• Conversion Factors

The pragmatic capability list provides a framework for what is required to successfully enable low-SES students to aspire to higher education; however, as Wilson-Strydom [56] observes, it is also important to identify conversion factors that impact a person's ability to convert resources into opportunities or capabilities. This draws attention to the point at which agency and structure intersect and therefore provides a mechanism to explore how individual agents can engage with positive or negative structural processes, or conversion factors, to realise their goals. Table 6 below provides an overview of the three TA21 core practices and the capabilities that emerged over the three-year period (2014–2017).


**Table 6.** The TA21 core practices and emergent student capabilities [33].

The research demonstrated three main findings: (1) Specific student capabilities emerged following their engagement in the core practices of Leadership, Mentoring and Pathways to college; these are: autonomy, practical reason and college knowledge, identity, social relations and networks and hope. (2) Students encountered a range of inhibiting social conversion factors in developing capabilities and persisting with higher-education aspirations; these were: the negative pull of peer relations, pressure related to state examinations, and limited subject choice and conflicting family expectations. (3) There are four themes that arise throughout: (a) the centrality of informed choice, (b) confidence, (c) resilience and (d) trusted relationships with relatable others.

Having access to early information about subject choice and levels enabled them to consider their educational choices in the long term and understand how thinking about their future now might positively impact their progress. The Leadership core practice helped students to develop the confidence and ability to "ask the right questions". This also enabled them to broaden their networks outside of the immediate community, through campus visits and business presentations. Students built new, trusted relationships with their mentors, which made them believe that *"if they can do it, then so can I!*" This encouraged them to discuss their future with their families and teachers, which in turn, improved the quality of those relationships. Having access to relatable others and to information on the variety of entry routes to post-secondary education supported students' educational resilience, as they internalised the message that there are many ways in which they could progress and that they could draw on their social networks [33].

### *4.7. The Development of Capabilities in Students Engaged in the LMH FY*

O'Sullivan et al. [34,35], a research team from Maynooth University and the University of Oxford, undertook a longitudinal comparative case study of the student experience on the LMH FY. Pre- and post-questionnaires and in-depth focus groups were undertaken with the FY students. Analysis of the focus groups conducted at the start of the academic year explored students' experiences before entering university and perceptions of why they needed an alternative entry route to the university. Ten students from the LMH FY participated. They completed a questionnaire at the start and the end of the year to determine their perceived levels of academic capital and sense of belonging in the university. Qualitative data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis [34], a qualitative approach which explores in detail how participants are making sense of their personal and social world.

Similar to the second-level students in the TA21 programme, O'Sullivan [34,35] reports strong feelings of inequality in student views of the education system. They perceived some students as having a natural sense of belonging, while others believed the lack of educational guidance and knowledge in their school meant they had a lack of "navigational capital" to support their progression to HE. Another similarity in the findings both in Ireland and the UK is that students in the LMH FY referenced the importance of having relatable role models within their family and community to build this sense of confidence, belonging and identity as a HE student.

Thematic analysis of the focus groups conducted at the end of the LMH FY explored students' experiences of the LMH FY, their perceptions of how it impacted upon their capacity to participate in university life and any challenges students faced over the year. The analysis identified the processes of change which occurred over the course of the year and four themes that arose, related to student identity, belonging and confidence [34,35].

This article draws on the findings of the O'Sullivan et al. paper as a basis for comparison with the TA21 programme to consider the capabilities that emerged in students during their participation in both programs. In Table 7 below, a capability lens is applied to the qualitative findings of O'Sullivan et al.'s research and the emergent capabilities of academic identity, affiliation and practical reason that are aligned with the LMH component and practical examples.


**Table 7.** The LMH FY in Oxford University and emergent student capabilities.

*Identity*. FY students described a significant shift in how they viewed their academic potential. Academic courses, focused on essay writing and critical skills, alongside a supportive, accessible tutoring system, changed students' perception of their academic identity. This helped students to grow in self-confidence. The process of drafting academic essays, presenting and defending their academic ideas with others, further strengthened this emergent identity as a member of the LMH college community and as students within the University of Oxford. The tutorial system in Oxford, which gives each student a close academic advisor and support, was essential in developing the students' identity, their academic confidence and their sense of belonging.

*Practical Reason and College Knowledge.* The knowledge developed through small-cohort class discussions with tutors and professional staff within the college helped students to build the capability of practical reason to plan their future and to assess their own strengths and abilities within the University of Oxford context.

*Social Relations and Social networks*. FY students formed a strong community amongst themselves; however, they were also integrated within LMH as part of the college community, and within the University of Oxford as part of the wider institutional community. As the first FY cohort in the university, they were subject to considerable scrutiny as an "admissions experiment". There were sceptics both among the staff and student bodies. In-depth work between the LMH team and the FY students was essential to teasing these complexities out, enabling them to explore and discuss their social class identities, inequalities within the wider system and to build an understanding of their legitimate place within the university. This process strengthened FY students' capability of social relations and social networks, by building a stronger sense of collaboration with their peers and their tutors, enabling them to reach beyond their own networks into the wider university community, and exposing them to public discussions, fora and cultural events which enhanced their sense of belonging. The LMH FY students were all high academic achievers before they began the course; however, O'Sullivan et al. [34] demonstrated that this academic success masked a sense of "outsider" within the university and the process of engaging in the FY helped students to develop the capabilities of identity and social networks within the university.
