The Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification (WBQ) represents one of the principal ways in which Wales has developed its response to UK and international debates about the most effective ways of preparing young people for higher education. The WBQ involves a distinctive approach to the organisation of the curriculum combining significant elements of general and/or vocational education with the development of key skills, including work-related competencies. Its focused attention on skills and social development significantly improves the opportunities for young people to prepare effectively for progre
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The Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification (WBQ) represents one of the principal ways in which Wales has developed its response to UK and international debates about the most effective ways of preparing young people for higher education. The WBQ involves a distinctive approach to the organisation of the curriculum combining significant elements of general and/or vocational education with the development of key skills, including work-related competencies. Its focused attention on skills and social development significantly improves the opportunities for young people to prepare effectively for progression to further and higher education (HE) and for entry to the labour market. In June 2012, the Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research, Data and Methods (WISERD) was awarded the contract to undertake a research project into the relationship between the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Diploma and HE for the Welsh Government. This report is concerned with one key aspect of the WBQ: namely, its effectiveness in preparing young people for HE. Therefore, it is concerned only with the WBQ Advanced Diploma. The evaluation reports two key, but interrelated, findings. The first is that there is strong evidence to suggest that the WBQ is enormously valuable in helping students to enter higher education. However, the evaluation also finds evidence to suggest that students with the WBQ find they are less likely to achieve a 'good' degree result than equivalent students without the WBQ, once they are at university. Despite these mixed results, there was general support amongst staff and students in schools and universities for the WBQ and its main aims. But equally, it was acknowledged that there need to be improvements in the content and delivery of the WBQ for these benefits to be fully realised. The report identifies areas in which the WBQ could be improved and suggests that further and continuous monitoring and analysis is required in order to understand fully the relationships between the WBQ and university participation and progress.
Excerpts from publication.
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