P-32

Due to Saxion’s vision on education and research, the Saxion StudieSuccesCentrum is monitoring interventions that are supposed to effect student’s study success

The relevance, quality and tempo of the final theses, are the key topics that are monitored in two pilot studies in the bachelor studies Interior Design & Styling (IDS) and Business Economics (BE). IDS has changed its focus in the final thesis from “doing a research” to “realizing a design process with existing knowledge, situational evidence and professional reflection”. BE has implemented a final program during the 3rd and 4th year of the bachelor study. In this program students perform in real professionals tasks with corresponding professional products.

One of Saxion’s strategic indicators is Bachelor Success Rates (Saxion Strategic Plan 2016-2020), which includes study delay, relevance and quality of the final thesis products. Moreover, study delay emanates for a large deal from the last part of the bachelor curricula: the final thesis. Therefore, insights into effective interventions in the final stages of curricula are extremely relevant for reducing study delay. Second, students’ inquisitive attitude and research competences are an important result of the curriculum, in particular of the final project. However, educations struggle to achieve relevant skills for an inquisitive attitude and abilities in doing and applying research. More insights into effective ways to approach these attitudes and skills during the final project presumably contribute to quality of education.

In order to gain more insight in these issues, the above mentioned interventions are monitored. The current study is part of this monitoring. The main research question that this study addresses is: In what way does the focus on professional products in final projects effect the relevance for the professional practice, quality and tempo of the inquiry skills and knowledge products in the final thesis projects?

Questions to discuss with fellow researchers:

1) Do inquiry skills in relation on professional products prepare our students enough for changing practices with unknown forms of specific products and solutions?

2) To what extent are tutors a cocreator in the process and deliverables of the final projects?