Effects of honours programme participation in higher education: a propensity score matching approach

Abstract

Honours programmes have become part of higher education systems around the globe, and an increasing number of students are enrolled in such programmes. So far, effects of these programmes are largely under-researched. Two gaps in previous research on the effects of such programmes were addressed: (1) most studies lack a comparable control group of students not enrolled in honours programmes and (2) few studies have longitudinally investigated effects of honours programmes on student characteristics other than academic achievement. By using propensity score matching, the current study investigated the effects of Dutch honours programmes on students' ability, motivation, creativity and academic achievement. Students' selfperceived ability, perseverance, mastery orientation, performance orientation, intellectual curiosity and self-efficacy, as well as students' gender and study grades were used to match undergraduate honours students to non-honours students (N = 94). Results showed no overall differences in ability, motivation and creativity halfway into the honours programme, although honours students seemed to slightly increase in intellectual curiosity, while non-honours students tended to decrease in mastery orientation. Outcomes of the study give rise to considerations about the role of honours programmes in curricula.ARTICLE HISTORY

Effects of participation in excellence programmes on cognitive and non-cognitive skills among higher education students in the Netherlands

“…Through the so-called Sirius subsidy in 2008, the Dutch government invested €61 million euros to further expand and stimulate excellence programmes in various institutions. In general, excellence programmes in the Netherlands are set up to complement the regular education programmes (Kool et al 2017). Although traditionally higher education in the Netherlands is geared towards promoting inclusivity and equality, in the last two decades additional curricula and programmes were developed for excellent students who are eager to pursue opportunities to further broaden and deepen their learning beyond their regular education programmes (Wolfensberger, van Eijl, and Pilot 2004).…”

“…This eligibility requirement makes it difficult to find a suitable control group of students in regular programmes, which is essential to assess the added value of participation in excellence programmes. In one of the few articles examining the effects of excellence programmes in the Netherlands, Kool et al (2017) include measures of motivation, creativity, and ability to assess students' development. This study revealed that students' development halfway through the excellence programme does not differ compared to students in regular programmes.…”

El Impacto del Modelo educativo dual en la formación profesional del estudiante

“…En consecuencia, partiendo de esta premisa planteada, que la formación dual en la Universidad de Cuenca no consideró en su diseño la asignación aleatoria de sus estudiantes para el ingreso a la carrera, una de las soluciones para evaluar diferencias en los resultados de interés es tratar de simular la aleatoriedad en la asignación. En este sentido, Caliendo y Kopeinig (2008) y Kool et al (2017) mencionaron que los métodos de emparejamiento como el psm pretenden construir un grupo de comparación o control lo más similar posible en términos de unas características observables.…”

Excellentieonderwijs: Selectie van studenten en individuele effecten

“…Bui et al (2011) concluderen echter dat excellentieprogramma's ook andere resultaten hebben dan alleen behaalde studieresultaten. Deze conclusie wordt ondersteund door Kool et al (2017) en Ghanizadeh (2017) die constateren dat studenten zich ook ontwikkelen op andere gebieden, zoals het kritisch denkvermogen. Zowel cognitieve uitkomsten zoals kritisch denken en behaalde cijfers als non-cognitieve vaardigheden zoals creativiteit zijn belangrijke uitkomstmaten van het onderwijs (Renzulli, 2002).…”