Digital Commons Network^™

Orientation Is Key For First-Year Students, Mary O'Rawe

Other resources

The focus on college drop-out rates, particularly in first year, and debates around fees and funding, remind us to consider why students find it so difficult to make the transition from secondary school to higher education.

So how can incoming students prepare themselves to make the best academic transition? This article present a series of useful points for students and parents in preparing for success in a college learning environment.

The Pursuit Of Civic Engagement: Youth Civic Engagement And The Role Of Higher Education, Aideen Mccormack, Aiden Carthy, Cormac Doran

Stream 6: Global University

Putnam (2000) argues that, in recent years, there has been a steady decline of social capital and civic engagement in western societies. However, arguments claiming a 'crisis' of civic engagement have also been met with fierce academic disagreement, leading to a strongly contested debate as to whether civic engagement is in decline or simply evolving. Using a mixed methods approach, this research sought to explore youth civic engagement among the students of the Institute of Technology Blanchardstown aged 18 to 25. Preliminary quantitative results provide evidence of both disengagement with traditional routes and a re-routing of engagement towards more lifestyle …

‘Moving In’: Difficulties And Support In The Transition To Higher Education For In-Service Social Care Students, Fiona Mcsweeney

Articles

This paper reports on the difficulties and supports experienced by social care practitioners within the educational institution during their transition to higher education. A life transition such as entering higher education causes stress for individuals and social support is essential in successfully dealing with this stress (Anderson et al., 2012). Fifteen social care practitioners were interviewed twice during and once at the end of their first academic year in college. Findings indicate that participants were reluctant to approach staff for help despite anxiety about classes and assignments. Discussion and debate in class helped learning and contributed to feelings of being …