Getting Inside their Heads: Research Insights into College-Bound Students

Ken Steele's plenary presentation to the 2008 Loyalist College “Carving New Pathways” Conference, “Our Learning-Centred Journey,” May 29 2008, Belleville Ontario.

Although college instructors may get to know their students first-hand, quantitative research can clarify and illuminate aspects of student attitudes, perceptions and motivations that often don’t get expressed in the classroom. Why are students really attending college? What are their deepest personal motivators? What do they ultimately hope to achieve? What are their biggest fears? In the anonymity of an online survey, student responses can reveal a surprising amount of variation. For more than a decade, Academica Group has been monitoring trends in Canadian higher education, and surveying post-secondary applicants in one of the largest education consumer studies in North America. In this fast-paced, data-driven presentation, Academica Group co-founder Ken Steele will present an overview of key research insights into Ontario college students, from demographic trends and a range of decision factors, to students’ personal aspirations and motivations.

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