Although there are a number of standardised measures to assess dyslexia in children, there are comparatively fewer instruments suitable for the assessment of dyslexia in adults. Given the growing number of students entering UK higher education institutions, there is a need to develop reliable tools for assessing the additional needs of those with…

The research findings presented in this paper illustrate how the "value added" of schooling can be assessed empirically using cross-sectional data. Application of the regression-discontinuity approach within a multilevel framework produces both an estimate of the absolute effect of 1 year schooling and an estimate of the variation across…

Background: Interview-based research has shown that students in higher education hold a number of different conceptions of learning and of themselves as learners. There is debate about whether these conceptions constitute a developmental hierarchy. Aims: This study evaluated the Mental Models section of Vermunt and van Rijswijk's (1988) Inventory…

Questionnaire responses of 457 students and 602 tutors were used to investigate conceptions of a "good tutor." In each case, factor analysis identified scales that reflected key constructs; cluster analysis identified subgroups with different patterns of scale scores; and discriminant analysis determined the scales that contributed the…

This article develops a model for potential working-class applicants to university, using multinomial logit regression to analyse a national UK sample, drawn from lower middle and working-class adults aged 16-30. Influential factors are belief in ability, preference for university rather than earning money, qualifications and family encouragement;…