Conceptions of student transition in higher education: induction, development, becoming Trevor Gale <trevor.gale@deakin.edu.au> Gale, T. & Parker, S. (2012, ifirst). Navigating change: a typology of student transitions in Australian higher education. Studies in Higher Education.
Reviewing the evidence: a dialogue between programs and theory Transition-related ALTC projects Projects for review provided by the ALTC: 14 completed projects and 5 fellowships plus 3 current projects and 2 current fellowships = 24. ALTC brief: to review and identify good practice re student transition in higher education Inter/national research literature Literature on transition in relation to schools and particularly youth, not just higher education Some literature descriptive and evaluative of transition programs and practices Other literature theorising the concept of transition
In what ways do transition conceptions and programs / practices regulate higher education for students? What we found 1. Transition is a contested concept: three broad conceptions. 2. Different conceptions result in different programs and practices. 3. The transition programs and practices we examined tended to be informed by one (T 1 ) or two (T 2 ) conceptions more than the third (T 3 ) conception. 4. There is value in all transition conceptions and programs but there is most value in T 3 programs and practices for students from marginalised backgrounds. Informing our analysis educational knowledge is a major regulator of the structure of experience (Bernstein 2003: 85). How are forms of experience, identity and relation evoked, maintained and changed by the formal transmission of educational knowledge and sensitivities (Bernstein 2003: 85)?
Gale, T. & Parker, S. (2012, ifirst). Navigating change: a typology of student transitions in Australian higher education. Studies in Higher Education, p. 5. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03075079.2012.721351
Transition as induction T 1 sequentially defined periods of adjustment along pathways of inculcation Dominant metaphor: boot camp Linear / sequential; from one institutional and/or disciplinary context to another Infrequent periods of adjustment ( crisis ) bounded by relatively stable periods Focus on students experiences within HE, more than their prior and/or concurrent experiences First year in HE is a critical time Normative expectations of what constitutes a successful transition
T 1 in higher education practice Examples: transition pedagogy, just-in-time info, FYHE http://www.newcastle.edu.au/students/my-journey/prepare/personal-journey.html The curriculum and its delivery should be designed to be consistent and explicit in assisting students transition from their previous educational experience to the nature of learning in higher education enabl[ing] successful student transition into first year, through first year, into later years and ultimately out into the world of work, professional practice and career attainment. (Kift 2009).
Transition Pedagogy (Kift 2009) consistent, explicit, timely: directed at helping students to fit in Summary of Transition Pedagogy strategies and processes in the Bachelor of Corporate Systems Management (BCSM) at QUT (Nelson 2008: 12) Coordinated whole-ofinstitution [consistent] approach Assessment aligned [consistent] with subject and program aims and objectives Intentional pedagogies: shaping and making behaviours and expectations explicit Timely access to support, which scaffolds and mediates the FY learning experience
Transition as development T 2 qualitatively distinct stages of maturation along trajectories of transformation Dominant metaphor: life stage a stage in which individuals are transformed (e.g. from childhood to adulthood); not strictly defined by length of time but time needed for transformation to occur a shift from one identity to another; a stilted progression First year: a time during which students develop their identity as a university student development into something new; become somebody (e.g. a scientist; a professional; etc.)
T 2 in higher education practice Examples: mentoring, workplace learning, career planning Workplace learning: From student to professional Development of professional identity Shaping identity for career beyond being a HE student Field placement (e.g. Social Work, Teacher Education, Medicine) this learning model assists the student to develop theories of adult learning, formational and experiential learning and developing a professional identity. CSU Supplemental Instruction (PASS): From novice to expert Development of student identity For students who want to better improve themselves (SI student) Extra curricula study sessions: mentors (experts) instruct mentees (novices); 2 nd year university students (and above) teach 1 st year university students More comfortable as a student Strong emphasis on mentor development and mentor benefits
Transition as becoming T 3 perpetual series of fragmented movements involving whole-of-life fluctuations Dominant metaphor: collage rhizomatic, zigzag, spiral movements fluctuations in lived reality and subjective experience fluid (ephemeral) identities, multiple narratives and subjectivities Flexible timelines, study modes and pathways Courses that engage with students different histories and subjectivities
T 3 in higher education practice Example 1: flexible systems Modular based curricula Greater flexibility and choice in how and what is studied within a given degree 12 modules a year normally 6 per semester but can choose more or less as desired Core, optional and elective modules Focus on what students will learn, rather than what material the lecturer will teach (learning outcomes) Credits from modules in one degree transferable to another University College Dublin UCD Horizons https://myucd.ucd.ie/admission/horizons.ezc?pageid=1250
T 3 in practice Example 2: diversified curriculum Epistemological equity: creat[ing] spaces where multiple knowledges can co-exist in the Western academy (Sefa Dei 2010: 98). Southern theory: calls attention to the centreperiphery relations in the realm of knowledge (Connell 2007: viii-ix). Southern theory of higher education: the creation of space in higher education not just for new kinds of student bodies but also for their embodied knowledges and ways of knowing (Gale 2012). Funds of knowledge: transforming students diversities into pedagogical assets (Moll & Gonzalez 1997: 89). e.g. Indigenous Knowledges
T 3 in practice Example 3: relevant ways of knowing Connectionist pedagogies (Hockings et al.) emphasize: creating collaborative and inclusive spaces, in which students are encouraged to share their beliefs, knowledge and experiences developing student-centered strategies, which entail flexible and tailored activities that enable students to ground their learning in something relevant to them as individuals connecting with students lives, through subject matter that is relevant to students immediate lives and/or their imagined roles and identities as professionals being culturally aware, which includes using culturally relevant examples, anecdotes and stories to aid learning, as well as a nonacademic frame of reference for teaching (i.e. teaching beyond the academic culture).
Conclusion: all transition conceptions and practices have something to offer but T 1 and T 2 place onus on students to change while institutions are encouraged only to make their expectations more explicit T 1 and T 2 as they operate in practice are largely systemdriven and system-serving T 3 conceptions and practice embrace diversity, with significant benefits for all When diverse students and their diversity are embraced within the formal transmission of educational knowledge, the educational benefits for all university students include: greater relative gains in critical and active thinking greater intellectual engagement and academic motivation [and] greater relative gains in intellectual and social self-concept, with the most gains recorded by the most advantaged students (Milem 2003: 142).
Recent related publications References Gale, T. & Parker, S. (2012, ifirst). Navigating change: a typology of student transitions in Australian higher education. Studies in Higher Education. Gale, T. (2012) Towards a southern theory of student equity in Australian higher education: Enlarging the rationale for expansion. International Journal of Sociology of Education, 1(3), pp. 235-258. Mills, C. & Gale, T. (2010) Schooling in Disadvantaged Communities: Playing the game from the back of the field. Springer. ISBN: 978-90-481-3343-7 (hbk) 9789048133444 (ebk) Gale, T., Hattam, R., Comber, B., Tranter, D., Bills, D., Sellar, S. & Parker, S. (2010) Interventions early in school as a means to improve higher education outcomes for disadvantaged (particularly low SES) students. Adelaide: National Centre Student Equity in Higher Education. 208 pp. (paperback), ISBN: 978-0-980798-30-2. Sellar, S. & Gale, T. (2011) Mobility, aspiration, voice: A new structure of feeling for student equity in higher education. Special Issue: New capacities for student equity and widening participation in higher education. Critical Studies in Education, 52(2), pp. 115-134. Sellar, S., Gale, T. & Parker, S. (2011) Appreciating aspirations in Australian higher education. Special Issue: Globalisation and student equity in higher education. Cambridge Journal of Education, 41(1), pp. 37-52. Gale, T. (2011) Student equity s starring role in Australian higher education: Not yet centre field. Special Issue: Confronting perceptions of student equity in higher education. Australian Educational Researcher, 38(1), pp. 5-23. Gale, T. (2011) Expansion and equity in Australian higher education: Three propositions for new relations. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 32(5), pp. 669-685. Gale, T. & Tranter, D. (2011) Social justice in Australian higher education policy: An historical and conceptual account of student participation. Critical Studies in Education, 52(1), pp. 29-46. Mills, C. & Gale, T. (2011) Re-asserting the place of context in explaining student (under) achievement. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 32(2), pp. 239-256. Gale, T. & Tranter, D. (2012) Social inclusion as a matter of policy: Australian higher education for the masses in T. Basit & S. Tomlinson (eds) Social Inclusion and Higher Education. Bristol, UK: Policy Press, pp. 149-169. Sellar, S. & Gale, T. (2012) Aspiration and education: Toward new terms of engagement for marginalised students in B. McMahon & J. Portelli (eds) Student Engagement in Urban Schools: Beyond Neoliberal Discourses. North Carolina, USA: Information Age Publishers, pp. 91-109.