Stories of Transition From G. I. Joe, G. I. Jane & Their Classmates: Using Critical Incident Narratives to Promote Social Integration in the Us First-Year Experience

Abstract

The purpose of this case study research aims to bridge gaps in the current research by exploring how both veteran and nonveteran adult and higher education (AHE) learners make sense of their educational journey and identity, in and out of the classroom, during their first-year experience (FYE) course at a community college (CC) in the Southwest region. Combining critical incident technique (CIT) and narrative inquiry, the researcher is able to investigate veteran and nonveteran AHE learners’ personal critical incident narrative testimonies to make sense of individual identity and values. Relevant literature on the topic of FYE’s and transition for veteran and nonveteran learners underscore potentially problematic issues in the current scholarship. The theoretical framework from which this research was undertaken, methodology, findings and discussion reveal how nonveteran and veteran AHE learners identify a ‘third side’ or common ground in 1) the fight to pursue AHE, 2) the negotiation of new roles and 3) the influence of family on identity. To conclude, implications for future research and conclusions to advance understandings about veteran AHE learners have been offered. Ultimately, participant responses reveal common or ‘third sides,’ and how these ‘third side’ spaces contribute towards a collaborative learning environment in an FYE. General experiences of transition into the higher education setting for veteran and nonveteran learners are also shared in the findings.

Assessing learning processes rather than outcomes: using critical incidents to explore student learning abroad

“…CIT studies in social science contexts have applied the concept of saturation to determine when a sufficient number of incidents has been collected (Bott & Tourish, 2016). Prior education-focused CIT studies found that 20-80 participants are sufficient depending on the context and research questions (Bott & Tourish, 2016;Hess et al, 2017;Nguyenvoges, 2015;Walther et al, 2011). We interviewed 79 students and asked for two critical incidents, following a structure from prior studies (Bott & Tourish, 2016;Nguyenvoges, 2015), which yielded 173 incidents across interviews to reach saturation (some students provided more than two).…”