Individual and institutional challenges of the first-year experience

This paper offers a theoretical framework for the transition to higher education focusing on the interface between institutional conditions and the capacities of individual students. It describes the initial findings of an empirical study regarding the challenges of the first-year experience. Interview data first revealed a wide range of requirements that are critical for student achievement, which were then classified in terms of their origins in personal and institutional factors. The study also provides insight into the complex interconnectedness of critical requirements. In conclusion, the detailed analysis of first-year challenges suggests implications for evidence-based academic development.

19.12.2014 | Elke Bosse & Caroline Trautwein (Hamburg)