Student Transitions beyond Strathclyde – call for Internship Proposals

Context

The Student Transitions Steering Group invites proposals for funding of small-scale projects or initiatives to progress the QAA Student Transitions Enhancement Theme within Strathclyde. We have a total fund of £5,000 to allocate for projects which involve students as interns. A maximum of £1,000 will be awarded.

Building on the work funded in 2014-15 primarily to support transitions into Strathclyde, and in 2015-16 to support transitions through Strathclyde, we would encourage applications that focus on transitions beyond the university. This is understood as encompassing the way in which the full range of students’ experiences at Strathclyde contribute to, or hinder, their awareness of the strengths and attributes they have developed during their studies, their willingness to seek out and apply for challenging opportunities in employment or further study, and their readiness to succeed in those roles. This is important in the context of Strathclyde’s desire to deliver an outstanding student experience, and for responding to our institutional measures for graduate destinations (DLHE).

We would particularly welcome applications focused on the following topics:
·  Enhancing employability through aspects of programme content and modes of assessment and delivery
·  Work experience and placements
·  Volunteering opportunities and benefits to students
·  Engagement with the Careers Service
·  Postgraduate application and induction processes
·  Embedding the development of graduate attributes
·  Supporting international students’ transitions beyond Strathclyde

Funding Criteria

Proposals will be assessed against the following criteria:

·  Alignment with the University’s Strategic Plan and objectives for an Outstanding Student Experience

·  The overall quality of the project, including design, timeliness and originality

·  Wider applicability of the project within Strathclyde

·  Potential positive impact of the project on the wider student body, Strathclyde University as a whole and the student interns themselves

·  Value for money

·  Sustainability of the project and how the outcomes of the project will be taken forward.

The majority of spend must be on intern or student co-creation activity. Other expenditures will be considered according to rationale. However, any other sources of funding secured, or likely to be secured, for the project should also be detailed here (e.g. external support; Department/ School, alumni, Faculty or Directorate contributions, etc.).

Application Process and Timescales

Please complete the Student Transitions Application Form overleaf.

We would anticipate that expenditure and projects would be completed by the end of summer 2017.

Successful project teams will be required to submit a short end of project report/case study for dissemination to the wider Strathclyde community, and a summary of how the funds have been spent.

Please return the attached application form to: , by March 1, 2017.

Dr Mark Ellis on behalf of the Student Transitions Steering Group


Student Transitions Application Form

Team

Applicant / Department/Service / Faculty/School / Email
Steven Paton / Disability Service / Disability Service /
Mike Murray / CEE / Engineering /
Frances Murray / Law / HASS /

Project title

Transition to employment-Alumni stories about dyslexia from the Civil Engineering and Law disciplines.

Project summary - 100 words max.

The proposed pilot project seeks to establish a benchmark for examining student transition to graduate (Alumni) employment with a particular focus on graduates with disabilities. For the pilot project we will focus exclusively on recent Alumni (up to 7 years post-graduation) in the civil engineering and law disciplines, who have dyslexia. Five graduates from each discipline will be targeted for interview and the primary data will be captured using a critical incident storytelling methodology. These life stories will chart the landscape through the student transition from university to (and through) employment and will seek to uncover rich personal testimonies that document the opportunities and barriers faced by Alumni with dyslexia. The output will inform academia and employers about the relationship between graduate attributes and equality and diversity issues.

Project Description - 500 words max. (Including start and end date if applicable)

This pilot project seeks to explore graduate to employment transition experiences and personal strategies for coping with and succeeding with dyslexia. Unlike many physical disabilities, dyslexia can often remain undiagnosed, and even when employees hold a diagnosis, they may be reluctant to disclose their disability in the workplace. Rowan (2014, p.130) has argued that ‘dyslexia is a paradox. It is known to exist but there is no evidence of its origin.’ Unlike many physical disabilities, dyslexia is not easily diagnosed and is often not evident to the holder. When a diagnosis does exist, the holder may be reluctant to disclose their disability in the workplace. Moreover, Madriga (2007) has noted that university students with dyslexia can be worried about their transition to employment, concerned that future employers will not be accommodating to their condition or indeed see value in them.
Madaus et al (2008 p.330) offer support to our proposal and have argued that ‘it is imperative that students with Learning Difficulties (LD) receive effective and evidence-based transition skills’. This is critical given that Piggott, and Houghton (2007) found that students with disabilities face a further barrier in the job market if their impairment has prevented them securing suitable work experience during their degree.
The focus of this research will be on Alumni within the civil engineering and law disciplines. Whilst there would appear to be a paucity of empirical evidence examining transitions to employment with dyslexia within these disciplines our research will draw on related findings including Morris and Turnbull (2007) who examined the clinical experiences of student nurses with dyslexia.
Research Methodology
The research seeks to understand the social experience of Alumni in the workplace who have disclosed (or otherwise) their dyslexia during their studies, or post-graduation during the transition to employment. The research methodology is informed by previous disabilities studies (Morris and Turnbull 2007; Gilies 2012; Rowan 2014) which employed an interpretivist approach characterised by grounded theory. The student intern will be tasked with undertaking semi structured interviews with the respondents who agree to participate in the research. Prior to the interviews, the interviewees will be asked to reflect on 3-5 critical incidents (CI’s) that occurred before, during and after their transition into employment. Discussion of the CI’s is intended to show how dyslexia impacts upon particular disciplinary practices of civil engineers and law graduates. The interviewees will be requested to recount these incidents as vignettes to the interviewer. The interviews will be audio-recorded, transcribed by the intern and subject to an independent thematic analysis (manual) and coding to be undertaken by each member of the team. Subsequently, the team will meet to undertake a code validation and collapsing of codes into themes that are representative of the data.
References
Gillies, J (2012) University Graduates with a Disability: The Transition to the Workforce. Disability Studies Quarterly 32(3).
Madaus, J.W, Zhao, J and Ruban, L (2008) Employment Satisfaction of University Graduates With Learning Disabilities. Remedial and Special Education 29(6):323-332.
Madriaga, M (2007) Enduring disablism: students with dyslexia and their pathways into UK higher education and beyond, Disability & Society, 22:4, 399-412.
Morris, D.K and Turnbull, P.A (2007) The disclosure of dyslexia in clinical practice: Experiences of student nurses in the United Kingdom. Nurse Education Today (2007) 27, 35–42.
Piggott, L & Houghton, A.M (2007) Transition experiences of disabled young people, International Journal of Lifelong Education, 26:5, 573-587.
Rowan, L (2014) University transition experiences of four students with dyslexia in New Zealand, Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties, 19:2, 129 -136.

Potential outcomes, which should include how the Project will benefit Student Transitions beyond Strathclyde? 300 words max.

The outcomes of this project will help to inform and support policy and inclusive practice related to the work of the disability and career services and that of faculty and employers. The research is intended to uncover rich insights within the alumni transition stories concerning dyslexia, as a means to establish a benchmark for further research employing a more representative sample of students’ disciplines / disabilities across the university student populace. As such, the results are not intended to be generalizable in or outwith the university. However, the research outcomes will be disseminated nationally vis-à-vis a QAA /HEA conference paper and / or a suitable peer-reviewed journal paper.

About the Team- Please outline the key tasks and responsibilities- 200 words max

Steven Paton is a disability advisor within the Disabilities Service and will act as coordinator to provide a suitable sample of Alumni who are willing to participate in the research.
1x Student Intern will be required to undertake semi-structured interviews (30min each) with Alumni (n=10) and record and transcribe each interview. Consideration is being given to positive action to identify potential candidates (Undergraduate sociology / psychology students) who have declared their dyslexia.
All members of the team shall undertake an independent thematic analysis of the transcribed material before a joint meeting to compare, contrast coding and refine the resultant themes. A final joint thematic analysis will be produced and this will contribute to the findings within a project report authored by all members of the team.
Mike Murray & Frances Murray will identify particular disciplinary nuances from the transcribe material that will help to inform the joint thematic analysis and subsequent discussion within the final report.

Please specify the costs involved and provide justification as appropriate

Item / Justification / Cost £`s
Student Intern / 1 intern, £8.45 per hour
X 10 interviews (45min each + 6hrs transcription each interview = circa 70hrs =£591.50) + thematic analysis of transcribed material ( 20hrs = £169) =£760.50
Transport Mileage costs to attend Interviews + allowance for travel time (allow £257.50) / 760.50
239.50
Total / £1000