A journey that motivates: Exploring the Associate Students Transition Framework

This Research to Practice Full Paper presents empirical work exploring the transition experiences of transfer students into computing degrees in Scotland. Students on this journey face transitional barriers as they adapt to the change in culture, come to terms with their altered student identity, and overcome academic and social integration issues. The study discussed employed the graphical research method of photo-elicitation to gather and document perceptions of thirteen students during the first stage of their higher education journey, as they prepare to make the transition from community college into a university. A further ten participants shared their experience of transition during the first few weeks at university through photovoice and in-depth IPA interviews, providing insight into the usually unseen aspects of transition, moving home, adjusting to a long commute, experiencing loneliness and anxiety, benefiting from peer support and friendship. Through graphical research methods and interpretative phenomenological analysis, the participants have infomred the research through their narrative, their photographs, and their discussion to form a representation of the phenomenon under examination. Findings are shared which identified this as a “journey that motivated”, one that made “university possible” and one that combined two “different worlds”. This study found that the students' perceptions and experiences of transition were diverse and highlight the need to understand the key aspects of adjustment. This paper presents a theoretical framework adapted from the Model of Organizational influence on the development of Learner Identity [1], that can be applied across institutions for all students in transition. Grounded in the literature, the framework demonstrates the student perspectives before the transition and experience following the transition. This framework provides a mechanism for improving the transition for computing and engineering students moving into university study and makes a valuable contribution to computing education.