Foundation Year Report: Importance, Challenges and Skills

This report provides a comprehensive overview of the foundation year in the UK education system, highlighting its significance in preparing students for higher education. It emphasizes the development of essential skills, such as problem-solving, critical thinking, and communication, which are crucial for academic success. The report details the advantages of the foundation year, including boosting students' thought processes and providing a competitive edge. It also addresses the challenges students face, such as time management, financial constraints, and adapting to new educational systems, as well as the lack of resources and infrastructure. The report underscores the importance of individual student skills, like creativity and adaptability, in overcoming these challenges and maximizing the benefits of the foundation year. The conclusion reinforces the value of this preparatory year in ensuring students are well-equipped for their higher education journey.

Report

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Importance of Foundation Year...................................................................................................1
Challenges of Foundation Year...................................................................................................3
Importance of Individual Student Skills......................................................................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Foundation year is a basic course provided by education system to develop important
skills for higher studies. In United Kingdom a foundation course is provided to students before
starting higher studies. In this course students are provided with basic information and
knowledge of field that they are going to study in higher education (Sanders, Daly and
Fitzgerald, 2016). The purpose of foundation year study is to develop basic skills in students that
are required in their further studies. In higher education student face different problem that can
reduce their performance in university study. This is extra year of education that students have to
complete to get direct entry in higher education without meeting other requirements this report is
providing information of foundation year in education system and its importance for students.
The challenges that are faced by students during the foundation study year are explained in
report.
Importance of Foundation Year
In the higher studies there are different skills are required that a student must have to
perform food in studies. In an education system there are different gaps in teaching and
delivering information. Students are not aware of this study on initial level. Students need initial
training learning new skills to match requirements of higher level studies. It is most importation
part of higher education cause students learn basic skills in this extra year of education. This can
help students in different manner to gain information of this higher studies (Lewis, Seston and
Tully, 2018). The different advantages this foundation year are as – Boost up the thought
process of students, Added advantage and Competitive edge, full fill gaps ion education pattern
and make them aware of exam and study pattern.
Students have different mind set for higher studies and their thought process is not good
for base of their studies. In the foundation year spacial king of course is designed for them to
develop better understanding and better thought process to improve their basic knowledge of
particular field. Students need to be trained and prepared for higher education and focus of this
basic development of learning skills. Students come from different study backgrounds and their
method of study and education is quite different form basic system of United Kingdom study
pattern. This foundation course is important for students to strengthening their thought process
by providing them with better guidance and encouragement. This can be don by conduction
different kind of activity with in the class rooms.
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This foundation provide them advantage and competitive edge in education system. Their
skills and knowledge of field is better than the students who are came form different selection
processes. This type of extra education year students are able to perform preparing for further
exams in advance. This process is also consists of different kind of processes that are important
to checking personal skills of person to design important study programme accordingly
(Shenouda, Davies and Haq, 2018). This help students to better understand basic knowledge of
higher studies. Foundation year helps to develop basic skills in individual student that are
essential for high education.
Main purpose of this foundation year is to develop better environment for students to
make them feel familiar to new place and new education system. This can help the students to
learn pattern of exams and method of study that are good for them to perform good in exams and
class rooms. This is a plate form for the students to check their skills and knowledge for higher
studies. This can help them to get competitive advantage from other students because in
foundation year learn various skills and information that other student don't posses.
Students come from different educational backgrounds and their study pattern is quite
different from the education system of UK education system this basic different cause a lot
problems to students. This problem are related to the methods and pattern of educational delivery
used in higher education. This difference make them uncomfortable with new pattern of new
systems. If they are going to join any technical or medical study for their higher education will
be contain of different technical terms and this terms were not their in their initial education this
can create difficulty in their higher studies. This foundation year studied help them to learn this
terms and professional trainings to perform better for high studies.
In starting students can face various problems that can affect their performance and
studies cause of fundamental differences in methods of studies. This extra year in foundation
program make them prepare for higher education and provide them with a platform that help
them to plan their education method (Mukadam and Kaur, 2016). This foundation year is basic
need of students to get direct entry in higher education without full filling requirements of
studies can this all skills that are required in higher education are developed and provided to
students in foundation year of studies.
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This is how foundation year help the students to get ready for higher studies in different
fields. This thin makes foundation studies more important for those students who are not from
same study background.
Challenges of Foundation Year
When students take admission in foundation year and start attending this program they
initially face different problems that are not good for their further future. This problems are
related to different fields. This could be from education system, study pattern, methods followed
by teachers & trainer and education delivery system. This challenges in foundation system are
classified in different categories that are faced by students in foundations year.
Main problem in foundation year studies is related to time management. Students are not
able to manage their time schedule cause maybe they are living far from their home and they
have to manage other thing apart from studies. This other activities also require extra time and
they get less time cause of foundation training. This make them uncomfortable to make an
efficient plan to manage their routine work with studies. This problem could be of different
types. Students can face problems in education and studies. There are also chances that this can
affect their personal life.
Next type of challenge students face related to finance problems. While they are living
far from home and it is not easy for them to manage funds with managing studies. As they come
to new place for higher education they have to face many problems which are directly related to
foundation year program. This is difficult for them to make arrangements to learn new skills that
they haven't studied yet (Sayed and McDonald, 2017). It is not easy for them tom get compatible
with new method of education system. They are not aware of academic procedure in higher
education. These students are not from different education background and in higher education
system they have to learn new things that are different from traditional methods and this studies
are more typical and complex as compared to normal schooling. There are different barrier
students face during study.
Other challenges for students are lack of funding in foundation year program, shortage of
resources, less infrastructure, less learning material and communication barriers. Government
spent less fund in foundation year program and this cause less development in this program.
Total funding allocated to the higher education system that is already developed and education
system and authorities have different mentality and they don't want to invest more in this area of
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foundation course for higher education. The level of education and skills of each student is
different and it is difficult for educational system to design a single method for them. So this
cause a lot problem to students and this reduces their efficiency in studies and skills. Resources
allocated to students are not enough to conduct better training in foundation course. Less
infrastructure development in education system cause a lot trouble to students (Palaiologou,
2017). Incomplete infrastructure provide students with fewer opportunities and this reduce the
effectiveness of education system and delivery of information & training. Other problem is there
are less number of teachers and trainers in education system and with short number of teachers
foundation program is accessible to students. The teachers who are their to provide training to
students are not enough trained and educated to provide knowledge to students. This is causing
failure of foundation program and effectiveness of this system is very low. This problem is
difficult for students to manage the studies and skills with less resources and teachers. As the
student takes admission in foundation year studies they are not provided with enough study
material to learn required skills for higher studies. Communication gap between the students and
teachers is also a big challenge for students to get proper treatment for their problems that occurs
during the time of training classes. This communication related challenges occurs because
students come from different areas and education background.
Importance of Individual Student Skills
The skills and qualities of individual person help them a lot to come over the challenges
that comes at the time of foundation year course. Different types of qualities and skills are
possessed by the students. These skills are important to reduce the impact of challenges of
foundation studies for higher education. This main skills and qualities of student are creativity,
problem solving, critical thinking, leadership skills, communication, collaboration, information
management, adaptability, curiosity and reflection (Cherng and Halpin, 2016). These are the
main skills and qualities of a student. These qualities of individual person are important to learn
new things in higher education and reduce the influence of challenges of foundation education
and training system. Creativity of person help them to learn new information about the field that
they are going to learn in their higher education. Creativity improves their learning skills.
Problem solving skills of person help them to deal with various kind of problems during training
period. This also provide them better clarity to solve difficult problems of different subjects. For
higher studies it important to perform critical analysis in studies to get better understanding of
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different problems. This also can help student to minimise the effect of barriers of education and
training in foundation year course. Leadership quality of person help them to take initiative for
self. By taking initiative in training program they get high number of opportunities to learn new
things and develop good understanding in practical training and education field. It also can be
taken as higher level of motivation in person. Communication is most important thing to learn
something new. It is very difficult for a person to learn new things without good communication.
Effective communication develop good understanding between students and teachers. One of the
most important skill of a student. This can help them to manage study and training program
together with higher efficiency. Other important quality of student is higher adaptability and this
quality help individual to accept new method of study in higher education. Main purpose of
foundation to make students aware of higher education process and this capability of person to
adapt the new student will improve the skill development. Curiosity of student makes them more
efficient about study. This shows the need of a person to learn something new and understand
everything about particular topic. This help student to develop new skills in person that are good
for them in further higher education. Reflection of student shows how much they have learned
from the foundation year for higher education (Kingston and Siraj, 2017). This can improve
effectiveness of extra year of training for higher education/. This is how person skills of student
help to reduce and minimise the challenges that are faced by student in foundation year in
education system.
CONCLUSION
This report is concluding important of extra year of training and learning before higher
studies that is known as foundation year. Different advantages of foundation year are explained
and evaluated in study. Challenges that are faced by students during period of foundation course
are evaluated in report. It is also analysed that how individual skill of student help them to over
come the challenges inn foundation year and further higher education.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Cherng, H.Y.S. and Halpin, P.F., 2016. The importance of minority teachers: Student
perceptions of minority versus white teachers. Educational Researcher. 45(7). pp.407-
420.
Kingston, D. and Siraj, I., 2017. Supporting the implementation of the foundation phase through
effective professional development. Cylchgrawn Addysg Cymru/Wales Journal of
Education. 19(1). pp.39-68.
Lewis, P.J., Seston, E. and Tully, M.P., 2018. Foundation year one and year two doctors’
prescribing errors: a comparison of their causes. Postgraduate medical
journal. 94(1117). pp.634-640.
Mukadam, Y. and Kaur, K., 2016. 19 The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). The Early
Years Handbook for Students and Practitioners: An essential guide for the foundation
degree and levels 4 and 5. p.298.
Palaiologou, I., 2017. Assessing children’s play: reality or illusion? The case of early years
foundation stage in England. Early Child Development and Care. 187(8). pp.1259-1272.
Sanders, L.D., Daly, A.P. and Fitzgerald, K., 2016. Predicting retention, understanding attrition:
A prospective study of foundation year students. Widening Participation and Lifelong
Learning. 18(2). pp.50-83.
Sayed, Y. and McDonald, Z., 2017. Motivation to become a Foundation Phase teacher in South
Africa. South African Journal of Childhood Education. 7(1). pp.1-9.
Shenouda, J.E., Davies, B.S. and Haq, I., 2018. The role of the smartphone in the transition from
medical student to foundation trainee: a qualitative interview and focus group
study. BMC medical education. 18(1). p.175.
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