Challenges faced by students transitioning from secondary school to university
All of us went through the process of transition from secondary school to university. And I believe most of you would agree that it is a crucial period in every individual’s life, because it is not only the shift from one environment to another, but it is the time when a lot of significant changes are happening to our identity, self-concept, understanding and maturity level. Thus, examining the challenges that students face during this period is very important in gaining insight into their transition experiences and the ways to support them.
Understanding the expectations of students towards the transition to university is one of the first steps in gaining insight into the first year experiences of students. The studies have revealed that the majority of students enter the higher education without a clear idea of what to expect, and how the tertiary culture can affect their lives (Askham, 2008; Briggs, Clark, & Hall, 2012; Lairio, Puukari, & Kouvo, 2013; Leese, 2010; Lowe & Hook, 2003; McInnis, James, & McNaught, 1995). This happens because students arrive at the university with unrealistic views about the volume of expected work and class sizes, they are unsure about the meaningfulness of their choice of the university, and they also don’t always understand the teaching and learning methods at the university (Briggs et al., 2012; Cook & Leckey, 1999; Lairio et al., 2013). As a result, student’s academic performance may be lower than expected as Tinto suggested (as cited in Cook & Leckey, 1999).
Other key challenges pointed out by a number of authors include the degree of independence required, a new learning environment and complex study activities, a new system of roles and relationships (Hultberg, Plos, Hendry, & Kjellgren, 2008; Leese, 2010; Lowe & Hook, 2003; McInnis et al., 1995; Parker, Hogan, Eastabrook, Oke, & Wood, 2006; Peel, 2000). It is evident that students are mostly vulnerable to a number of potential emotional, social, financial, and health problems, and are most likely to academic failure in their first year (Evans, 2000; Hussey & Smith, 2010; McInnis, 2001). Therefore, the transition to university is described as entering an “alien environment” and the “abrupt shift” from the controlled environment of school and family to an environment in which students are expected to be personally responsible for both academic and social aspects of their lives (Askham, 2008, p. 85; Lowe & Hook, 2003, p. 53; McInnis et al., 1995, p. 19). Not surprisingly, a number of authors are in consensus that the transition from school to university is a stressful phase for most students (Askham, 2008; Lowe & Cook, 2003; Parker, Summerfeldt, Hogan, & Majeski, 2004).
Connecting the abovementioned to my personal experience, I still vividly remember that during my first semester at the university I felt the mismatch between my expectations and the reality, and I also felt unsure about my choice of the university. Moreover, it was a period when I felt like “a fish out of water,” because it was the first time I was so far away from my family having no relatives next to me. For instance, I had no idea about the life in dormitories with people whom I never saw before, groupmates from all the regions of Kazakhstan, new learning system, new requirements and so on. In other words, it was not easy to learn to be independent and responsible for your own life and studies. Such feelings made me think that I didn’t belong to the university and the community as a whole that I even considered transferring to different university closer to my family. Furthermore, when I was working as a Coordinator for Student Affairs at Nazarbayev University, I have noticed that our students also face a number of challenges during their studies, especially, at the first year level. These challenges are mainly connected to adjusting to new requirements, new culture, new expectations, new relationships, and others. Students find especially difficult to manage the freedom they have as university students. Most of them are used to the controlled environment in secondary schools.
In conclusion, all the above mentioned challenges demonstrate that the transition from secondary school to university can be a difficult phase for many students. Consequently, more attention needs to be paid to the first year experiences of students and to the ways to provide appropriate support for students during this crucial period in their life. A number of studies have demonstrated that the successful experience during this period has an impact on the future achievements of students not only during the undergraduate studies but beyond that period as well (McInnis et al., 1995; Leese, 2010; Nelson, Smith, & Clarke, 2012).
What about you? Could you share your transition experiences or your ideas on this topic? Do you think that Kazakhstani students receive enough support during this period?
References
Askham, P. (2008). Context and identity: exploring adult learners' experiences of higher education. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 32 (1), 85-97. Retrieved from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03098770701781481
Briggs, A. R., Clark, J., & Hall, I. (2012). Building bridges: understanding student transition to university. Quality in Higher Education, 18(1), 3-21. Retrieved from:http://ezproxy.library.nu.edu.kz:2167/doi/pdf/10.1080/13538322.2011.614468
Evans, M. (2000). Planning for the transition to tertiary study: A literature review. Journal of Institutional Research, 9 (1), 1-13.
Hultberg, J., Plos, K., Hendry, G. D., & Kjellgren, K. I. (2008). Scaffolding students' transition to higher education: Parallel introductory courses for students and teachers. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 32 (1), 47-57. DOI: 10.1080/03098770701781440
Hussey, T., & Smith, P. (2010). Transitions in higher education. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 47 (2), 155-164. Retrieved from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14703291003718893
Lairio, M., Puukari, S., & Kouvo, A. (2013). Studying at university as part of student life and identity construction. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 57 (2), 115-131. Retrieved from:
http://ezproxy.library.nu.edu.kz:2167/doi/pdf/10.1080/00313831.2011.621973
Leese, M. (2010). Bridging the gap: Supporting student transitions into higher education. Journal of further and Higher Education, 34 (2), 239-251. Retrieved from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/ 03098771003695494
Lowe, H., & Cook, A. (2003). Mind the gap: Are students prepared for higher education?. Journal of Further and Higher education, 27 (1), 53-76. Retrieved from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03098770305629
McInnis, C. (2001). Researching the first year experience: where to from here?.Higher Education Research and Development, 20 (2), 105-114. Retrieved from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07294360125188
McInnis, C., James, R. H., & McNaught, C. (1995). First year on campus: Diversity in the initial experiences of Australian undergraduates. Centre for the Study of Higher Education, University of Melbourne. Retrieved from: http://www.cshe.unimelb.edu.au/people/james_docs/FYE.pdf
Nelson, K. J., Smith, J. E., & Clarke, J. A. (2012). Enhancing the transition of commencing students into university: An institution-wide approach. Higher Education Research & Development, 31 (2), 185-199. Retrieved from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2011.556108
Parker, J. D., Hogan, M. J., Eastabrook, J. M., Oke, A., & Wood, L. M. (2006). Emotional intelligence and student retention: Predicting the successful transition from high school to university. Personality and Individual Differences,41 (7), 1329-1336. Retrieved from: http://ezproxy.library.nu.edu.kz:2153/science/article/pii/S019188690600208X
Parker, J. D., Summerfeldt, L. J., Hogan, M. J., & Majeski, S. A. (2004). Emotional intelligence and academic success: Examining the transition from high school to university. Personality and individual differences, 36 (1), 163-172.
Peel, M. (2000). Nobody cares': The challenge of isolation in school to university transition. Journal of Institutional Research, 9 (1), 22-34.
Your post is exactly what I have experienced after entering the Eurasian National University. The same as you, I had a “dual adaptation”: to get accustomed to 1) a new city and to 2) credit system. There is no doubt in my mind that to adjust to A, B, C… scale and understand immediately how this system works for freshmen will cause some difficulties and take time. During the first week of our study our teachers tried to bring us up to date, but it was not enough for all of us. I wish I had had kinda introductory elaborate month-span course about credit system at Uni. For me it could really help because once I got C in class and thought that I would be bereft of a stipend… I cried a lot…At the beginning I didn’t know that students are deprived of their stipend only if they had C for a semester. Even though I finally got the picture, the process of transition was a ‘thorny path’ for me.
ReplyDeleteActually I am not alone who had similar experience. Many who came from different cities to Astana, along with problems with understanding new university system, have psychological problems, many suffer from stress and depression. As a person who lived in the dorm, I saw my roomies’ crying, they felt lonely and unmotivated. Being far from parents and seeing student from different regions (which are drastically different) can also hinder students’ adaptation. Therefore, I think if every university had special centers to support students like the Counseling center at NU, it would facilitate students to adapt in a new environment.
Thank you, Zhuldyz, for bringing up this issue!
Dear Maria,
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your comments. I agree with you that having special support systems as the Counselling Center at NU would help a lot. Actually, I never thought of this topic seriously before I joined NU. It was at NU that I realized how it is important to support students, who are experiencing one of the biggest transitions in their lives. I was really encouraged by what I saw during my training at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the USA. They have a number of well-developed support systems, such as the Cross College Advising Service, the Letters and Science Career Services, the Counselling Center, which provide all types of support for students including academic and career advising, psychological support, social support and so on. Moreover, each summer UWM Center for the First Year Experience organizes Summer Orientation and Academic Registration program, where not only students, but their parents also participate. The aim of this program is to smooth the transition experiences of incoming students by welcoming them, providing guidelines and helping to register for their classes in fall.
And I started to wonder why we don’t have any support systems in our mainstream universities in Kazakhstan. It seems like no one really cares about students. They have to develop their own strategies for coping with all the challenges they face as a freshman. I believe our students don’t even expect any support while at the university. This was the case with me when I was a freshman. Expecting no support you don’t even try to ask for help. Such helplessness may result in students being discouraged, demotivated and broken. Therefore, I believe more attention needs to be paid to first year experiences of students and providing appropriate for them on time before it’s too late.
Zhuldyz, thank you for the interesting post!
ReplyDeleteI also had problems in adaptation for new student life in new city. Despite the fact that I studied in Almaty, I had crucial cultural shock due to variety of dialects, traditions and other aspects. I agree with you that no one even think about students as the main stakeholders of HE in Kazakhstan. The problem ia not about study process, but more about collaborative process between students and administration. In order to solve these issues, we should create special departments in mainstream universities. However, before this, we should understand that students are the future of our country and they need more support and help.
Zhuldyz, I would like to bring the issue up to positive sides of transition from secondary school to university. I also had difficulties to adapt new environment when I entered University in Astana, such as weather, homesick, new people, new system and etc. But I really enjoyed learning new things, new skills in mature level. It is always challenging to start new beginnings. I think almost everyone experience difficulties when they step on something new such as coming from village to city (extra stuff to consider living in the city) or going to another country which is absolutely new for all of them. In addition that, even if I get used to adapt the environment at University now studying my Master degree at NU and getting used to the system is difficult again. My personal opinion is of course, there should be support for freshmen. However, I would suggest students just enjoy learning new things and cope with challenges. ;-)
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