Undergraduate students' knowledge outcomes and how these relate to their educational experiences: a longitudinal study of chemistry in two countries

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dc.contributor.authorAshwin, Paulen
dc.contributor.authorBlackie, Margareten
dc.contributor.authorPitterson, Nicoleen
dc.contributor.authorSmit, Reneeen
dc.date.accessioned2023-04-18T15:06:13Zen
dc.date.available2023-04-18T15:06:13Zen
dc.date.issued2022-11en
dc.description.abstractAre the ways of engaging with the world that students develop through higher education particular to bodies of knowledge they study? In this article, we examine how students' accounts of the discipline of chemistry in England and South Africa changed over the three years of their undergraduate degrees. Based on a longitudinal phenomenographic analysis of 105 interviews with 33 chemistry students over the course of their undergraduate degrees in four institutions, we constituted five qualitatively different ways of describing chemistry. These ranged from chemistry as something that happens when things are mixed in a laboratory to a more inclusive account that described chemistry as being able to explain molecular interactions in unfamiliar environments. Most students expressed more inclusive accounts of chemistry by the end of their degrees and the level of change appeared to be related to their educational experiences. In contrast to approaches that emphasise the generic student outcomes from higher education, these findings highlight the importance of recognising the distinctive outcomes that students gain from their engagement with particular bodies of disciplinary knowledge. It further highlights the importance of students understanding their degrees as an educational experience that requires them to commit to engaging with these bodies of knowledge.en
dc.description.notesThe support of the Economic and Social Research Council and Research England (grant reference: ES/M010082/1) and the National Research Foundation, South Africa (grant reference: 105856), is gratefully acknowledged along with support from CGHE. The data reported in this article will be deposited with the UK Data Service once the research is complete.en
dc.description.sponsorshipEconomic and Social Research Council and Research England [ES/M010082/1]; National Research Foundation, South Africa [105856]; CGHEen
dc.description.versionPublished versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-022-00962-1en
dc.identifier.eissn1573-174Xen
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/114541en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherSpringeren
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 Internationalen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en
dc.subjectChemistryen
dc.subjectKnowledgeen
dc.subjectPhenomenographyen
dc.subjectHigher education outcomesen
dc.subjectStudentsen
dc.titleUndergraduate students' knowledge outcomes and how these relate to their educational experiences: a longitudinal study of chemistry in two countriesen
dc.title.serialHigher Educationen
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten

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