University enabling programs provide historically underrepresented students with aspirational gateways and the academic skills and knowledges essential for success at university. Measurement of the efficacy of such programs has been typically neoliberal and quantitative in nature. This article argues for a nuanced measurement of success, exploring…

Academic and social deficits, a nine-month secondary school-to-university learning loss, a readiness gap for university-level coursework, and limited cultural capital characterize the transition to university for Botswana's secondary school completers seeking a STEM qualification. This study investigated internationally implemented developmental…

Preparation for university studies is key to enabling adult refugees and asylum seekers to reestablish their educational and professional careers in the host country. While refugees' transition to higher education (HE) is embedded in multiple transitions regarding social position, educational career, and migration, related identities may compete.…

Background/purpose: This study addresses the challenge of engaging students in meaningful assessment processes within mathematics education, particularly in pre-university preparatory courses. Peer assessment, a growing pedagogical practice, can enhance learning outcomes, promote critical thinking, and improve collaborative skills. However,…

The provision of multidimensional holistic support in mathematics for students transitioning from secondary school to university is identified as a challenge facing global education systems, including in South Africa. Ongoing attempts to select effective mathematics learning support reflect the enduring nature of a problem caused by a range of…

The development of a student identity as it relates to the transition of commencing students to higher education has long been identified in the literature as essential to success. As importantly, the existence of a sense of belonging has been considered key to transition and success and the formation of a student identity. Less prominent in the…

A key purpose of the Foundation Year provision is to prepare students, often from a widening participation background, for their undergraduate study. Research has established that access to academic discourse and disciplinary knowledge is, to a large extent, dependent on students' academic language and literacy skills, including oracy skills.…

The transition from high school to university can be difficult and stressful for many students who are not sure of how to be successful in their courses and become engaged in extracurricular activities beyond the classroom. This paper describes the design and outcomes of the Preparation for Academic Success in Science (PASS) transition program in…

The U@Uni Academy provides a case study of a composite preparation and access programme, integrating key elements of widening participation, alternate entry and enabling schemes. It is offered to students from a low socioeconomic background and focuses on non-traditional indicators of attainment in order to prepare for, access and successfully…

With the high enrollment number of Chinese international students in U.S. universities, there has been an increase in the amount of research on the difficulties and challenges these students face in their American-university life. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the key processes and procedures of the pathway program from…

For most young people, social capital plays an important role in transitioning to postsecondary education and employment. For youth who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH), social capital can mitigate negative effects of challenges they will likely encounter after high school. In phase 2 of a two-phase qualitative study in Australia, we investigated…

Pre-university bridging programs can address the significant under-representation of Indigenous students in Australian universities by providing culturally supported alternative pathways into undergraduate study. However, successful completion of bridging programs does not always correlate with university enrolment for Indigenous students. This…

First-year undergraduates can find the transition from the prescriptive learning environment at school to one of self-directed learning at university, a considerable challenge. A Pre-university Skills Course (PSC) was developed to address this issue by preparing sixth formers for the university learning style. It was piloted with students in the…

This paper explores issues, perceptions, and experiences related to the transition from studying geography at school to university. The findings seek to highlight that there are a range of stakeholders that can be engaged in this transition process, as well as a range of strategies for doing so. The transition from school to university geography…

Foundations studies programs (FSPs), sometimes termed pathways programs, seek to prepare international students for an undergraduate education. While enrolments in these programs continue to grow in Australia, there has correspondingly been little research exploring how FSP students experience their transition into university life and study. In…