eprintid: 1545274
rev_number: 18
eprint_status: archive
userid: 608
dir: disk0/01/54/52/74
datestamp: 2017-05-05 14:36:00
lastmod: 2020-07-30 23:18:25
status_changed: 2017-05-05 14:36:00
type: thesis
metadata_visibility: show
creators_name: Power, NA
title: How do Students Experience Taking Key Stage 4/5 Public Examinations and What Works to Support them and Why?
ispublished: unpub
divisions: UCL
divisions: A01
divisions: B16
divisions: B14
abstract: This research focused on school life (assessments and transitions) as an area of change and insecurity in young people’s lives, which has been shown to generate stress and induce anxiety symptoms (Seiffge-Krenke, 1993). The experiences of nine students aged 15-17 years, who were taking Key stage 4 (Secondary level) and 5 (Further Education) public examinations were explored. Two school staff in pastoral roles were interviewed to gather their perceptions of student experiences. The research took place in one secondary school in the UK where I was on placement as a Trainee Educational Psychologist (TEP). Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to analyse the data. There are two UK based studies (Denscombe, 2000; Putwain, 2009) that have collected qualitative data on student experiences of taking exams. Whilst these studies have helped to highlight what factors might exacerbate feelings of exam stress within the school context, they do not consider the idiosyncratic nature of the exam experience and what factors help students to cope better. In choosing a case study approach with IPA as a methodology, it was possible to develop a rich picture of students’ unique experiences of the exam period. Three overarching concepts were identified in the data: the stress cycle, grades, expectations and identity, and resiliency and coping. Students who were better able to regulate feelings of stress, were those who had built a range of coping skills alongside key attachment figures. It is hoped that findings from the research can be used to inform EP practice in terms of the guidance that EPs might give to schools, particularly in developing effective supportive processes and practices in school.
date: 2017-03-28
date_type: submitted
oa_status: green
full_text_type: other
thesis_class: doctoral_open
language: eng
thesis_view: UCL_Thesis
primo: open
primo_central: open_green
verified: verified_manual
elements_id: 1214440
lyricists_name: Power, Natalie
lyricists_id: NAPOW12
actors_name: Power, Natalie
actors_name: Flynn, Bernadette
actors_id: NAPOW12
actors_id: BFFLY94
actors_role: owner
actors_role: impersonator
full_text_status: public
pages: 246
event_title: UCL (University College London)
institution: UCL (University College London)
department: Psychology and Human Development, Institute of Education
thesis_type: Doctoral
citation:        Power, NA;      (2017)    How do Students Experience Taking Key Stage 4/5 Public Examinations and What Works to Support them and Why?                   Doctoral thesis , UCL (University College London).     Green open access   
 
document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1545274/1/Power_Natalie_THESIS_FINAL.pdf