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University Pathway Programs: Types, Origins, Aims and Defining Traits

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University Pathway Programs: Local Responses within a Growing Global Trend

Abstract

This chapter is an introduction to this volume. The chapter traces the factors that caused the emergence of university pathway programs at a national and global scale. It delves in matters of nomenclature, types of programs offered and the links between universities and private providers in program delivery. When discussing the aims and traits of university pathway programs, the chapter includes three models that developers, teachers and students of such programs might find useful to inform their approach to language proficiency, academic literacies and pastoral care issues. These models are: a heuristic of English language proficiency (Humphreys 2015), the academic literacies methodological approach to learning and teaching (Lea and Street 2006) and a consideration of five areas of students’ needs that must be met to facilitate their successful transition to higher education (Lizzio 2006). The chapter then presents the goals, structure and content overview of the book. It ends with a consideration of the difficulties faced by those involved in different areas of university pathway programs development and delivery.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This report includes the following information about university preparation programs: subjects that students choose, entry requirements, qualifications gained upon completion, cost, number of programs available worldwide, program providers, global value of the sector, benefits gained by universities that provide them, and future trends in the sector.

  2. 2.

    English Medium Instruction in Higher Education in Asia- Pacific: From Policy to Pedagogy (2017) Fenton-Smith, B., Humphreys, P. & Walkinshaw, I. (Eds.) includes an insightful collection of papers that focus on challenges at the governmental, institutional, curriculum development and teaching levels that must be faced when considering English as a medium of instruction in both countries where English is students’ L1 and where it is an AL for them.

  3. 3.

    Harvey (2004–2017) defines “non-traditional” students as those whose characteristics are not the ones usually associated with those who enter higher education. This might be the case due to the age groups, social classes and/or ethnic groups to which these students belong which have been underrepresented in the past. It can also be related to gender groups that have not been associated with certain disciplines such as males in nursing. Another non-traditional group would be that of students with a disability or first generation student in a family.

  4. 4.

    Several approaches to teaching academic writing preceded and formed the basis for the academic literacies approach. Those approaches include English for specific purposes, North American New Rhetoric, English as an additional language (EAL) and Australian systemic functional linguistics (SFL). Bastalich, Behrend and Bloomfield (2014) present a succinct description of each approach and their impact on learning and teaching in academic contexts. The following sources provide a clear view of the academic literacies approach to teaching and learning: Lea and Street (1998), Lillis (2001, 2003) and Lillis and Scott (2007).

  5. 5.

    For an interesting overview on the internationalisation of Higher Education and the reasons that underpin it see Altbach and Knight (2007).

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Acknowledgement

The authors are very grateful to Dr. Pamela Humphreys for giving them access to her unpublished doctoral thesis and for her valuable feedback on this chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Arts, International Studies Department, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, Australia

    Cintia Inés Agosti

  2. Australian School of Applied Management, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Eva Bernat

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  1. Cintia Inés Agosti
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Correspondence to Cintia Inés Agosti .

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  1. Faculty of Arts, International Studies Department, Macquarie University, North Ryde, New South Wales, Australia

    Cintia Inés Agosti

  2. Australian School of Applied Management, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Eva Bernat

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Agosti, C.I., Bernat, E. (2018). University Pathway Programs: Types, Origins, Aims and Defining Traits. In: Agosti, C., Bernat, E. (eds) University Pathway Programs: Local Responses within a Growing Global Trend. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72505-5_1

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