Using Research to Inform Access Work

Trinity’s Head of Access Hannah Rolley has published some of the results of her MSc thesis as a blog for higher education website WonkHE. The research, undertaken as part of her degree with the Oxford Department for Education, looks at how the opinions and knowledge of teachers can influence the decision-making of students when it comes to higher education.

Using questionnaire responses from state schoolteachers with links to Trinity’s outreach work in Oxfordshire and the North East of England, Hannah investigated the influence teacher backgrounds may have on how frequently they advise their students to apply to Russell Group universities and the University of Oxford. The findings showed that state schoolteachers often share the social identities of their students (first-generation, state school educated), and are as equally likely as students to struggle to see how people like “us” can both access and thrive at the most selective universities, such as Oxford. The research suggests that more sustained contact outreach programmes for teachers could help increase access to selective universities for their students.

Quote summary from Hannah: ‘Knowing university had transformed my own life, I became a teacher with a deep passion for supporting young people, particularly those from backgrounds like my own, to get there too. My work in higher education and my research project has further reinforced my belief that supporting sustained outreach programmes for teachers can transform the outcomes for their students. 

‘Supporting state schoolteachers to feel better equipped with the knowledge and increased confidence needed to support student progression to selective universities such as Oxford, teacher outreach programmes could make a significant contribution to increasing access to the most underrepresented groups at the University and in turn social mobility.’

Over the last three years Trinity’s Access team, led by Hannah Rolley, have been improving the College's support for teachers, including implementing many of the recommendations supported by Hannah’s research project. Evaluation is a key part of the team’s programme, and this year’s Access Impact Report has now been published, giving an overview of the team’s activities, objectives and outcomes.

Hannah notes of the impact report: ‘During 2021-22, we continued the College’s positive trajectory toward our long-term aim of achieving a more representative undergraduate community. We are proud of all the progress we have made in our work and are determined to continue toward our aim to become a diverse and widely representative community, in which students of all backgrounds feel equally valued, supported and able to flourish.’