Profiles and opinions of disadvantaged students starting a narrative course to promote learning to learn in the context of a transnational project

Abstract

The frame for this paper is a European funded project which aims to prevent university drop-out of students who need support to fulfill their educational potential because of disadvantages caused by personal, social, cultural or economic circumstances. The project promotes acquisition of the key competence of Learning to Learn at the university level by developing and implementing a training course focused on narrative tools. This narrative methodology is aimed at sustaining the development of a reflexive competence, based on the process of mentalisation of learning experience on the part of individuals. The project target group consists in nontraditional students, enrolled in the second year of a university degree, who have passed less than 50% exams and can be considered as disadvantaged students. This paper focuses specifically in analyzing some of the characteristics and profiles of the nontraditional students participating in the first cycle of the training course (n= 30). We present the results of the analysis of both the entry form (necessary to apply for the course) and the form to evaluate the initial situation of the students about reflective/mentalisation competence. Results show that the attending students feel frustrated because they think they lack of the capabilities to success in the university. Their critics to the university as an institution are addressed to the lack of attention it pays to meet their special needs. As a consequence, their ways of dealing with the difficulties they encounter are, somehow, “defensive”: put more effort or sacrifice and become resigned. However, reading beneath their answers, we are inclined to think that they show certain agentivity in order to overcome their difficulties. Their positive attitudes towards the course is a sign that they have not so far given up, and that they are searching for new ways to develop a positive academic career avoiding future drop-out