First-year Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students entering a problem-based learning (PBL) program are faced with a number of pedagogical challenges, including the development of self-directed learning skills, resource unfamiliarity, and group dynamics. These challenges can make learning anatomy in a self-directed manner less efficient.…

The domain of literacy includes multiple strategies relevant to studying in college (Alexander, 2005). This thematic analysis examines how Generation 1 learners (adult-arrival immigrants who transition from adult ESL into college) demonstrate their emergent literacy domain competence and how their literacy strategy use aligns with their identity…

Although the number of engineering students is increasing, dropout rates remain high. This problem is also present in the Faculty of Engineering Technology (FET) at KU Leuven, Belgium, which resulted in the need for an in-depth analysis of the academic achievement of the bridging students there. This study examines the contribution of a range of…

To stimulate a flexible lifelong learning system students can enter university via lateral entry. Unlike traditional first-year students, lateral entrance students are not well-studied. Therefore this study focuses on comparing first-year students with a specific group of lateral entrants, namely bridging students at the Faculty of Engineering…

Postsecondary transition programs have emerged to prepare adult learners to enter college with either limited or no remediation work needed in developmental education. This article examines the results of a pilot study, in which participants (ages 20 years and older who held GED® credentials or high school degrees) received accelerated instruction…

Children's prior attitudes toward school may be an important entry factor to consider in their initial adjustment to kindergarten. This short-term longitudinal study examined children's affective orientations and other school-related perceptions and approaches to learning in late preschool and then 1 to 2 months after entry into…

Research into student transition to and experience of first-year undergraduate study has been ongoing for many years. The corresponding research within the discipline of science has been less prolific and that which has been published tends to focus on using external factors such as previous grades, finances, travel time "etc." as predictors for…

This article focuses on ways in which students with learning disabilities (LD) successfully self-manage the academic demands placed upon them when transitioning into college. Using a conceptual framework guided by Disability Studies in Education (DSE), the author analyzes experiences of 2 college students to: (1) identify student actions that…

In 1972, the TRIO program leaders at the University of Minnesota (UMN) developed the Integrated Learning (IL) course to meet academic and cultural transition needs of their Upward Bound (UB) secondary school students. These courses were offered during the UB summer bridge program for students who were concurrently enrolled in…

There is sometimes an assumption among language educators that students find the transition from school to university language learning a challenging process (see for example Busse & Walter, 2011; Chambers, 2014; Macaro & Wingate, 2004). In this research we set out to explore this assumption through a small-scale study of first-year…

This study involves nontraditional students attending a community college in west Texas. The purpose of this study was to report initial attitudes of nontraditional students required to enroll in an Effective Learning/Student Success course. Participants included four nontraditional students from the researchers' Effective Learning/Student Success…

In 2007, as part of its response to the continuing diversification of students, Central Queensland University introduced a for-credit undergraduate course, "The Principles of University Learning", focusing on "learning to learn" in the Australian university context. The aim was to support the transition of learners with diverse…

Little is known about how special education services received by students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) differ by age, disability severity, and demographic characteristics. Using three national datasets, the Pre-Elementary Education Longitudinal Study (PEELS), the Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study (SEELS), and the National…

The National Research Center on Career and Technical Education has supported four studies on one of the major components of Perkins legislation: programs of study. In this article, we present qualitative data linking the research center's longitudinal projects based on programs of study, via a one-time cross-case study of sites deemed highly…

This paper addresses the retention issues presented when large numbers of students from low socio-economic backgrounds and associated disadvantaged educational histories live together on-campus. It reports research in progress on a new approach taken at the University of New England (UNE), Australia, aimed at encouraging the growth of learning…