Right from the start I would like to draw attention to the study conducted by Vanessa regarding the admission requirements to the U of L Ed Program. Though the study draws on only a small sample of faculty members, it still provides food for thought. Follow this link to her study.
I am still wrestling with some things about the admission process. I just think that relying solely on GPA goes against everything that I have learned about assessment in the Ed Program. How can the very program that has taught me about authentic assessment not model this philosophy when it comes to admitting candidates into the faculty?
From Vanessa’s study, I get the feeling that those interviewed may not necessarily agree with the whole process, i.e. just relying on GPA, but that no other solution seems viable. For example, conducting interviews would be too time consuming. The general consensus also seemed to suggest that they all agreed that the admittance process should not remain static and should be open for assessment and reevaluation. I noticed that nobody mentioned when the process was last reviewed. How often should the process be reviewed? Has the admission process seen any significant changes over time?
I would still like to know how or if an open admission would change things. Just because anyone could be accepted doesn’t mean that everyone will graduate, which might actually be a drain, nor does it mean that everyone would secure a job as a teacher. School boards and administrators would still have a say in who would be hired as a teacher. What would open admission really change?
I am also wondering if it is ever possible to be completely fair?
Just in concluding, I would like to say well done Vanessa.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I think open admission would be a problem since the faculty prides itself of getting the best of the best students. The reality is that people with high GPAs do the best in the program. Yes, the faculty does miss a small few, but that is part of the contest system. I think that a lot of faculty disagree with some of the requirements, but from my perspective it seemed that while they did disagree there was uncertainty about what to replace those requirements with.
ReplyDeleteIn some sense, I think that the faculty is scared of change. Since the faculty is well-known I believe that they are afraid of ruining a good thing. However, I think the real fault might be not making a change and then realizing that the program is no longer the best. Great programs, in my opinion, are constantly adapt and changing to remain great programs.
Ultimately, the people I interviewed seemed to think that GPA was the most logical route and it was also the easiest, most efficient and cheapest. Before I began my study, I had the personal viewpoint that the faculty would want changes and that they would want GPA to be used less, although I still had to take a neutral stance while carrying out the study. However, but the end of the study I felt that there were mixed reviews and after all that effort to interview people it turned out that the faculty members I interviewed still thought GPA was the best to use and they seemed scared to make changes to a program that already produces top graduates and teachers. This made me somewhat tired and demotivated by the end of the study. Turns out the faculty seems happy where they are. It sounds like students, however, are not happy or at least ones that lie on the "cusp" or that do not quite make the cut to get into the faculty are unsatisfied. A good study would be for another student to go and interview students on their perspectives regarding the admission process.
Yes, that would be a great study Vanessa. (Come back and do your masters on it!)
ReplyDeleteI don't think Faculty are afraid of change, just tired of the issue. We've tried a whole bunch of different approaches over the years, but always end up back at GPA, even though it is has problems. I think what you were encountering is a "been there done that" attitude. GPA sucks, but everything else is even worse...
David, There is an open admissions university in Alberta, of course: Athabasca. It does not happen to have an education Faculty, but anyone who wants a BA can go get one. Athabasca goes a long way towards removing barriers.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your other question, the admissions process is under more or less continuous review, and has had a lot of tinkering over the past twenty years I've been here. But we mostly end up back where we started.