ENGAGEMENT WITH SECOND LEVEL - DOES IT WORK?

Abstract

Most Western economies are suffering from problems in attracting students to study Science, Engineering and Technology courses at university level. To address this demand shortage, and also with regard to current financial pressures, many higher education institutions are engaging with secondary schools in a wide range of activities, including schools visitation, open days, activity sessions, presentations, internships and work experience placements. While all of these activities are undoubtedly worthy, there is little evidence for the long term effectiveness of such interventions, either relative to each other, or in absolute terms. The work reported on in this paper seeks to address this knowledge gap by comparing the long and short-term effects on student interest and knowledge level, as assessed through a longitudinal series of questionnaires, of presentations and more extended interactive workshops.