scholarly journals Exploring the Experience of Anxiety Among Final Year Students at University: A Thematic Analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catroina Keane ◽  
Daniel Waldeck ◽  
Andrew Holliman ◽  
Simon Goodman ◽  
Kubra Choudhry
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Female Undergraduate ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Shared Experience ◽  
Undergraduate Study ◽  
Perceived Pressure

The transition from undergraduate study to a postgraduate career can be an anxiety provoking experience for many students. In this study, we explore the shared experience of five “anxious” undergraduate students as they transition from higher education towards their postgraduate careers. Using a qualitative methodology, semi-structured interviews were conducted with five female undergraduate students from different courses at a UK university. A thematic analysis revealed two overarching themes: perceived pressure without sufficient support, and concerns about next steps. The findings suggested the final year is emotionally demanding, and students felt as though there was a lack of provision to manage their transition to postgraduate work or study. Possible implications for policymakers are detailed and areas for research are discussed.

scholarly journals How does storytelling within higher education contribute to the learning experience of early years students?

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 162-184
Author(s):  
Sarah Flanagan
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Reflective Practice ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Professional Group ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Group Culture

Background and rationale. Reading stories telling stories is a familiar practice within primary education; furthermore there is recognition that stories are used within higher education. This study seeks to understand how storytelling within higher education contributes to the learning experience of early years students. It is anticipated that a deeper understanding of stories and storytelling in this context will lead to a greater appreciation of this resource and its enhanced use. Design/methods. A qualitative methodology was used. The participants included 45 early years students. All students involved in the study were employed as early years workers contributing to the care and education of children aged 0–5. Semi structured interviews and non-participant observations were completed to collect the data and thematic analysis was used in its interpretation. Findings. Participants saw multiple contributions of story and storytelling including the facilitation of learning, the enhancement of reflective practice and the reinforcement of professional/group culture. Story and storytelling provided opportunities for relaxation, entertainment and had a significant social impact. Certain activities encouraged storytelling and the most engaging stories were those that the listener could relate to

Italian Undergraduates Join Facebook, but Keep a Critical Distance

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 13-24
Author(s):  
Paolo Ferri ◽  
Nicola Cavalli ◽  
Andrea Mangiatordi ◽  
Marina Micheli ◽  
Andrea Pozzali ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
University Students ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Critical Distance ◽  
Educational Tool ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Critical Attitude ◽  
Privacy Issues

Facebook is the most popular social network site in Italy, and its usage is particularly spread among younger generations. This paper explores how undergraduate students use Facebook, and what meanings they attach to it. Research was performed in 2008 and in 2009 at a Italian university, with a triangulation of quantitative and qualitative methodology. The authors’ survey data show the quick adoption of Facebook. In 2008 half of the students were completely unfamiliar with Facebook, while in 2009 59% of them were using it on a regular basis. Evidence coming from semi-structured interviews with randomly selected university students show that the massive adoption of Facebook goes hand in hand with a general critical attitude. Concerns about privacy issues were common, and they can also lead to a kind of detachment from this site. Implications on the perspective use of Facebook as an educational tool are discussed in the paper.

scholarly journals Dynamics in higher education choice: weighing one’s multiple interests in light of available programmes

2019 ◽  
Vol 79 (6) ◽  
pp. 1001-1021
Author(s):  
Jonne Pieter Vulperhorst ◽  
Roeland Matthijs van der Rijst ◽  
Sanne Floor Akkerman
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
High School ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
High School Seniors ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Feed Forward ◽  
Education Choice

Abstract Recent studies have shown that students’ interests are decisive in making a substantiated higher education choice, yet do not indicate how students decide which interests they aim to pursue. This study aimed to find the considerations students have when weighing interests and higher education programmes. Thematic analysis was applied to uncover considerations based on semi-structured interviews with 20 Dutch high-school seniors. Students weighed their interests from an interest-to-programme perspective (contrasting interests and deciding which is most important for their future) and from a programme-to-interest perspective (evaluating how possible programmes reconcile with one’s interests). By applying both perspectives simultaneously, students dynamically considered which programmes and interests they wished to pursue. These findings imply that higher education choice theory and studies should acknowledge that the programmes and interests students consider are dependent on the feed forward of the considered interests on programmes and the feed back of considered programmes on interests.

scholarly journals Black and Ethnic Minority Academics’ Perspectives on Intercultural Interaction in UK Universities: Beyond Racialization

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 49
Author(s):  
Christian Atabong Nchindia
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Cultural Representation ◽  
Cultural Issues ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Intercultural Awareness ◽  
Intercultural Interaction ◽  
High Level ◽  
British Culture

Underpinned by frameworks of intercultural interaction, representation and discourse analysis, this research aimed to explore ambiguities and examine salient factors in intercultural interaction in UK universities, from the perspectives of four BAME lecturers and a lecturer from mainstream British culture. Informed by interpretive qualitative methodology and convenient sampling, data was collected through individual semi-structured interviews and the Nvivo software was used for analysis. Findings revealed that the experiences of academics in intercultural interaction with students were homogeneous across the board irrespective of their racial backgrounds. Despite a high level of intercultural awareness, some students and academics were unable to deconstruct stereotypes in cultural representation. It seems that universities do little to help academics and students develop and sustain intercultural awareness. There is hardly any systemic, structural, and coordinated approach in addressing cultural issues that may emerge in the classroom, as academics are left to figure it out by themselves. Some implications for policy in the higher education contexts were identified and recommendations made.

scholarly journals Unique Opportunities: Influence of study abroad on Black students

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jasmine A. Lee ◽  
Qiana Green
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Identity Development ◽  
Study Abroad ◽  
Black Students ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Positive Outcomes ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Case Study Methodology ◽  
Studying Abroad

Higher education scholars argue studying abroad results in multiple positive outcomes for undergraduate students; however, Black students continue to be underrepresented as study abroad participants. Utilizing analytic Afrocentricity as the theoretical framework, case study methodology, and semi-structured interviews, this paper furthers higher education research by exploring the influences of study abroad experiences in South Africa on Black undergraduate students. Findings indicate not only positive outcomes on racial identity development, but also academic and career aspirations, and conducting undergraduate research.

scholarly journals “Everything is so different...”

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Susana Pinto
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Academic Culture ◽  
Institutional Policy ◽  
Research Culture ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
African Countries ◽  
African Students ◽  
Financial Difficulties

In the scope of higher education internationalisation, Portuguese universities have been receiving an increasing number of students from Portuguese-Speaking countries, namely African countries, at the level of PhD studies. As highlighted in research, pursuing a PhD in an overseas context entails critical challenges for students, supervisors and higher education institutions. Against this background, this paper reports on the challenges faced by international African students attending a PhD programme in Education at a Portuguese university. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven students and results from thematic analysis show that the main challenges relate to language, integration into a different pedagogical/academic culture, adaptation to a different research culture, loneliness/homesickness and financial difficulties. Implications of findings for institutional policy and practice are put forward.

Are Teachers Approachable or Unapproachable: Insights From Undergraduate University Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 41-58
Author(s):  
Fizza Sabir ◽  
Robert Matthews ◽  
Poulomee Datta
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Undergraduate University Students ◽  
University Setting

This research examines the student perceived characteristics informing a student’s choice in deciding to approach or not to approach a teacher in a university setting. Semi-structured interviews gathered perceptions from 10 final semester undergraduate students at a Pakistani university. 12 teachers were discussed in the data clearly demarcating 7 approachable and 5 unapproachable teachers. Thematic analysis identified substantial number of previously unreported characteristics of approachability in addition to those already existing in the literature and a comparatively large number of new unapproachable characteristics. The results of this research will inform discussion of approachability by teachers at universities within Pakistan and beyond.

Italian Undergraduates Join Facebook, but Keep a Critical Distance

2014 ◽  
pp. 1349-1359
Author(s):  
Paolo Ferri ◽  
Nicola Cavalli ◽  
Andrea Mangiatordi ◽  
Marina Micheli ◽  
Andrea Pozzali ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
University Students ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Critical Distance ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Critical Attitude ◽  
Network Site ◽  
Privacy Issues

Facebook is the most popular social network site in Italy, and its usage is particularly spread among younger generations. This paper explores how undergraduate students use Facebook, and what meanings they attach to it. Research was performed in 2008 and in 2009 at a Italian university, with a triangulation of quantitative and qualitative methodology. The authors' survey data show the quick adoption of Facebook. In 2008 half of the students were completely unfamiliar with Facebook, while in 2009 59% of them were using it on a regular basis. Evidence coming from semi-structured interviews with randomly selected university students show that the massive adoption of Facebook goes hand in hand with a general critical attitude. Concerns about privacy issues were common, and they can also lead to a kind of detachment from this site. Implications on the perspective use of Facebook as an educational tool are discussed in the paper.

Coping strategies in oral academic presentations of international undergraduate students in a Philippine university: a small-case study

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-113
Author(s):  
Ephraim Viernes Domingo
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Language Socialization ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Academic Socialization ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Academic Task ◽  
Different Levels

Abstract Higher education students are increasingly becoming aware of the importance of being successful in oral academic presentations (OAP) in their academic endeavors. For English as a second language students in English-medium institutions, it also provides them with opportunities for language socialization. However, succeeding in the delivery of an OAP comes with various challenges emerging from linguistic and psychological factors. This small-case study explores OAPs as an oral academic socialization activity by documenting the strategies that 13 international undergraduate students in a large private Philippine university use to cope with the difficulties facing them in preparing and presenting an OAP. Using language socialization as the theoretical framework and semi-structured interviews to gather data, it identifies and explains eight personal strategies (six still employed and two no longer used) and discusses various factors that play a vital role in applying these strategies. The three most commonly used strategies are adopted to ensure a successful and acceptable OAP, typically a graded task. The two least frequently used ones are yet to be employed successfully. In applying these strategies, students not only perform the required academic task but are also engaged in different levels and frequencies of language socialization before and during the delivery of an OAP. Pedagogical implications in the use of OAPs as an academic task for language socialization in higher education are also discussed.

scholarly journals Ethnic Minority Students in the UK: Addressing Inequalities in Access, Support, and Wellbeing in Higher Education

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Botticello ◽  
Titilayo Olufunmilyo West
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Ethnic Minority ◽  
Minority Students ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Peer Interactions ◽  
Peer To Peer ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Structural Racism ◽  
Ethnic Minority Students

This chapter focuses on UK higher education and how structural racism is perpetuated through inadequate attention to access, support, and wellbeing. Inequalities in higher education correspond with those in health, where there are marked disparities between ethnic majority and ethnic minority populations, as COVID-19 revealed. The research employed a qualitative methodology to explore students’ experiences of higher education at a widening participation university during lockdowns resulting from COVID-19. Twenty undergraduate students participated in focus groups and semi-structured interviews across the academic year 2020–2021. These were audio recorded, transcribed, and coded using thematic analysis. The findings reveal that ethnic minority students suffered from inadequate access to technology, insufficient attention to child-care responsibilities, a dearth of peer-to-peer interactions, and limited institutional support for mental wellbeing. Inclusive support services and welcoming learning environments, including space for peer-to-peer learning, however, were emphasised as enablers for effective learning and emotional wellbeing. This study has shown that inequalities in access, support and wellbeing in higher education remain. Overcoming these inequalities requires equitable access and support provisioning for ethnic minorities so that all students can fulfil their potentials, at university and after.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document