Author: Gloria Latham and Pam Green

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology

Keywords: Freshman, first year experience, transition, school to university.

Article style and source: Moderated. Original ultiBASE publication.

Contents

• The Centrality of Transition
• The Problematic Nature of Transition
• Transition to University
• The Context
• The Purpose
• Issues and Concerns
• The Study
• Findings
• Recommendations
• References

"How puzzling all these changes are. I'm never sure what I'm going to be from one minute to another." (Carroll, 1865, p. 77)

The Centrality of Transition

The purpose of this paper is to raise a number of issues surrounding the journey to university. The paper reports interim findings from a five year study of First Year University students in the Faculty of Education, Language and Community Services at RMIT. Prior to a discussion of the research in progress, an overview of the nature of transition within the context of one's life journey, and of relevant studies focussing on the move to university, is made.

Transition can be seen as the movement from the known to the unknown (Levin, 1987), or at least to the partially unknown. As such the change inherent in transition can be seen as one's life journey.

Joseph Campbell (1968) discusses the journey of the hero (male or female) as separation - initiation and return. The road of trials that individuals undertake in life is part of their rites of passage. It is the separation from the world; a penetration of some source of power; and a life enhancing return (p. 35) that is part of every person's life in every time. Yet the time at which one accepts the challenge and how the individual moves through one life's journey varies considerably. According to Churchill (1991) the journey can be seen as one in which the hero moves beyond known boundaries into the unknown. Six common themes or archetypes are evident. These include the innocent who yearns to be cared for, and who lives in an unfallen world in which the world is there for self satisfaction. The orphan aims to find safety, or to be rescued by a trusted other; while the wanderer begins in captivity, seeks an adventure and takes the road of trails. The warrior confronts the world and any threats or fears bestowed; whereas the martyr embraces suffering taking the view that sacrifice will elicit redemption. The magician lives in harmony with the world, both the supernatural and the natural. Innocence is reclaimed by the magician and a wholeness or balance is achieved in which the world is viewed as home (Churchill, 1991). Heeding the call to adventure in the journey propels the individual into a series of events in life which can bring forth rich adventure. However, Campbell (1968) argues that because we have lost myth in our lives we often move without guidance so that the journey undertaken is fraught with fear and uncertainty.

The Problematic Nature of Transition

Hargreaves, Earl and Ryan (1996) identify three main areas in which transition can be problematic. Although their study pertains to the move from primary to secondary school, their findings are relevant to other contexts. The three areas identified as problematic include:

1. student anxiety about the move;
2. the process of adjustment to the new context;
3. the continuity (or discontinuity) with respect to the curriculum.
   (Hargreaves, Earl & Ryan, 1996, p. 35)

While there are commonalities with respect to the transition journey, the context in which such a move occurs brings unique complexities. The move from kindergarten to the first year of primary school, and that from primary to secondary school, can be seen as rites as passage in the sense that they are "events marking a further step in each person's growing-up process" (Goodall, 1981, p. 34). Little choice exists with respect to the above mentioned transitions as the way in which schooling is divided, at least in Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom, means that most students take these pathways. On the other hand, the transition to university is unique in that there is opportunity for a degree of choice, or at least the contemplation of choice, as to whether or not to move on to university, to which university, and/or to the course selected. Sometimes the availability of such choices are not exercised. For instance, the move to university may be made as the result of the pressure of familial goals and expectations, cultural/ societal traditions, and/or a lack of options.

Transition to University

Like Ratcliff, McInnis (1996) alerts us to the increasing diversity within the student population. He points to the 'sink or swim' philosophy of academics and administrators, which was identified in the national report by McInnis and James (1995), and viewed as a failure to come to terms with the demands of changing times. McInnis urges that the first year experience be 'reinvented', and calls for long term planning to support students in their first year, beyond the transition period.

Eight key assumptions are cited as crucial for those involved in rethinking the first year experience. The assumptions can be summarised as follows: teaching that starts with what the learner knows, the best learning occurs via active modes, the first year experience is positive for most students, student perceptions do not necessarily indicate the quality of the experience, the student must take some responsibilty for choice and commitment, lifelong learning should be fostered, university life should be social, and the university experience should be seen as life itself (not just a preparation for life) (p. 552). McInnis warns about being deceived by the apparent simplicity of such assumptions and stresses that "the first step in improving the first year experience involves attending to the fundamentals of good teaching" (p. 553). The conference, at which Ratcliff and McInnis presented, also raised issues related to definitions of success (Hunter, 1996), the special needs of first year students, the needs of international students, and the need for innovative teaching and learning practices, including bridging programs and orientation processes within Australian contexts an beyond.

Studies from the United States, such as Cherney (1990) as well as Rosenberg and La Rosa (1990), describe pre university seminars or summer schools designed to enhance the reading and writing skills of students, often deemed to be 'at risk', about to embark on university studies. Summer school programs, such as those discussed by Snow and Brinton (1988), provide English, study skills in academic success, and English as a second language. Transitional programs designed to help students ease into the university culture or way of life, such as that reported by Shere (1993), point to resultant increased retention rates, maximised academic achievement, and/or graduation of students. A few studies focus on the nature of the transition to university from the viewpoint of the student. For instance, Bernier and Larose (1996) examine the loneliness experienced by Canadian students who moved from the family home in order to study at university, while Terenzini (1993) documents the processes by which students become (or fail to become) members of the university academic and social communities within various institutions within America. The need for further research within Australian contexts remains.

The Context

Purpose

• acquire general background information about each intake of first year students to inform staff planning,
• better assess the needs of first year tertiary students coming from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds, cultures and previous school experiences,
• better marry the expectations of staff and students with regard to current tertiary demands,
• make on-going recommendations at the subject and course level to ensure that relevant quality measures are undertaken.

Issues and Concerns

The Study

Findings

Who are our first years?

An initial questionnaire is issued to students during orientation week . The findings of the questionnaire are distributed to all staff in order to assist in their subject preparation. This provides information regarding matters such as age, gender balance, transport to the university, languages spoken, living arrangements, student access to computers, areas of teaching interest, first year expectations, and special needs. For instance, the following graphs depict the spread of students in 1997 with respect to age, living arrangements, and transport to and from university. While the graphs clearly indicate that the majority of students fall within the 17 to 19 year old age bracket, live at home, and drive to and from university, it cannot be assumed that their needs are the same nor that all students fall into these categories.

Writing to first year students and receiving their replies at the start of the semester often provides insightful information , and forms the basis of meaningful communication between lecturer and student. The students readily share their hopes and aspirations: `I've wanted to be a teacher for as long as I can remember'; their lives, `I'm tired and nervous because have driving lessons tomorrow '; and their passions, ` I don't remember exactly but I think I fell in love with Shakespeare in grade four when I first came across Romeo and Juliet '. The vehicle of letter writing provides an avenue for students to express individual needs, as the following excerpt reveals.

How familiar are our students to a university culture? The university culture is less than familiar to the majority of our students. We have learned that in the past two years, at least, half of our first year intake were the first in their family to attend university. Many students were clearly setting a new tradition in their extended family structure. `I'm the first out of my extended family; eleven aunts and uncles, and thirty-four first cousins, so my family is very proud of me.'

Expectations and needs

Sometimes their views of university life are informed by the media: "I thought there would be more people with colored hair." "In the past I expected uni to be more like an American university , more into I guess, social change or something, but I found it very different from that - more focused on getting through the course."

The study has also been tapping into first year students' perceived or voiced expectations of their parents or other family members with respect to their university life. The majority of students surveyed feel their parents just wanted them to be happy and fulfil their dreams. Other parental expectations are more work oriented as evidenced by the following comments: "My parents want me to qualify and obtain a position as a teacher." "They want me to finish the course and get a job."

A number of students hold conflicting views to their parents. As one student laments: "They want me to be a lawyer but I want to be a teacher. They are disappointed but are secretly hoping I will transfer to law (which I won't)."

Clearly, the data shows that family expectations can affect the experience of the first year. A former RMIT student reflects on her first year experience: `"My parents left their homeland for a number of reasons so they didn't have the opportunity to learn and become educated. My parents placed a great deal of importance on education and encouraged me to learn as much as I could for as long as I could. They wanted me to have the experiences of learning that they didn't have. My desire and determination was strengthened due to the support and encouragement I received ... According to my parents, their greatest achievement in life so far has been in educating their four children. Even if I disliked university, I could not deny my parents this opportunity."

Aside from family members and students, university lecturers have their own set of expectations. Many staff expect the first year students to show greater autonomy than is currently being demonstrated. This expectation is clearly in conflict with students expressed needs. "The teachers should read at least one draft of our assignments and give us feedback." "The tutors should help us more." " I like it (university) but I wish the teachers pushed you to do your work."

Staff also expect students to have acquired a high level of research and writing skills. Yet results of a literacy survey reveal that first year students rely heavily on the support of others in research tasks. "I'm visiting my year twelve teacher to start my essay for ..." "I ask my grandparents, family or friends if they can help me with research and with editing my work." The information that we are gathering in this study is pointing towards an array of discrepancies between the perceptions of staff and those of first year students. Student-staff consultative committees, supported by the first year co-ordinator, can greatly promote the flow of communication. Another step towards the enhancement of communication between staff and students is to continue to collect data that will provide us with further information about the incoming student body. Although our research is still in progress, a number of recommendations arise from the study thus far.

Recommendations

• It is important for universities to continually revise and update orientation programs, and to address a hierarchy of first year students' immediate and future needs concerned with reading the culture of the university.
• In addition to orientation programs, strategically placed seminars and/or workshops addressing emergent issues, challenges and dilemmas faced by first year students could forestall potential problems.
• Well structured training programs for tutors who can work closely with individuals and/or small groups of first students could help unlock the complexities of the university culture, and provide ongoing mentoring relationships.
• Bridging subjects [summer and/or winter school programs] can offer intensive courses in academic reading and writing, mathematics, study habits, computer usage, and other technologically related approaches to learning.
• Identify subjects in which students have difficulty (failure) and provide adjunct subjects which cater for students at risk (Commander & Smith, 1995).
• Introduce prerequisites at entrance level and throughout the course.
• Provide up-to-date instruction in computer skills with access to email facilities, the World Wide Web and so on.
• Offer extra support for international students and other students who have left the family home to attend university (support might include social activities; assistance with study skills; financial advice; information about housing options; institutional accommodation; assistance with English and the like).

Part of the challenge ahead for us is to attempt to put some of the above mentioned recommendations into practice, to monitor their impact, and to re-situate our teaching and learning practices to better suit the changing needs of our students at RMIT. Such action research will take us into the new millennium, and proffer new journeys from the known to the unknown to document and upon which to (re)direct our practices.

References:

Campbell, J. (1968). The hero with a thousand faces. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

Carroll, L. (1865). Alice's adventures in wonderland. New York: MacMillan.

Cherney, E. (1990). The at-risk college student: A paradigm for the development of critical reading skills. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the College Reading Association Nashville, TN.

Churchill, C. (1991). Awakening the hero within. San Fransciso: Harper and Row Publishers.

Commander, N. E., & Smith, B. D. (1995). Developing adjunct reading and learning courses that work. Journal of Reading. 38 (5), 352-360.

Fullan, M. (1982). The meaning of educational change. New York: Teachers College Press.

Fullan, M. (1993). Change forces: Probing the depths of educational reform. London: The Falmer Press.

Goodall, J. (1981). Leap into the Unknown or All in their Stride? Transition - Years Six to Seven. English in Australia, 56(July), 34-40.

Hargreaves, A., Earl, L.M., & Ryan, J. (1996). Schooling for change: Reinventing education for early adolescents. London: The Falmer Press.

Hunter, M. S. (1996). Much ado about something. In James, R., & McInnis, C. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 2nd Pacific Rim Conference in First Year in Higher Education: Transition to active learning. (pp. 543-547). Carlton: University of Melbourne.

Levin, D. M. (1987). Pathologies of the modern self: Postmodern studies on narcissism, schizophrenia, and depression. New York and London: New York University Press.

McInnis, C. (1996). Reinventing the first year experience: Making it work. In James, R., & McInnis, C. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 2nd Pacific Rim Conference in First Year in Higher Education: Transition to active learning. (pp. 549-554). Carlton: University of Melbourne.

McInnis, C., & James. R. (1995). First year on campus: Diversity in the initial experiences of Australian undergraduates. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service.

Percy, D. (1989). Adult study tactics: A springboard to learning. South Melbourne: Macmillan.

Ratcliff, J. L. (1996). Building effective curricula to imporve undergraduate education. In James, R., & McInnis, C. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 2nd Pacific Rim Conference in First Year in Higher Education: Transition to active learning. (pp. 3-29). Carlton: University of Melbourne.

Rosenberg, L., & La Rosa, B. (1990). College learning strategies: A retention models for at-risk students. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the College Reading Association Nashville, TN.

Shere, C. (1993). A participant observation case study using Van Gennep's rites of passage theory at a "summer transitional program". Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Association of College Admission Counselors, Pittsburgh.

Snow, M., & Brinton, D. (1988). The adjunct model of language instruction: Integrating language and content at the university. Los Angeles: Center for Language Education and Research, California University.

Terenzini, P. (1993). The transition to college: Diverse students, diverse stories. Paper presented at the Annual Forum of the Association for Institutional Research, Chicago.

Gloria Latham, Pam Green RMIT University

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