Giving Australian First-in-Family Students a Kick Start to University

Abstract

Australian university students who are the first in their family to attend university are more likely to encounter challenges in their transition to university, and programs to support students are important for success and retention. Fifteen first-in-family (FiF) students participated in an Australian-first pilot orientation program. Program students had better engagement (attendance and study hours) and higher grades compared to a control group. There were no group differences in self-efficacy, program participants had steady social support over time while the control group experienced a decline across semester 1. Qualitative findings indicate that participants felt confident about their transition and did not report academic challenges. They had made connections and felt supported. Commute times were the most common adjustment reported.

How Personal and Familial Narratives Affect the Decision Making of Mature-Aged First-in-Family Students Pursuing University

“…Conceivably, the experience of feeling like an outsider could be exacerbated by being both MA and FiF, contributing to feelings of anxiety about academic ability (Delahunty & O'Shea, 2021). This expanding participation in the Australian higher education landscape towards a more diverse student body, specifically an increase in MA, FiF learners’ transition to higher education necessitates greater investigation to discover how MA FiF students succeed in this environment (Chapin et al, 2023).…”

The importance of developing a metric to classify student experience in mathematics within the framework of intensive block teaching

“…The challenge surrounding this lack of mathematical exposure cannot be overstated, particularly in the context of a student cohort who are academically disadvantaged (Winchester, Klein, & Sinnayah, 2021) and often experience low numeracy (Downie, Klein, & Sinnayah, 2019). This is particularly evident at Victoria University, which has a high population of disadvantaged students (Chapin & Oraison, 2019;McCluskey, Weldon, & Smallridge, 2019;Messinis & Sheehan, 2015) now studying under the recently adopted Victoria University Block Model (VUBM) curriculum. The idea behind the introduction of the VUBM was to better support this cohort of the student population from the outset (Winchester, Klein, & Sinnayah, 2021).…”