Student perceptions of achievement: Fears, challenges and expectations

This paper presents work in progress from an HEA-ADM Fellowship funded project into student perceptions of achievement and peer mentoring.
During the last six months research, including questionnaires and interviews, has been undertaken to find out how design students perceive their own success and to record what personal achievements and learning strategies they have found most effective to progress to graduation. In July 2009 recent graduates from a number of UK institutions were interviewed and filmed at the New Designers exhibition in London, a show for the highest achieving design students, to find out to what they attributed their success. Further surveys were then carried out at Teesside University with new starters during welcome week to assess their perceptions in relation to the fears, challenges and expectations of the student experience ahead of them.
This paper will consider whether the first year and final year students‟ views correlate and will ask whether the results equate with the advice teaching staff give their students and if tutors or peers can help them become more effective learners earlier in their academic careers. The presentation will include a mix of video clips, dissemination of data and welcomes the contribution of the audience.