Browsing by Person "Houston, Muir"

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Private schooling and admission to medicine: a case study using matched samples and causal mediation analysis
(2015-08) Houston, Muir; Osborne, Michael; Rimmer, Russell
Background: Are applicants from private schools advantaged in gaining entry to degrees in medicine? This is of international significance and there is continuing research in a range of nations including the USA, the UK, other English-speaking nations and EU countries. Our purpose is to seek causal explanations using a quantitative approach. Methods: We took as a case study admission to medicine in the UK and drew samples of those who attended private schools and those who did not, with sample members matched on background characteristics. Unlike other studies in the area, causal mediation analysis was applied to resolve private-school influence into direct and indirect effects. In so doing, we sought a benchmark, using data for 2004, against which the effectiveness of policies adopted over the past decade can be assessed. Results: Private schooling improved admission likelihood. This did not occur indirectly via the effect of school type on academic performance; but arose directly from attending private schools. A sensitivity analysis suggests this finding is unlikely to be eliminated by the influence of an unobserved variable. Conclusions: Academic excellence is not a certain pathway into medicine at university; yet applying with good grades after attending private school is more certain. The results of our paper differ from those in an earlier observational study and find support in a later study. Consideration of sources of difference from the earlier observational study suggest the causal approach offers substantial benefits and the consequences in the causal study for gender, ethnicity, socio-economic classification and region of residence provide a benchmark for assessing policy in future research. © 2015 Houston et al.
School mathematics and university outcomes
(Work in progress, 2007) Houston, Muir; Rimmer, Russell
There is concern that, as participation of non-traditional entrants widens, many university students do not have the mathematical preparation required to learn skills vital for professional work. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between mathematical attainment at secondary school and the outcomes of university study in quantitative disciplines. An 'engagement' theory of higher-education study is used to investigate academic performance and progression among students who gained entry on the basis of Scottish Higher examinations to a university that has embraced widening participation. Within this environment there is considerable diversity. For example, although most students were 18 on entry, students were aged from 16 to 38. While pre-entry preparation in mathematics was not extensive, this varied. At the university, assistance with mathematical skills is embedded in programmes and is discipline specific. Students with better pre-entry attainments in mathematics had better average marks, maintained greater study loads and were more likely to progress. However, non-traditional university students with poorer mathematical backgrounds were able to attain comparable outcomes.
School mathematics and university outcomes
(2010) Rimmer, Russell; Houston, Muir
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between mathematical attainment at school and university outcomes. The paper is motivated by an interest in whether school mathematics provides elements of good preparation for university, regardless of the type of degree studied. This in turn was motivated by the long-standing and wide-spread concern about school mathematics, university outcomes and the implications for individuals' university experiences and societal needs. An 'engagement' theory was applied to model both school and university outcomes in the first year of enrolment at a Scottish university. While mathematics preparation for university study was not extensive, a proportion of students had passes in Higher mathematics, the highest level of school study in Scotland at the time data was gathered. The engagement theory was effective in modelling school- and university outcomes. Students with better school attainments in mathematics had better average marks, maintained greater study loads and were more likely to progress at university, regardless of the extent of the mathematical underpinnings of their disciplines.
Transition from first to second semester: trading off study, work and life
(2007) Houston, Muir; Rimmer, Russell
This research is directed towards the conference aim of investigating transitions where participation in higher education has been widened. Recent empirical work has established that both traditional- and non-traditional entrants to full-time higher education may make trade offs between academic study and demands or interests in other parts of their lives. This is particularly so over the course of the first year of study and in making the transition to the second year. The intention is to build on these findings and explore a dynamic theory of how students reduce academic load while pursuing academic success and maintaining involvements in other activities.