First Year Transition Through a Cultural Lens: Face Strategies of Vietnamese Students

While Vietnamese students continue to enrol in international branch university campuses in Vietnam, little is known about the Vietnamese first year transition into these institutions, especially from a cultural perspective. This article presents the findings of four case studies that explored the face strategies used by Vietnamese undergraduate business students in transition to an international branch campus based in Vietnam. The use of collectivist and individualist face strategies was examined in three phases: at commencement, mid-way and at the end of the first year of studies. The findings suggest that collectivist face strategies might not be employed as often as expected by Vietnamese first year students in this context even though they transition from a Confucian heritage culture. Understanding face strategies can help anticipate challenges of Vietnamese students studying in English-medium environments and inform culturally sensitive practices in teaching and learning.

Paths to Learning: Teaching for Engagement in College

Edited by: Barbara F. Tobolowsky (Ed.) Published by:, Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina, National Research Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition, 2014. 179 pages Reviewed by: Jessica Hale, Ed.D.

Fostering Resilience for Puerto Rican College Students in Transition After Hurricane Maria

The primary purpose of this study is to explore the impact of 2017 Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rican college students directly affected by the storm, including how institutions of higher education fostered resilience for displaced and non-displaced students transitioning to navigating college after the storm. Findings indicate that participants were greatly affected by Hurricane Maria, and community ties, along with logistical challenges, influenced their college experiences after the storm. Participants shared suggestions for campus educators to better serve students in transition after the hurricanes, indicating that providing swift, clear responses to crises, including proactive outreach, are key institutional actions in addition to creating community and demonstrating care for individual student circumstances.

“I Don’t Just Give Tours”

Undergraduate student orientation leaders play a vital role in many new student orientation programs. Although the leaders assume many responsibilities, little is known about how these students benefit from this experience. This qualitative study examined what students learned from being student orientation leaders. Students’ learning occurred in four areas: intrapersonal growth, skill development, understanding of others, and understanding of the institution. Results of this study highlight the benefit of incorporating upper division leaders into orientation programs. In addition, it illustrates how new student programs provide a valuable experience for upper-division continuing students as well as new students in transition.

Problems of Psychological and Pedagogical Adaptation of Students in Transition to the Main School

The article deals with the problems of psychological and pedagogical adaptation of students to the main school. Approaches to the problem of adaptation processes by representatives of different psychological schools are compared. The data of research of a level of psychological and pedagogical adaptation of students during transition from primary to basic school are given. The main theoretical approaches to the problem of psychological and pedagogical adaptation in domestic and foreign scientific literature are revealed. The article correlates the data obtained by diagnostic methods and the method of conversation and analysis of educational documentation. The author gives their conclusions concerning educational and non-educational factors that can influence the success of psychological and pedagogical adaptation of students. The article offers a discussion of the results obtained. The article draws conclusions about probable causes of psychological and pedagogical adaptation difficulties for students in the main school and possible ways out of the psychological and pedagogical disadaptation zone.