The impact of attaining the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Diploma on academic performance in bioscience higher education

Abstract

Since the introduction of the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Diploma Qualification (WBQ) in 2003, an increasing number of students are applying to higher education institutions (HEIs) with this qualification. The advanced-level WBQ is regarded as equivalent to one General Certificate of Education A-Level (GCE ALevel). This study assesses the impact of attaining the WBQ in addition to three GCE A-Levels on overall university degree performance in comparison to attaining four GCE A-Levels, in three cohorts of undergraduate students (Year 1 = 318, Year 2 = 280, Year 3 = 236) studying Biosciences from 2005 to 2011 at a UK HEI. Binary logistic regression was used to compare the academic attainment of students who had achieved four GCE A-Levels to those who had achieved three GCE A-Levels in addition to the WBQ. Comparisons were also made between students who had achieved three GCE A-Levels and those who had achieved three GCE A-Levels in addition to the WBQ. The results suggest that students who achieved the WBQ qualification in its current form, in addition to three GCE A-Levels, performed less well academically in undergraduate studies than those who achieved four GCE A-Levels. Furthermore, this effect was still present when the balance between coursework and examination was considered, and when students who had achieved the WBQ in addition to three GCE A-Levels were compared to students who had achieved three GCE A-Levels. ARTICLE HISTORY

The peculiarities and challenges of integrating generic forms of knowledge into the upper‐secondary curriculum:A Bernsteinian analysisof ‘Communication’ and ‘Application of Number’ in the Welsh Baccalaureate

“…Having opened this paper with a historical introduction on the stratification of education and the utilitarian rationale behind the teaching of reading, writing and arithmetic to the working‐classes, we now return to note the sharp divisions between more or less powerful types of knowledge and curricula (Wheelahan, 2007, 2010; Young, 2008; Young, 2010a, 2010b; Young & Muller, 2013, 2015), more or less powerful preparatory routes to Higher Education (Taylor et al , 2013a, 2013b; Yhnell et al , 2016), more or less powerful Higher Education institutions whose graduates can expect higher earnings and higher‐status jobs (Bratti et al , 2004; Power & Whitty, 2008) and more or less powerful sectors of the economy which are characterised by value‐added intellectual and professional efforts. The move from ‘elite’ to ‘mass’ and to ‘universal’ upper‐secondary can be illusionary as this move may be a disguised domino effect (Green et al , 1999, p. 30) in the face of expanding secondary and tertiary education systems.…”

Improving the quantitative research skills of Welsh Baccalaureate teachers through university engagement

“…By the end of 2005, 31 schools and colleges were piloting the qualification before it was rolled out across Wales in September 2007, following broad support for the qualification from schools and colleges (Greatbatch, Wilmut and Bellin, 2006). Yhnell et al (2016) report that the qualification was offered in over 240 centres in September 2011 and highlighted that over 70,000 students would take the qualification in 2013. The WBQ was initially available for students to undertake at three levels: Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced and o i ed general and/or vocational education (through existing qualifications) with the development of key skills that are intended to equip young people with the skills they need after leaving school (National Assembly for Wales Research Service, 2015: 1).…”

“…In the Review of Qualifications for 14-19 year-olds In Wales (2012), employability skills, the broad nature of the qualification and the accommodation of academic and vocational pathways within the qualification were noted as particular strengths (Yhnell et al, 2016). However, the report also recommended that the WBQ should be revised to make it more rigorous, include grading at advanced level (previously students only received a pass or fail result) and ensure more effective engagement between education providers and employers.…”

Data Analysis and Critical Thinking Skills Training for Teachers – the Welsh Baccalaureate

“…In 2001, the Welsh Government provided funding to pilot the Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification (WBQ) in collaboration with the main qualifications awarding body for Wales, the Welsh Joint Education Committee (WJEC) in order to "acquire knowledge, understanding and skills specific to the subject area that they want to pursue at university" (Yhnell et al, 2016). The pilot scheme was implemented in 18 centres (secondary schools and colleges) in 2003; by 2005, 31 centres were offering this qualification to their students.…”