scholarly journals Exploring Habitus and Writer Identities: An ethnographic study of writer identity construction in the FET Phase at two schools in the Western Cape

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 67
Author(s):  
Michelle Van Heerden
Keyword(s):  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
First Year ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Ripple Effects ◽  
Institutional Values ◽  
Pluralistic Societies ◽  
Deficit Discourses ◽  
Writer Identities

Globalisation processes have resulted in increasingly pluralistic societies, a phenomenon with ripple effects in contexts such as universities, which now provide access to heterogeneous student populations with diverse rituals, beliefs, cultures and languages. For this reason, deficit discourses that frame students as underprepared for the demands of tertiary studies are a global phenomenon (Boughey, 2003; Lillis, 2003; Lea & Street, 1998). Furthermore, the different identities, histories and dispositions (Bourdieu, 1990) of students result in hybrid linguistic repertoires, with some repertoires being more powerful than others (Blommaert, 2001; Blommaert, Collins &Slembrouck, 2005; Rampton, 2003). Therefore, having access to the preferred linguistic repertoire - in most cases standard English - is an asset, because this repertoire is more closely aligned than others to tertiary education practices and discourses. As a result, the scholarly community can be daunting for many first-year students whose linguistic identities are not always aligned to institutional values, practices and discourses; students can easily be indexed as under-achieving or incompetent.

scholarly journals First-Year Students’ EFL Reading Difficulties at a Greek Merchant Marine Academy: An Activity Theory Perspective

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 378
Author(s):  
Emmanouela Seiradakis
Keyword(s):  
Activity Theory ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Division Of Labour ◽  
First Year ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Merchant Marine ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Marine Engineering

This paper explores how the transition from secondary to tertiary education influences Greek marine engineering students’ EFL reading behaviors and strategies from an activity-theory perspective. Data were gathered through individual semi-structured interviews with four first-year students who struggled with reading texts in English. Findings suggest that these students experience difficulties in reading lengthy discipline-specific texts such as technical manuals due to the fact they still use the same EFL reading strategies and have the same expectations they had before entering tertiary education. From an activity theory perspective, these students’ difficulties are associated with two distinct EFL reading activity systems which have diverse goals, tools, values, and division of labour. The first system is placed within the wider Greek foreign language education context these students belonged in high school. The second, involves the system that emerged after they entered the Merchant Marine Academy as tertiary education students. These two EFL reading systems clash and create obstacles in their discipline-specific reading which in turn slows down their disciplinary socialization in the marine engineering community.

scholarly journals Peculiarities of the First Year University Students’ Motivation for Learning in Samples of Riga and Smolensk

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jelena Jermolajeva ◽  
◽  
Svetlana Silchenkova ◽  
Larissa Turusheva ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tertiary Education ◽  
International Study ◽  
Learning Motivation ◽  
Psychological Climate ◽  
First Year ◽  
Educational Strategies ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Motivation For Learning ◽  
First Year University ◽  
The Impact

The demand for tertiary education among young people is growing worldwide. However, in the first months of the studies, freshmen face increasing difficulties, which sometimes negatively affect their learning motivation. For the successful pedagogical process, teachers need to study the motivation of students of the first study year, monitor it and take into account its peculiarities while developing learning materials and choosing educational strategies. The article presents the results of an international study of freshmen’s motivation. The study aim to compare the motivation of the first-year students at the universities of Riga and Smolensk, to identify prevailing motives and to assess the impact of the psychological atmosphere in the student group on their motivation. In the survey carried out in December 2019, 129 students from two universities in Riga (Latvia) and Smolensk (Russia) participated. The tools for collecting information were the technique of diagnostics of learning motivation by 7 content scales and the technique of measuring the psychological climate in the collective by 10 bipolar scales. For data processing, descriptive statistics, analysis of statistical indicators, and Spearman correlation analysis were used. In both national samples, professional motives for learning prevail over other motives, while prestige motives and avoidance motives take the penultimate and last place relatively. The importance of other groups of learning motives is assessed somewhat differently. For the Smolensk sample of students it was found out that their motivation to learn depends on the psychological atmosphere in the group, especially on the overall atmosphere of success in the group. However a similar correlation has not been revealed in the survey of the Riga sample of students. The study shows that a few months after the start of studying, the first-year students’ overall motivation has not dropped below the critical level. However, for more successful training, it could and should be improved. Some ways to increase freshmen’s motivation for learning are proposed in the article.

scholarly journals Exploring the first-year experience in a diverse population: Using participatory action research to explore strategies to support student transition into fast-track undergraduate degree programs

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 41-51
Author(s):  
Greg Rickard ◽  
Marguerite Bramble ◽  
Hazel Maxwell ◽  
Rochelle Einboden ◽  
Sally Farrington ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fast Track ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Transition Process ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Student Transition ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
University Life

As the cohort of students in Australian universities become increasingly diverse, attention to ensuring their success is an emerging issue of social justice in tertiary education. Navigating transitions through the student journey is crucial to their success. Exploring and responding to the needs of a cohort of first-year students is the focus of this research. Using a participatory action approach, this project aimed to discover what is meaningful for first-year students, by exploring how students experienced the processes of admission, enrolment, commencement, and learning and teaching in two fast-track and one online health degrees. Nine students were partnered with nine academics for a six-month period. The analysis offers insights into equity issues in relation to the institution’s admission processes, the quality of support and engagement from academics to students when transitioning to university life, and how students find their ‘place’. Strategies to support the transition process for first-year students are identified and discussed.

scholarly journals First Year University Students Arrive with Some Search Skills, But Struggle with Scholarly Sources

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 22
Author(s):  
Cari Merkley
Keyword(s):  
Information Literacy ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Information Source ◽  
Health Sciences ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Scholarly Literature ◽  
Information Literacy Skills

A Review of: Salisbury, F., & Karasmanis, S. (2011). Are they ready? Exploring student information literacy skills in the transition from secondary to tertiary education. Australian Academic & Research Libraries, 42(1), 43-58. Objective – To determine what existing information literacy skills first year students possess upon entering university. Design – Quantitative survey questionnaire. Setting – A research university in Australia. Subjects – 1,029 first year students in the health sciences. Methods – First year students enrolled in the health sciences were asked to complete a paper questionnaire in their first week of classes in 2009. The 20 question survey was distributed in student tutorial groups. The first 10 questions collected information on student demographics, expected library use, and existing information seeking behaviour. The remaining 10 questions tested students’ understanding of information literacy concepts. Data collected from the survey were analyzed using the statistical software SPSS. Main Results – Most of the students who responded to the questionnaire were between the ages of 16 and 21 (84.3%) with only 2.2% over the age of 40. Approximately 15% of respondents had completed some postsecondary university or vocational education prior to enrolling in their current program. The students ranked Google, a friend, and a book as the top three places they would go to find information on something they knew little about. Google was also the most popular choice for finding a scholarly article (35% of respondents), followed by the library catalogue (21%). A large proportion of students correctly answered questions relating to identifying appropriate search terms. For example, one third of the students selected the correct combination of search concepts for a provided topic, and 77% identified that the choice of search phrase could negatively impact search results. Students also demonstrated prior knowledge of the Boolean operator AND, with 38% correctly identifying its use in the related question. Most students were also able to identify key markers of a website’s credibility. Questions relating to ethical information use and scholarly literature proved more challenging. Almost half (45%) of the students said that they did not know the characteristics of a peer reviewed journal article. Twenty five percent of respondents indicated that citing an information source was only necessary in the case of direct quotes, with only 28% correctly identifying the need for citing both quotes and paraphrasing. Only 23% were able to select the example of a journal citation from the list presented. Conclusion – Students enter university with existing strengths in concept identification and basic search formulation, but require the most assistance with locating and identifying scholarly literature and how to cite it appropriately in their work. The findings will inform the development of an online information literacy assessment tool to assist incoming students in identifying areas where they may require additional support as they transition to university.

scholarly journals The impact of digital divide for first-year students in adoption of social media for learning in South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohube I. Mphahlele ◽  
Sello N. Mokwena ◽  
Appolonia Ilorah
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Digital Divide ◽  
Cognitive Theory ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
The Internet ◽  
First Year ◽  
Personal Factors ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
The Impact

Background: Social media comprise technologies that facilitate learning in higher education institutions. However, many first-year students at tertiary education institutions are not taking advantage of social media for their learning because of environmental and personal factors related to the digital divide (DD).Objectives: The objective of this research study was to investigate the impact of the DD factors on first-year students in using social media for learning in tertiary education institutions.Method: A survey method was used to conduct the study. Social cognitive theory was employed as a theory underpinning this research. A questionnaire technique was used to collect data from 600 first-year students of a multi-campus university. Three hundred students came from each of the two campuses. Regression analysis was performed with the purpose of testing the hypotheses of the study.Results: The result of the analysis revealed a low computer access and usage but a high percentage of mobile devices usage by students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Personal factors were found to have an impact on the behaviour of students in adopting social media for their studies. The study also found that the prevalence of social media nullifies the lack of computer resources and connection to the Internet in disadvantaged areas.Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the DD was more complex than hitherto envisaged. The study recommends that ownership of computers and devices connected to the Internet needs to be promoted, especially in disadvantaged areas.

scholarly journals Subjective well-being among first-year university students: A two-wave prospective study in Flanders, Belgium

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
David De Coninck ◽  
Koen Matthijs ◽  
Patrick Luyten
Keyword(s):  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Self Report ◽  
First Year ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Start Time ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
First Semester ◽  
Parental Relationship ◽  
Child Relationship

In the transition from secondary to tertiary education, first-year students experience stress due to the academic, cultural, and social environment they must adapt to. This may negatively impact their subjective well-being, which in turn may negatively influence academic performance and increase the probability of dropping out. We report findings from a two-wave online study involving first-year students enrolled in a sociology course at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences at the University of Leuven (Belgium). Students completed self-report questionnaires on sociodemographic background, subjective well-being, parental relationship quality, and personality, at the start (Time 1) and end (Time 2) of the first semester. 194 students (35%) completed measures at both times. Results show that subjective well-being decreased from the beginning to the end of the first semester. Well-being at university was positively, and feelings of depression negatively, related to subjective well-being at Time 1 and Time 2. Female students reported lower well-being than male students at Time 2 but not Time 1. The quality of the mother–child, but not the father–child, relationship was positively related to subjective well-being at Time 1 and Time 2.

scholarly journals E-Learning vs. Face-To-Face Learning: Analyzing Students’ Preferences and Behaviors

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4381
Author(s):  
Vasile Gherheș ◽  
Claudia E. Stoian ◽  
Marcela Alina Fărcașiu ◽  
Miroslav Stanici
Keyword(s):  
Educational Process ◽  
Return To School ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Ripple Effects ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Face To Face Learning

Educational life worldwide has been shaken by the closure of schools due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. The ripple effects have been felt in the way both teachers and students have adapted to the constraints imposed by the new online form of education. The present study focuses exclusively on the beneficiaries of the educational process and aims to find out their perceptions of face-to-face and e-learning and their desire to return, or not, to the traditional form of education. These perceptions are represented by 604 students of the Politehnica University of Timisoara, who were asked to respond anonymously to an 8-question questionnaire between December 2020 and February 2021. The results show the respondents’ levels of desire to return to school (especially of those who have only benefited from e-learning) and their degree of involvement during online classes. The results also specify the advantages and disadvantages of the two forms of education from a double perspective, namely that of first-year students (beneficiaries of e-learning exclusively), and of upper-year students (beneficiaries of both face-to-face and e-learning). The study points out key information about e-learning from the students’ perspectives, which should be considered to understand the ongoing changes of the educational process and to solve its specific problems, thus ensuring its sustainability.

Engels In Nederlandse Oren

1981 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 127-138
Author(s):  
A. Broeders
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Social Status ◽  
General Trend ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Future Research ◽  
First Year ◽  
Point Scale ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Middle Generation

This paper discusses some of the results of an investigation into pronunciation preference among two groups of first-year students of English in the Netherlands. Our aim was to establish in how far RP, the accent that is used almost universally in Dutch secondary and tertiary education, appeals to these learners as a pronunciation model as compared with a number of other English accents (General American, Cockney, Yorkshire General Australian, Scots English and 'near-native Dutch RP'). The inves-tigation was prompted by the suspicion that the presence of a large number of American features in the English accent of beginning first-year students of English might be an indication of the popularity of an American style accent among these students. The test consisted of seven versions of an animal fable, read by seven different speakers, illustrating the seven accents. Students were asked to score these accents for appeal on a five-point scale. The scores revealed that, contrary to our expectations, the RP version was rated significantly higher than the American version. This may, however, have been due to the rather staid, middle generation character of the accent involved. Scots, Yorkshire, Gen Australian and Cockney appeared to have very little appeal, while the 'Dutch RP' version had roughly the same appeal as the American accent. Apart from this general trend, the appeal-scores showed interesting differences for the various subgroups. It was also attempted to establish to what attributes of the seven accents the preference scores could be related. It appeared that two factors, social status and personal attractiveness, correlated highly with the preference scores. Future research will be aimed at developing scales which will more accurately determine to what attributes preference is related. It will also be attempted to establish the 'covert' as opposed 'overt' prestige of certain English accents for Dutch learners.

scholarly journals Transformative Learning: A Precursor to Preparing Health Science Students to Work in Indigenous Health Settings?

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Bullen ◽  
Lynne Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Transformative Learning ◽  
Student Attitudes ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Indigenous Health ◽  
Indigenous Studies ◽  
Health Science ◽  
Indigenous Australians ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Transformative Experiences

Australian undergraduate programmes are implementing curriculum aimed at better preparing graduates to work in Indigenous health settings, but the efficacy of these programmes is largely unknown. To begin to address this, we obtained baseline data upon entry to tertiary education (Time 1) and follow-up data upon completion of an Indigenous studies health unit (Time 2) on student attitudes, preparedness to work in Indigenous health contexts and transformative experiences within the unit. The research involved 336 health science first-year students (273 females, 63 males) who completed anonymous in-class paper questionnaires at both time points. Paired sample t-tests indicated significant change in student attitudes towards Indigenous Australians, perceptions of Indigenous health as a social priority, perceptions of the adequacy of health services for Indigenous Australians and preparedness to work in Indigenous health settings. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that after controlling for Time 1 measures, the number of precursor steps to transformative learning experienced by students accounted for significant variance in measures of attitudes and preparedness to work in Indigenous health contexts at Time 2. The knowledge gained further informs our understanding of both the transformative impact of such curriculum, and the nature of this transformation in the Indigenous studies health context.

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