Staying the distance: students' perceptions of enablers of transition to higher education

Students' perceptions during their first semester at university may be critical in the decision to continue or discontinue studies. In this study we consider students' perceptions of what factors enable successful transition to university. Using qualitative research, students' percept...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Higher education research and development 2014-03, Vol.33 (2), p.212-225
Main Authors: Bowles, Angela, Fisher, Ron, McPhail, Ruth, Rosenstreich, Daniela, Dobson, Alexandra
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic Persistence
Australia
College Freshmen
Correlation
Data Analysis
Educational Facilities
enablers
Expectation
First year students
first-year experience
Focus Groups
Foreign Countries
Higher Education
Postsecondary education
Predictor variables
Qualitative Research
Questionnaires
retention
School Orientation
Secondary postsecondary transition
Semi Structured Interviews
Social Integration
Student Adjustment
Student Attitudes
Student Attrition
Student characteristics
Student Motivation
Student perceptions
Student retention
Student university relationship
student-centred
Study Skills
transition
University holding power
University students
university-led
Web Sites
Withdrawal (Education)
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Summary:Students' perceptions during their first semester at university may be critical in the decision to continue or discontinue studies. In this study we consider students' perceptions of what factors enable successful transition to university. Using qualitative research, students' perceptions are obtained by in-depth interviews and focus groups that capture the first- and second-order perspectives of existing students at the end of first-year studies. Interview and focus-group themes are used to develop an 80-item questionnaire that is then used to collect data from first-year students (n = 771) at an Australian university. Key findings from the research are the identification of seven enabling factors that fall into two main groups, student-centred and university-led. Identifying enablers of transition provides universities with the opportunity to assist students in the successful transition to higher education.
ISSN:0729-4360
1469-8366
DOI:10.1080/07294360.2013.832157