An investigation into the Social, Academic, and Developmental value of Arts and Humanities Foundation Years

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Hazzard, C orcid iconORCID: 0000-0002-1511-7135, Feather, D orcid iconORCID: 0000-0001-5014-3091, Ludvigsen, J, Taylor, K and Cont, S orcid iconORCID: 0000-0002-2448-6231 (2025) An investigation into the Social, Academic, and Developmental value of Arts and Humanities Foundation Years. PRISM. ISSN 2514-5347

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Abstract

This research paper explores the social, academic, and developmental value of arts and humanities foundation years at university. The research was conducted with students at a post-92 university in the northwest of England and investigates their experiences of undertaking a foundation year course in the arts and humanities. It focuses on students’ perception of the course’s value in terms of the educational and personal benefits to them. The research was conducted in the context of the 2019 Review of Post-18 Education conducted by Sir Phillip Augur that recommended funding be withdrawn from university foundation year courses. Our research found that most students would not have continued studying had a university foundation year course not been available to them, and that the course benefitted them in a number of ways, including by developing their self-confidence and their sense of belonging in a Higher Education (HE) environment. Our findings demonstrate that foundation years at universities continue to play an important role in widening participation in the arts and humanities at a time when these subjects are themselves under threat, and therefore remain valuable in promoting social justice and inclusivity in HE.

Item Type: Article
Subjects: L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB2300 Higher Education
N Fine Arts > NX Arts in general
Divisions: Education
Humanities and Social Science
Publisher: Liverpool John Moores University
Date of acceptance: 26 September 2025
Date of first compliant Open Access: 23 October 2025
Date Deposited: 23 Oct 2025 10:51
Last Modified: 23 Oct 2025 11:00
DOI or ID number: 10.24377/prism.article1626
URI: https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/27402
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