- Title
- The history and impacts of the University of Newcastle's Open Foundation Program
- Creator
- Bunn, Rosalie
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2018
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- This thesis examines the history and impacts of the largest and longest lasting enabling program in Australia, the Open Foundation Program (OFP). The thesis develops Bourdieu’s idea that social reproduction is not static but allows spaces for people to acquire cultural capital and transform their habitus through the field of higher education. The thesis takes a multi-layered and mixed methods approach using oral history methodology to recount the memories of 38 staff of the University of Newcastle and analyses 350 student survey responses which include quantitative and qualitative data. The history chapters cover a forty-year period from the program’s origin in 1974, providing insights and reflections on key events and personalities that shaped the direction OFP took and examines the contributions the program has made to the lives of students, the University of Newcastle and to the regions in which it is taught. Analysis of the student data indicate reasons for enrolling, most frequently to satisfy issues relating to self-identity and reflecting their capability. Stories of what became of Indigenous students, early school leavers, students with a (dis)ability – or, significant abilities, and Distance students, elaborate the transformations in the lives of people who might be considered the most educationally disadvantaged. The thesis also traces the career destinations of completing students and highlights the outcomes, not all economically advantageous, but mostly considered life changing for these students. The experience of studying OFP, most frequently expressed as embracing the joy of learning, resulted in one sixth of respondents continuing to postgraduate study. These findings suggest that, with well over 26,000 successful completions, OFP has transformed the lives of many people in the Hunter and Central Coast regions. The findings indicate the benefits of andragogy and that funding this area of education continues to be justified.
- Subject
- enabling programs; higher education; OFP; Central Coast; Hunter; students; benefits
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1391980
- Identifier
- uon:33316
- Rights
- Copyright 2018 Rosalie Bunn
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT01 | Thesis | 5 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download | ||
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT02 | Abstract | 429 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |