A Sense of Belonging – Academic and Social Integration of First Year Students

David Dennison 

Abstract Below..

During 2010-2011 the BA(Hons) Photography team were extremely disappointed with students’ negative perceptions of the programme. The course team decided to engage directly with the issues and find strategies to enhance the student experience.  The team decided to target the first year of the programme, in the hope that improvements made at that level would eventually filter through to the other years. We looked at the literature on student retention to extract lessons that we could apply quickly and effectively.

The National Audit Commission Report ‘Staying the Course: The Retention of Students in Higher Education’ (2007) offered a number of practical insights, some of which might seem quite obvious:

“…getting to really know their students”

“…developing a more positive approach to retention-related activities”

“…properly resourced tutoring systems”.

In responding we needed to avoid a ‘deficit model’ when discussing retention and progression and implement activity to ensure support and engagement . Research by Tinto (1975) on the importance of Academic Integration and Social Integration in the retention of new undergraduates was informative, as was the later work by Thomas (2002) who suggested five factors that affect integration: Academic, Social, Economic, Support and Democratic. Martinez (2001) emphasised 'paying particular attention to the early stages of programmes of learning (student induction, initial assessment and the establishment of group ethos and identity)'. Grossman, Hammerness and McDonald (2009) remind us of the importance of ‘… the relational work involved in creating classroom communities’, and the point is reinforced by Fitzmaurice (2010) stating that ‘… teaching involves creating and maintaining caring physical, cultural, intellectual, social and moral environments which induce learning’. We engaged in a range of interventions during both 2011-12 and 2012-13. 

• ice-breaker sessions led by second years, small team projects, exhibition visit and location shoot.
• regular meetings between year 1 tutors to discuss student progress, achievement, attendance etc.
• Semester 1 modules revised.
• A staff member was asked to co-ordinate and disseminate information on students with disabilities and how to support them effectively, and to actively promote the University’s support systems.
• Involvement in the Preston community through PH1003 Photography and the Everyday.
• Residential visit to London.

The results of these interventions had a significant impact on retention.  The poster will report on these in detail. During 2011-2012 we saw a very large increase in the uptake of MEQs together with high levels of satisfaction. Students made a number of constructive suggestions that were incorporated into minor changes to modules, for example a change of assessment strategy in PH1010.

Student retention increased and the number of reassessments decreased at the end of year one. Anecdotally, we also see more interaction between students of different years with, for example, first year students assisting second years, helping to create a sense of community.

References

Fitzmaurice, M. (2010) ‘Considering teaching in higher education as a practice’ Teaching in Higher Education, 15:1, 45-55.

Grossman, P., Hammerness, K. and McDonald, M. (2009) ‘Redefining teaching, re-imagining teacher education’ Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 15:2, 273-289.

Martinez, P. (2001) 'Improving student retention and achievement - What do we know and what do we need to find out?' LSDA

National Audit Commission (2007) ‘Staying the Course: The Retention of Students in Higher Education’

Thomas,E.A.M. (2002) Student retention in Higher Education: The role of institutional habitus' Journal of Educational Policy vol.17 no.4

Tinto,V. (1975) 'Dropout from Higher Education: A Theoretical Synthesis of Recent Research' Review of Educational Research vol.45