What happens to students after they arrive at university?

Betwixt spaces: student accounts of turning point experiences in the

first-year transition Studies in Higher Education 39

Mark Palmer, Paula O’Kane and Martin Owens

Abstract

‘Not belonging’ is becoming a prevalent theme within accounts of the first-year

student experience at university. In this study the notion of not belonging is

extended by assuming a more active role for the idea of liminality in a student’stransition into the university environments of academic and student life. In doing so, the article suggests that the transition between one place (home) and another (university) can result in an ‘in-between-ness’ – a betwixt space. Through an interpretative methodology, the study explores how students begin to move from this betwixt space into feeling like fully-fledged members of university life. It is concluded that there is a wide range of turning points associated with the students’ betwixt transition, which shapes, alters or indeed accentuates the ways in which they make meaningful connections with university life. Moreover, transitional turning point experiences reveal a cast of characters and symbolic objects; capture contrasting motivations and evolving relationships; display multiple trajectories of interpersonal tensions and conflicts; highlight discontinuities as well as continuities; and together, simultaneously liberate and constrain the students’ transition into university life.

List of full changes Harvey,

Drew, and Smith (2006, 13)

·         performance and retention: predicting success; assessing performance; withdrawal and retention;

·         factors influencing performance and persistence: institutional, personal and external;

·         support for the first year: induction, adjustment and skill support;

·         learning and teaching: new techniques for first-year groups and first-year learning behaviour.

The authors say you can look at this problem from a structural point of view by providing supporting processes that make this transition easier. But in the end these are individuals making a great change to their lives, the sense of belonging that we want them to develop doesn’t come easily and is highly individualised.

The method first teaches the participants about the concepts then gathers data on experiences and then late asks further reflection on those answers.

There are some really interesting data gathering processes here. Asking for 10 words that summerise feelings, or asking students to filling thought bubbles in cartoons relating to experience.

They used Strauss and Corbin’s (1990) interpretation of grounded theory which allows themes to emerge during the research but not with out influence from literature, and they used Gibb’s (2002) process to code the data 3 successive ways.

Turning points are – within 6-8 weeks of starting and trigger or result in greater feelings of belonging or not belonging.

Wilcox, Winn, and Fyvie-Gauld [2005]

for an overview of government funded projects in this area