Challenges of university nursing transfer students in an Asian context: a qualitative study

Abstract

ObjectivesTo explore the social and academic experiences of nursing transfer students’ (NTSs) in an Asian context.DesignA descriptive qualitative study design using focus groups and individual interviews with Chinese NTSs. The data were transcribed verbatim and analysed by using qualitative content analysis.SettingA university offering preregistration nursing programmes in Hong Kong.ParticipantsChinese NTSs studying in a 3-year special pattern within a 5-year Bachelor of Nursing programme in a university in Hong Kong.ResultsFour main categories were identified: ‘expectations about study at the beginning of the programme’, ‘challenges during transition’, ‘coping by prioritising’ and ‘our world is small’. The NTSs had clear goals for becoming professional nurses and consequently aimed at higher academic achievements throughout the study. They anticipated enjoying university life at the beginning of their study; however, the challenges caused by heavy study workloads and transition from passive to independent learning approaches, compounded by the limited time of 3-year study, forced them to develop coping strategies to reconcile and prioritise their preconceived notions, academic pursuits, social engagements and personal well-being. Their high prioritisation of good academic performance confined their university lives to the small world of the academic arena.ConclusionsThe study identified challenges faced by NTSs in adjusting to university study. Suggestions are offered to different stakeholders to address the issues at individual, institutional and government levels so as to enhance NTSs’ learning experiences at university.

A Qualitative Exploration on the Challenges of Transfer Students in an Asian Educational Context

“…The TS in this study perceived themselves as having heavy study loads, and this concern intensified when the timeframe for graduation was restricted. In order to graduate “on time”, they need to finish courses pre-assigned by their departments and sacrifice their interests in favor of courses that fit into their schedules; they might even need to give up campus activities and overseas exchange programs [ 9 ]. In other words, for the purpose of timely degree attainment, TS need to make choices about their course enrollments with a sense of urgency.…”

“…The trustworthiness of the study was established through an audit trail that contained the raw data, field notes, intermediate summaries, process notes, and coding frameworks [ 52 ]. The strategies to ensure the trustworthiness of the findings have been described in other papers [ 8 , 9 ].…”

“…Due to the growing aspirations of CC graduates to pursue bachelor’s degrees in university (also known as “four-year institutions” in the literature), the size of the CC transfer student (TS) population has been booming over the past decade [ 1 , 3 ]. This calls for more attention to CC TS through identifying their characteristics and needs [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]. Although there is no shortage of quantitative studies on this subpopulation of university students, particularly in the West, few qualitative studies have been conducted worldwide to understand their transfer experiences.…”

Perceptions and Challenges of Engineering and Science Transfer Students From Community College to University in a Chinese Educational Context

“…Therefore, Chinese students generally desire to continue their studies directly from high school to university in order to achieve a better place in society (Lee, 2019). This means that those who fail to achieve the scores required for university admission can see themselves as "losers" due to the pressure from different parties like parents, peers, and society in general (Ching et al, 2020). Although community colleges provide an alternative route to university, the students who take this path still perceive themselves as losers compared to mainstream students who enter university directly from high school (Wong, 2019(Wong, , 2020Ching et al, 2020).…”

“…This means that those who fail to achieve the scores required for university admission can see themselves as "losers" due to the pressure from different parties like parents, peers, and society in general (Ching et al, 2020). Although community colleges provide an alternative route to university, the students who take this path still perceive themselves as losers compared to mainstream students who enter university directly from high school (Wong, 2019(Wong, , 2020Ching et al, 2020). In addition, there is an expectation in Chinese society that students should complete their education before joining the workforce (Gu, 2006).…”