In this PhD thesis, we aimed to improve understanding of the study progression and success of autistic students in higher education by comparing them to students with other disabilities and students without disabilities. We studied their background and enrollment characteristics, whether barriers in progression existed, how and when possible barriers manifested themselves in their student journey, and how institutions should address these issues. We found autistic students to be different from their peers but not worse as expected based on existing findings. We expect we counterbalanced differences because we studied a large data set spanning seven cohorts and performed propensity score weighting. Most characteristics of autistic students at enrollment were similar to those of other students, but they were older and more often male. They more often followed an irregular path to higher education than students without disabilities. They expected to study full time and spend no time on extracurricular activities or paid work. They expected to need more support and were at a higher risk of comorbidity than students with other disabilities. We found no difficulties with participation in preparatory activities. Over the first bachelor year, the grade point averages (GPAs) of autistic students were most similar to the GPAs of students without disabilities. Credit accumulation was generally similar except for one of seven periods, and dropout rates revealed no differences. The number of failed examinations and no-shows among autistic students was higher at the end of the first semester. Regarding progression and degree completion, we showed that most outcomes (GPAs, dropout rates, resits, credits, and degree completion) were similar in all three groups. Autistic students had more no-shows in the second year than their peers, which affected degree completion after three years. Our analysis of student success prediction clarified what factors predicted their success or lack thereof for each year in their bachelor program. For first-year success, study choice issues were the most important predictors (parallel programs and application timing). Issues with participation in pre-education (absence of grades in pre-educational records) and delays at the beginning of autistic students’ studies (reflected in age) were the most influential predictors of second-year success and delays in the second and final year of their bachelor program. Additionally, academic performance (average grades) was the strongest predictor of degree completion within three years. Our research contributes to increasing equality of opportunities and the development of support in higher education in three ways. First, it provides insights into the extent to which higher education serves the equality of autistic students. Second, it clarifies which differences higher education must accommodate to support the success of autistic students during their student journey. Finally, we used the insights into autistic students’ success to develop a stepped, personalized approach to support their diverse needs and talents, which can be applied using existing offerings.
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When teaching grammar, one of the biggest challenges teachers face is how to make their students achieve conceptual understanding. Some scholars have argued that metaconcepts from theoretical linguistics should be used to pedagogically and conceptually enrich traditional L1 grammar teaching, generating more opportunities for conceptual understanding. However, no empirical evidence exists to support this theoretical position. The current study is the first to explore the role of linguistic metaconcepts in the grammatical reasoning of university students of Dutch Language and Literature. Its goal was to gain a better understanding of the characteristics of students’ grammatical conceptual knowledge and reasoning and to investigate whether students’ reasoning benefits from an intervention that related linguistic metaconcepts to concepts from traditional grammar. Results indicate, among other things, that using explicit linguistic metaconcepts and explicit concepts from traditional grammar is a powerful contributor to the quality of students’ grammatical reasoning. Moreover, the intervention significantly improved students’ use of linguistic metaconcepts.
Individuals with autism increasingly enroll in universities, but little is known about predictors for their success. This study developed predictive models for the academic success of autistic bachelor students (N=101) in comparison to students with other health conditions (N=2465) and students with no health conditions (N=25,077). We applied propensity score weighting to balance outcomes. The research showed that autistic students’ academic success was predictable, and these predictions were more accurate than predictions of their peers’ success. For first-year success, study choice issues were the most important predictors (parallel program and application timing). Issues with participation in pre-education (missingness of grades in pre-educational records) and delays at the beginning of autistic students’ studies (reflected in age) were the most influential predictors for the second-year success and delays in the second and final year of their bachelor’s program. In addition, academic performance (average grades) was the strongest predictor for degree completion in 3 years. These insights can enable universities to develop tailored support for autistic students. Using early warning signals from administrative data, institutions can lower dropout risk and increase degree completion for autistic students.
