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Understanding The Commencing Student Mindset To Better Support Student Success: A Typology Of First-Year Students’ Motivation, Preparedness And Perceived Support, Sarah Midford, Sara James, Anastasia Kanjere

Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice

This article presents a typology of student mindset on commencing their studies at university. Using the results of a sample of over 400 first-year humanities students enrolled in a generalist degree at a mid-tier metropolitan university, we performed a cluster analysis informed by self-reported student motivation, preparedness and perceived support. Four types were generated: the ‘Coasters,’ the ‘Reluctants,’ the ‘Passionates’ and the ‘Fight or Flights.’ The types generated exhibit a statistically significant correlation with final grade achieved. The predictive power of the generated types indicates that this form of typology is an appropriate conceptual model for understanding student success in …