First year undergraduates make use of recordings to overcome the barriers to higher education: evidence from a survey
In this study, 295 (13.8% response rate) first year students from a large, Scottish, Russell-Group university were surveyed on their attitudes to and use of lecture recordings in 2018. Kruskal–Wallis tests were used to compare the
Teenage boy wearing headphones works at desk in his bedroom
ranked responses between students in different categories relevant to monitoring equality and diversity, such as carer status (5% of respondents), learning adjustments (9% of respondents) and non-native English speakers (27% of respondents). Students most commonly watched a full lecture by themselves when studying with 60% watching a full lecture at least once a week. Non-native English speakers were more likely to watch specific parts of a lecture more frequently (H2 = 8.52, p = 0.014). Students with learning adjustments more often reported being unable to find a resource (H3 = 8.356, p = 0.039). There was no effect of students’ language, carer status or learning adjustment status on their self-reported likelihood to attend a lecture, likelihood to change note-taking behaviour or concentrate on a lecture if it was being recorded. Non-native English speakers were still more likely to worry about keeping up with a lecture, even when it was being recorded (H2 = 10.492, p = 0.005). In conclusion, lecture recording has different impacts on students from different backgrounds, and inclusive lecture recording education policies need to consider this impact.
