subject and the requirements of the university. However, this can be a hardship and can be avoided if the student picks the appropriate subjects for GCSEs the first time around.

This process is radically different than in the US. Students in the UK are expected to know what they will do with their lives at the age of fourteen when they start selecting subjects for the GCSEs. This means that students are expected to be planning their careers and futures at about the age of nine. From what we understand, there is some guidance and a form of educational grooming that takes place to help students determine what path in which they may be interested or at what they might excel. However, this system is in stark contrast with the US where students often wait until their second year at a university before declaring their majors and start to focus or specialize in one field.

After UK students complete their eleventh year of school, they are faced with choices for their futures. First, they may excel at their GCSEs and decide to go further in the academic world. This is done either at the school where they are attending and is known as sixth form or A-levels, or if their school does not offer sixth form, they may go to a special sixth form college. This stage is known as further education (FE). At this step, FE is taken before going to a university, also known as higher education or HE. Second, students may decide to go to a vocational school where they will learn a trade and they may receive a foundation degree which is the equivalent of a US associate’s degree. Finally, students may decide for various reasons that they would rather just enter the work force.

Fundamentally, the systems are structured differently. The compulsory age of education in the UK is sixteen. The UK system provides a means for students to leave schooling at sixteen and then continue in education or enter into the work force. The US has no such means of providing life choices for sixteen year olds ready to leave the educational system and enter the work force, even though the compulsory school age for many US American states is also set at sixteen. If an American student leaves at sixteen, he will be severely limiting his life choices because he will not receive a diploma, the basic requirement for many jobs and university entry. He may opt to get a GED (general education certificate), but some institutions may not regard this as highly. In the UK, the system is structured so that a student completes the compulsory education by the age of sixteen and he or she is then free to continue to HE or to enter the work force. One thing we learned during our stay is that the UK government is considering an increase of the compulsory age of school attendance to eighteen. We are not sure what that will mean to the current system, but it may mean that all students will be compelled to complete FE, either through their school’s sixth form / A-levels, or through an independent sixth-form college.

If a UK student has completed FE, she may opt to go to a university. Much like the US system of higher education, the university HE allows the student to get a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and/or a Ph.D. degree. But, in the UK, a bachelor’s degree is usually completed in three years, a master’s degree is typically completed within one year, and a Ph.D. within three years. This is in contrast to the US where the time to finish a baccalaureate program can take four to six years, to finish a master’s program can take two years, and completion of a Ph.D. degree typically requires five or more years. Ultimately, students in the UK may graduate with a Ph.D. at the age of twenty-two whereas a student working straight through the US system to a Ph.D. would graduate at about the age of thirty.

Until a few years ago, HE in the UK was completely free to students, because tax payers underwrote the cost. The country recently started a fee system and it has had an impact on the educational system. For one thing, some people may be discouraged from pursuing HE because they must personally invest in their own education. Although the fees are quite minor compared to the cost of education in the US, many in the UK have a different perception of debt – basically debt is something British people avoid. The fees in the UK are currently capped at about £3,000 per year, but a feasibility study has considered raising the cap to about £7,000. While this may not seem a huge debt to many US Americans, when one comes from the working class or a culture that tries to avoid debt, this could be a significant bar to higher education.

Widening Participation

Another factor that figures heavily into education, and in fact all of life in the UK, is the class system. To be brief, the class system is so rigidly structured that it is impossible to improve an individual’s standing short of being moved up in social class by the Sovereign. Class affects everything, from how people talk and dress, to how people perceive others at the moment they are seen or spoken to. With regards to the cost of HE, any fee increase would hurt the working class. Moreover, because of the inherent conflict between the classes, one wonders if increased fees may be a ploy to discourage working class students from entering into HE.

The UK has been working for the past ten years on a mission of widening participation (WP). This means they have been targeting groups historically shown to have limited access to higher education and they have been working to get them into HE. These include working-class students, members of the group known as “Black or Minority Ethnic” (BMEs), and students with disabilities. This is not extraordinarily different from the US effort to increase access to HE. What is different is that the US has systems in place to support students once they arrive at HE, but the UK does not. A clear example is the McNair Program. McNair works with students who would fall into the WP target and prepares them for Ph.D. level study. The UK spends a great deal of effort to get WP students into HE, but after they arrive, there is nothing in place to help them succeed.

The WP movement is currently being threatened by severe funding cuts due to a change in government from the Labour Party to the Conservative Party. This is a major concern and was one of the central themes at the annual conference of the Forum for Access and Continuing Education (FACE). Because of the countrywide efforts in WP, there are more students from WP backgrounds in HE than there have ever been and these students need support. If funding is reduced, universities will have to decide where to stop efforts. Ideally, a WP student would begin getting support at age nine, in the form of learning about university life and would continue to get support in choosing GCSEs, entering FE, and applying to HE. However, if these funding cuts are severe enough, support will suffer either in numbers of students being targeted or in the scope of support offered. Such scenarios would be especially devastating to members of the FACE organization who have recently decided they need to start offering support to WP students already in HE, much like the McNair program operates in the US.

Methods

This project aimed to study support systems in place for deaf and hard of hearing students, as well as systems to accommodate non-native English speaking students. The specific research questions include:

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students:

What services are offered specifically for deaf and hard of hearing students in England?
How is the decision to offer accommodation services at an institution made?
What types of support services do universities offer to faculty in order to assist them in accommodating students with disabilities?
What is the perceived proportion of deaf and hard of hearing students in the English higher education system?

Non-Native English Speaking Students:

What are the basic requirements for a NNS to be admitted into an institution of higher education?
In what ways are NNSs supported in an institution?
How satisfied are faculty with the support offered to NNSs?

An interview schedule was created and administered by the researchers to a convenient sample, recruited through affiliates of the Continuum Research Centre at the University of East London, as well as from participants at the FACE conference hosted at Southampton Solent University in Hampshire County, England. Subjects were interviewed in person and the interviews were recorded. The study used a qualitative approach and employed the semi-structured interview method, allowing for formal inquiry, but also providing the flexibility for the interviewers to probe for richer descriptions or deeper insight. Descriptions were coded for major themes, with pseudonyms employed to preserve anonymity.

A total of seven interviews were conducted (although two interviews represent the perspective of one post-1992 southern university). Participants represent English HE institutions in the capital city metropolis and the less dense southern region of the country. Three participants commented on matters pertaining to deaf and the hearing impaired, three commented on issues regarding non-native speakers of English, and one participant addressed both concerns of the study.

Findings and Results

Four participants worked in the capital city and three worked at institutions in the southern part of the country. Six participants were from post-1992 universities, and one was at a Russell Group institution. Post-1992 universities were typically teaching based rather than research focused, and they were referred to as polytechnic institutions. Their degrees were awarded by a governing body, not through the institution itself. After 1992, they were recognized as universities and were able to award their own degrees. However, although they were granted an equal standing they are still not regarded as research focused universities. Further, Russell Group universities are equivalent to the US ivy-league schools. They are regarded as being prestigious and research focused.

Options for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students and Parents

There seems to be a difference, or somewhat of a divide, in the English higher education system between profoundly deaf students and hard of hearing students. Many children diagnosed as deaf are born to hearing parents. It can be a very overwhelming experience for parents to decide what schools, services, and programs are best for their child.

Parents may choose to have their deaf or hard of hearing child learn British Sign Language (BSL) and to be an active member of the deaf community. Although a student may have many challenges along his academic career, he will have a firm understanding of a language and the ability and means to learn concepts and intellectual ideas. However, once a student enters into HE, he may be required to complete assignments and exams in English, something that would not typically be his first language. British Sign Language has its own grammar and syntax that is very different from the English language, but can convey complex and intellectual ideas all the same. Further, many institutions provide deaf students with an interpreter and a note-taker so that they are able to contribute and better understand in the classroom.

Conversely, parents may decide the best option for their child is to use the auditory-oral education, in which sign language is not used as a method of communication. There are many benefits to this approach, as it gives the individual spoken language skills to function independently in a mainstream educational environment and increases the likelihood that the student will understand, read, and write English proficiently. However, it seems that many students using this approach have somehow fallen through the cracks. As one research participant from a university in the capital city indicated, many students who have been taught using this approach do not have proficient reading and writing skills; perhaps these students were able to complete secondary school with the minimal reading and writing skills, but do not have a strong enough understanding to succeed in higher education without support. This would mean these students are not entirely a part of the hearing world, because they are missing out on vital information, and they are not a part of the deaf community where BSL is the means of communication. Where does that leave these individuals? It is a major challenge for higher education student and disability services to efficiently support these students who are virtually lost between two worlds.

Services Provided to Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students

There are numerous services and programs in place to support students with disabilities before and during their time in the English HE system. Earle, an employee of a post-1992 university in the capital city discussed one program, Aimhigher, which seeks to inspire individuals to consider HE who may not have thought about university otherwise. The program aims to promote social inclusion using workshops, assemblies, and outreach activities in schools and colleges. Online, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE, 2010) has identified specific target groups for priority action that include young people from lower socio-economic groups, those from disadvantaged backgrounds, as well as children and students with disabilities.

A research participant from a post-1992 university in the southern, less populated area of the country utilized an approach to raise attainment and aspirations of students with disabilities in HE. Due to disability discrimination legislation, all Aimhigher activities must be audited to ensure compliance and to assure that students with disabilities are accommodated. However, students with disabilities still remain one of the most underrepresented groups in HE. Perhaps this is due to the question that asks “do you have a disability” on the event/university application form. Many students with hearing difficulties do not consider themselves to be disabled learners, but would benefit from disability services. Clarifying what is categorized as a disability may increase the level of recruitment for students with disabilities.

Another service that is offered to all students with disabilities is the Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA). Gabby, who works at a post-1992 university in the capital city, stated that her institution aids and supports students through the DSA application process. According to the website of the National Association of Student Money Advisers (2010), the DSA was designed to pay for any additional costs related to the individual’s disability in order to ensure full benefit from the academic course. Both full-time and part-time students are eligible to apply for the DSA. Most students who satisfy the eligibility criteria for obtaining a student loan are able to apply for the DSA. The DSA can assist with funding equipment, non-medical helpers, general expenses (e.g. photocopying), and travel. A deaf or hard of hearing student would be able to use the DSA for note takers and BSL interpreters, as well as other types of support.

Dichotomy of Non-native Speakers

Similar to the limited distinction between deaf and hard of hearing students and the services targeted to them is the issue of non-native speakers reared in the UK and those who enter HE from other countries. In England there is a division between home students and international students in terms of English speaking ability. According to Adam, who works in the south, a home student is a resident of England who does not have English as his or her first language, and an international student is a non-resident. Despite the lack of attention given to this dichotomy on a system-wide level, all the informants acknowledged that this division exists.

International students

For an international student to be admitted into HE, she must meet the minimum requirement set by the university on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). According to Adam, most universities set this minimum at a score of six. However, Adam’s university is looking at the option of developing a “Level Naught” program, in which they accept international students who score as low as a 5.5 with the understanding that by the time the students finish beginning English proficiency-boosting courses, they will raise their score to a 6.

All informants pertaining to NNS acknowledged that international students in the UK are well supported: they are offered much the same support as in the US. Some universities have or are designing preliminary programs meant to boost English proficiency (a sort of developmental English for NNS), and the informants all stated that each of their universities have tutors, specialized academic centers for writing and reading, and various means to build cultural and conversational skills within buddy systems.

All of the support mentioned is offered to international students outside the classroom. All informants on NNS issues agree that there is no special consideration given to international students within the classroom. Debra summed this up by explaining that if a student has achieved an IELTS score of 6, it is assumed that he is operating independently and at a proficient level of English. Debra went on to explain that in college a NNS might be given more attention or support within the classroom, but "once you get into University, you’re on your own." This was further supported by Gabby’s claim that you do not get special attention in the classroom "unless you have a disability [and] having English as a second language is not regarded as a disability [so] you won’t get any compensation at all."

Home Students

A home student must meet the same qualifications as all other students when entering into HE, meaning that he must have the proper GCSEs with the eligible scores. What this actually translates into is that there is no distinction between a resident NNS and native-English speaking peers. Ian, an employee of a post-1992 southern institution, mentioned the lack of data-collection on language usage at the university level and all informants discussed the challenges facing home NNS, expressing that there is no support.

It is not that universities believe that home students do not need support or that the UK is prejudiced against home students, but rather that it is impossible for universities to identify home students and set aside support structures for them with the current practices of HE. There is no data provided to a university regarding an individual student’s native language and the university is therefore blind to the actual number of students admitted who do not speak English as a first language. When asked, Ian admitted he could not guess at the number of NNS attending his institution.

This lack of identification is a problem for home students. Ian captured this in his interview when he said that “because [home students] have the qualifications to be accepted into Uni, it is assumed they are qualified.” Stated another way, if a home student does not meet the qualifications to be admitted into a university because of the scores on the A-levels or the GCSE, she is barred from entry – and taking an IELTS is not an option for entry because it is only for international students. If a home student does meet the requirements for admission, it is assumed that he is a native speaker (as there is no way to record the native language or measure English proficiency) – and there is no support provided because it is not needed from the perspective of the university. Either way, a home student is not given the same considerations as an international student.

The home student may opt to visit academic centers and try to find support for herself, but it is up to the student to self-enroll, according to Debra. This is only effective if a university makes the available services known to the students, but how is the university to know which students to target for the dissemination of the information? This problem is outlined through an excerpt of Adam’s interview. Adam is employed at a post-1992 university in southern England. Here, he discusses the lack of data collection through diagnostic testing at the university level:

We have no mechanism for identifying whether they are a second language speaker. . . They don’t take an IELTS, and there’s nothing on the form to [claim they are non-native speakers]. We don’t have a diagnostic testing system. They would do [that] at the community college. Every student at the community college would take a diagnostic test for their literacy and maths. But universities don’t do that.

Three informants pertaining to NNS issues indicated that they believe their universities do not offer enough support to home students. Adam indicates that his university could do more for home students but he is not sure how they would go about offering more support because the university is unclear how to identify the students and what sort of support they require. Ian believes that the university would need to do more to embed support for NNS within the classroom by requiring NNS students to take "Level Naught" program courses or ESOL courses (English for Speakers of Other Languages). Gabby also voiced the same opinion as did Adam and Ian, and went on to say "I think [the issue of support] needs to change in HE, but that would require a far more expensive model of HE and I don’t think that’s going to happen for a little bit, unfortunately."

Discussion and Conclusion

This research experience was eye-opening, educating both researchers about the English HE system and access to it for underrepresented students. It is expected that HE institutions should have services in place for deaf and hard of hearing students and NNS to ensure an equal learning experience. While the participants interviewed did acknowledge such services, it seems many deaf and hard of hearing students as well as NNS who are considered home students may still need more support beyond what is currently being offered.

First, although deaf and hard of hearing students appear to have adequate support when entering HE, research participants perceived the rate at which deaf and hard of hearing students access HE to be low. This is a major concern and may suggest that there are not enough services set in place for these students while in school. Perhaps this lack of access to HE is due to the students’ low reading and writing scores. The HE application process may be very intimidating if one is not able to read proficiently. A further examination of deaf and hard of hearing students in school may yield interesting findings and may point to the reason why these students are not accessing HE. In addition, it appears to be somewhat of a challenge to get educators involved with regards to disability issues in the HE classroom. A number of research interviewees expressed frustration about the resistance they receive from professors regarding disability education workshops or seminars. Debra said that most of the professors who do attend these events are usually already self-educated and are aware of disability services. It may be that in the future some of the events will be made mandatory for professors in order to ensure that deaf and hard of hearing students benefit to the fullest in the classroom.

Similarly, the research regarding NNS also demonstrated interesting peculiarities. Essentially, because the UK does not collect language data, the country has no idea as to the number of resident NNS that are in HE, nor is there a way to measure that number. For international students, this is not a problem, as the system is structured to support them. However, this leads to a severe lack of support for home students, as the students are expected to know English because they are residents. Informants agreed that there is a dichotomy between home students and international students, that home students are not given the same level of support, and that the current system operates as though home students have the same English proficiency as their native-English speaking peers. Also, informants felt dissatisfied with their institution’s inability to offer support to home students. Although this was alarming to learn, it is also the first step to begin setting up support for home students.

In closing, George Bernard Shaw is believed to have said that “England and America are two nations divided by a common language.” Although both countries speak English and are investing in higher education, the two educational systems are radically different. Issues of class, funding, the compulsory school age, as well as differing expectations regarding debt and career choice paths, make the UK system very different from the US. Although we would not say that one system is better than the other, we do believe that the English government in particular is in the midst of change and a reworking of their educational practices. It will be very interesting to see what these changes bring to higher education, to the Widening Participation movement, and more specifically what the changes will mean with regards to support offered for deaf and hard of hearing students and non-native speakers of English.

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