studying as part of life structuring students’ experiences and higher education guidance services...
TRANSCRIPT
STUDYING AS PART OF LIFE STRUCTURING
Students’ experiences and higher education guidance services
IAEVG conference
Marjatta Lairio, Sauli Puukari & Anne Kärkkäinen
Structure of the presentation
Changes in our societies Changes in higher education policy Students’ relation to university studies Students’ identity work Towards holistic thinking on guidance The aim of the study Description of the research Main results Discussion
Changes in the society
Processes of social change such as globalisation and new technologies are reshaping the structures of working life and the contents of work.
Across the world, societies are changing and the rate of change is accelerating.
The current labour market situation is now less predictable, faster changing and more competitive.
Changes in the society
New type of working life with short-term contracts and unemployment periods has changed the role of work in young people’s lives.
The society has changed and both education sector and labour market have become more demanding for students.
Young people’s relation to education and working life has become more complex than earlier (e.g. McInnis 2002; Goodwin & O´Connor 2007).
Changes in higher education policy
One of the key questions in the Finnish higher education policy discourses is to shorten study times and decrease the number of drop-outs.
The aim is to have the degrees ready in time (B.A. level in 3 years and Master’s degree in 5 years).
Faster transition to working life and doctoral studies.
Students’ relation to university studies
Studies have shown that the processes of becoming adults have changed (e.g. Arnett 2000; Wyn & Dwyer 2000).
Emerging adulthood is time when young people experience transitions into new social environments: university, working life etc. (Arnett 2000; Buote et al. 2007).
The importance of individuality has increased; therefore students often want to negotiate their relationship to work, education, and other dimensions of life (McInnis 2002).
Students’ relation to university studies
Transition to university studies is often an emotional experience due to the loss of an earlier secure learning identity and requirements of more self-directed life (Christie et al. 2008, Graham 2008).
Learning in higher education is not just acquisition of knowledge and skills, but also formation of one’s identity (Christie et al. 2008).
It is important to ask if we can be more careful in hearing students’ voices in the middle of these changes clear enough (Välimaa 1997).
Students’ identity work
During university studies students build the foundation for their academic and professional identity.
Positive and supportive relationships with other students and staff members have a significant impact on successfull identity work and on good learning outcomes (Good & Adams 2008).
Students’ identity work
Academic identity is multiple and shifting term which exits alongside other aspects of how people understand their personhood and ways of being in the world (Clegg 2008).
Commitment to one’s own discipline, participation in academic society and freedom are essential in academic identity building (Henkel 2005).
The holistic student-centred model of guidance adopted in the University of Jyväskylä (Lairio&Puukari, 1998 adapted from ”New Skills for New futures” by Watts&Van Esbroeck, 1998)
Student
PSP
Towards holistic thinking on guidance
The expertise in guidance has been divided into various sectors: students´ educational, vocational and personal development.
Student is in the centre – the model stresses the importance of the individuality of a student.
Towards holistic thinking on guidance
The idea of the model is integration of the expertise of teachers, counsellors, and other professionals inside and outside the university.
In the focus is the important and growing role of teachers as senior colleagues for students.
The aim of the study
The purpose was to take part in the discourse dealing with guidance in higher education by focusing on students’ own experiences (see Lairio & Penttilä 2007).
One aim was to study how students see their university studies from the perspective of life course building according to their responses to an open-ended question: ”How do you see studying from the perspective of your life structuring?”
The results of the content analysis based on this question are the focus of this presentation
Description of the research
The web-based questionnaire (year 2004) was completed by 880 students: 69 % were female and 31 % male. It contained both rating-scale and open-ended questions.
The 880 students, 237 were in the first phase of their studies, 217 in the middle phase and 426 in the final phase.
The students represented all seven faculties of the university: Humanities, Information Technology, Sport and Health Sciences, Mathematics and Sciences, Education, Social Sciences and Business and Economics.
The open-ended question was answered by 283 students: 74,6 % were female and 25,4 % male.
Main results
The main categories of the content analyses were:
Identity thinking (n= 154) Developing social relationships (n= 77) Positive period of time (n= 55) Study load (n= 49) Developing one’s own thinking (n = 36)
Identity thinking
Identity thinking was the most common category of the analysed responses (n=154, 39%).
Many students mentioned the significance of social interaction in identity work as noted in earlier studies as well (e.g. Reid et al. 2008; Dahan 2007).
”Searching one’s own self takes place to large extent when one gets acquinted with other people.” (Male student in final phase, English language)
Identity thinking
Quite many students experienced university studies as a time to become an adult and independent person as they moved away from home and took more responsibility of their own life.
”I have learned a lot in becoming independent and taking care of things myself.” (Female student in final phase, Health sciences)
Identity thinking
For some students university time could be described as a time when they process their emerging adulthood (Arnett 2000) feeling that they are in-between adolescence and adulthood.
”Study time has been a very pleasent time. No real worries, because no big loans, work pressures, children etc. On the other hand ”rootless” time, because no knowledge about the future.” (Female student in final phase, Chemistry)
Developing social relationships
The second largest category was Developing social relationships (n= 77, 19%).
Most of the responses in this category described the meaning of the social relationships developed in the university.
However, contrary to some other studies (Vermeulen & Schmidt 2008; Good & Adams 2008) quite few students mentioned relationships with staff members.
Developing social relationships
For some students building new relationships was difficult:
”… often it is lonely as friends are spread around the university, and in mass lectures with hundreds of students you hardly get to know new people.” (Female student in final phase, Information technology).
Some students had established a permanent relationship and some had started a family during university studies – many of these students felt that it is rather demanding to find a balance between studying and close relationships.
Positive period of time
The third largest category (n=55,14 %) consisted of short responses which described university studies as a positive period of time.
”Very important and nice period. I would not want to lose it.”
(Female student in final phase, Information technology)
Some of these responses, although indicating positive experiences, also reflected some negative aspects.
”Nice time eventhough bloody demanding.”
(Male student in first phase, Sports and health sciences)
Study load
The fourth category was ”study load” (n=49, 13%) indicated that quite many students felt that university studies are demanding.
Examples of Individual responses in this category are: restricting, confusion, busy, stressfull, rather grey, and monotonous.
”Through depression to better self-knowledge. Tough time. I acted at the limits of my abilities during the whole study time, exhausting.” (Female student in final phase, Special education)
Study load
Some students indicated that they would have needed more guidance during their studies, especially in choosing subjects and in making study plans.
For many of these students guidance and counselling services were invisible.
For some students financial insecurity was the reason for feeling strained.
Study load
A number of the respondents felt uncertain whether they have chosen the right field of studies and whether they are able to get employed after graduation.
These students were typically at their final phase of studies.
Some of them were also worried about competition in working life and unsure if they are competent enough for the labour market.
Developing one´s own thinking
The fifth category was ”Developing one’s own thinking” (n = 36, 9%)
Responses in this category had to do with learning experiences, education, and life-long learning
The category seems to be linked with the development of academic and professional identity.
”Wonderful, developing time. Study times gave me a lot of knowledge and skills and most of all life skills. One can
enjoy classical education everyday even as unemployed.” (Female student in final phase, Russian language and literature)
Discussion
The need for personal guidance has increased. Students representing all phases of studies wished to have more face-to-face guidance.
It is an important challenge for the university to develop learning environments that promote commitment to university studies and to provide the students with teaching and guidance that support it.
Guidance should not only concern student´s future profession, but also link up with complex question about student´s identity and personal orientation with regard to the future.
Discussion
The results raise also a question how to provide the students with more opportunities to think about their professional identity with teaching personnel. This process should start from the beginning of studies.
The role of peer students in constructing one´s identity is also important. Therefore e.g. group activities dealing with development of professional identity are needed.
Discussion
In order to decrease students anxiety related to entering working life after graduation it is important to costruct links between the university and working life.
From the results of this survey we can draw the conclusion that identity work is in the centre of student´s life structuring.
References
Arnett, J. J. 2000. Emerging adulthood. A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist 55 (5), 469−480.
Buote, V. M., Pancer, S. M., Pratt, M. W., Adams, G., Birnie-Lefcovitch, S., Polivy, J. & Wintre, M. G. 2007. The importance of friends. Friendship and adjustment among 1st-year university students. Journal of Adolescent Research 22 (6), 665−689.
Christie, H., Tett, L., Cree, Vivienne E., Hounsell, J. & McCune, V. 2008. ´A real rollercoaster of confidence and emotions´: learning to be a university student. Studies in Higher Education 33 (5), 567−581.
Clegg, S. 2008. Academic identities under threat? British Educational Research Journal 34 (3), 329−345.
References
Dahan, A, 2007. Supervision and schizophrenia: the professional identity of Ph.D supervisors and the mission of students´ professionalization. European Journal of Education 42 (3), 335−349.
Good, M. & Adams, G. R. 2008. Linking academic social environments, ego-identity formation, ego virtues, and academic success. Adolescence 43 (170), 221−236.
Goodwin, J. & O´Connor, H. 2007. Continuity and change in the experiences of transition from school to work. International Journal of Lifelong Education 26 (5), 555−572.
Graham, G. 2008. Universities. The recovery of an idea. 2. edition. Exeter / UK, Charlottesville / USA: Imprint Academic.
References
Henkel, M. 2005. Academic identity and autonomy in a changing policy environment. Higher Education 49, 155−176.
Lairio, M. & Penttilä, M. (eds.). 2007. Opiskelijalähtöinen ohjaus yliopistossa. Jyväskylä: Koulutuksen tutkimuslaitos.
Lairio, M. & Puukari, S. 1999. Uusin taidoin uuteen tulevaisuuteen. Yliopistojen ja ammattikorkeakoulujen ohjaus- ja neuvontapalveluiden arviointia. Jyväskylän yliopisto. Koulutuksen tutkimuslaitos. Tutkimusselosteita 4.
References
McInnis, C. 2002. Signs of disengagement. Responding to the changing work and study patterns of full-time undergraduates in Australian universities. In J. Enders & O. Fulton (eds.) Higher Education in a globalizing world. International trends and mutual observations. London: Kluwer academic publishers, 175−189.
Reid, A., Dahlgren, L. O., Petocz, P. & Dahlgren, M. A. 2008. Identity and engagement for professional formation. Studies in Higher Education 33 (6), 729−742.
Vermeulen, L. & Schmidt, H. G. 2008. Learning environment, learning process, academic outcomes and career success of university graduates. Studies in Higher Education 33 (4), 431−451.
References
Watts, A. G. & van Esbroeck, R. 1998. New Skills for New Futures. Higher education guidance and counselling services in the European Union. Brussels: VUBPRESS.
Wyn, J. & Dwyer, P. 2000. New patterns of youth transition in education. Unesco. Blackwell Publishers.
Research group
Researchers:
Professor Marjatta Lairio [email protected]
Dr. Sauli Puukari [email protected]
Ed.M. Anne Kärkkäinen [email protected]