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The smooth transition of students into higher education is crucial for laying a strong foundation for success at the university level. This paper investigated students' perceptions and responses to enrolling in an Extended Curriculum Programme (ECP) and lecturers' efforts to motivate students and understand the factors that may hinder student success. To achieve this, the research utilised a mixed methods approach, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative dimensions. The researchers purposefully selected 150 ECP students enrolled in the 2024 academic year. Data collection involved the use of free listing techniques and semi-structured interviews, which allowed for a comprehensive understanding of the students' experiences. The collected research data was organised, transcribed, and analysed using thematic analysis, ensuring a systematic and in-depth exploration of the data. Additionally, the findings were statistically analysed using Microsoft Excel to compare the challenges faced based on gender and age, providing a nuanced understanding of the factors influencing student transition. The students, while enthusiastic about their university experience, also expressed feelings of being lost and overwhelmed during their transition. Many students, particularly those who linked their early academic performance to future opportunities, felt unprepared for independent study at the university, which was distressing. Ignoring such experiences and the lack of a sense of belonging can hinder students' academic success. Therefore, it is crucial for lecturers to identify students' emotions early and implement supportive strategies, such as a well-planned orientation program, recognition, and rewards for high-achieving students. The paper recommends strategies and techniques that should be implemented to facilitate a smoother transition for students into higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

WhatsApp as the most popular instant messaging technology that has created opportunities for online cooperation and teamwork among students in the university context [1] and allows students to communicate even outside school hours [2]. Transitioning from high school to university can be a challenging experience for many students, particularly those who are entering a new academic atmosphere with greater autonomy and higher workload [3]. This data publication [4] presents a dataset capturing the perceptions of first-year university students on the utilization of WhatsApp as a means of continuous induction into university life. The dataset includes responses from participants on 7 background questions and 14 Likert scale questions, measuring agreeableness on the academic dimension of the academic dropout wheel [5].The questionnaire aimed to investigate the effectiveness of WhatsApp groups established by academic support staff in facilitating the integration of first-year students into both formal academic structures and informal social systems within the campus. The data may offer valuable insights into the potential benefits of WhatsApp as an educational tool and its impact on fostering a positive academic environment, ultimately helping to reduce dropout rates in institutions of higher learning.Researchers, educators, and policymakers can utilize this dataset to gain a deeper understanding of the role that WhatsApp can play in enhancing student engagement and promoting successful integration into university life. By harnessing the information from this dataset, institutions can develop targeted strategies to provide effective support systems for first-year students, thereby promoting academic success and retention.

Purpose: this study examines the escalating issue of graduate unemployment and underrepresentation in certain academic programmes in Cameroon. It aims to evaluate the effectiveness of orientation and sensitisation programmes at Cameroonian universities and their impact on students’ career development and choices. Design/methodology/approach: using a descriptive survey methodology, the study engaged 200 students across various universities and disciplines in Cameroon. The research employed both online and in-person questionnaires, with data analysis combining descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and ANOVA to assess perspectives across institutions. Findings: the results highlight a significant lack of adequate career orientation and sensitisation among students, revealing disparities in the quality of orientation and the need for improved career guidance strategies. Research limitations/implications: while the study offers valuable insights, it acknowledges the limitations of its focus on specific universities and survey-based data collection. It suggests further research into the barriers to effective guidance and the long-term impact of orientation programmes. Practical implications: the study underscores the need for universities to enhance orientation programmes involving expert collaboration and online platforms to ensure students make informed career decisions. Social implications: addressing orientation disparities, particularly in rural areas, is critical for equitable access to career guidance, which has implications for social equality and quality of life improvements. Originality/value: this paper contributes new insights into the impact of orientation and sensitisation on students’ career choices within the Cameroonian context, offering a foundation for future policy and educational practice enhancements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nutrition and consumer education are treated as multi-perspectival content areas in General Education (“Sachunterricht”). Multi-perspectivity can be seen as a dialectical core category of General Studies. Yet it remains broad in its conceptual interpretation. This article is dedicated to the term “multi-perspectivity”—with references to nutrition and consumer education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teachers' attitudes, behavior, and practices play an integral role in enhancing the students' learning activities. Teachers' strategies ensure the individuals' professional development by creating a healthy learning environment. The study's primary objective is to analyze students' attitudes toward learning English as a foreign language. The data was collected from the 359 colleges and universities students by adopting a convenient sampling technique. The study shows English self-concept and teacher behavior student orientation significantly positively impact attitudes toward learning English as a foreign language. Motivation for English and English Intentions mediate the relationship between English Self-concept, teacher behavior-student orientation, and Attitude toward learning English as a Foreign Language. The study motivates future studies to focus on the EFL, individuals' learning motivation and intentions in other domains across diverse contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes the multimodality of approaches to the concept of subjectivity of a primary school teacher in Ukrainian education. The purpose of the article is how to determine the well-established traditional (mostly destructive) and promising directions for the development of the doctrine of subjectivity in the Ukrainian psychological and pedagogical discourse against the background of historical and current experience. We identified a number of contradictions in the qualification of this phenomenon, the stability of traditional approaches and the avoidance of interdisciplinary neurophysiological and pedagogical understanding of the problem in Ukraine. We also found out that the ideas of Ukrainian scientists are of an expressive dual nature: they are divided into sociocentric representations of the subject as an indicator of the social level and naturecentered (subjectivity as an innate permanent resource for self-development). We also made some comments on the use of traditional and innovative ideas of subjectivity in the educational process. The greatest drawback of the Ukrainian scientific discourse is the lack of consideration of neurophysiological patterns in the understanding of subjectivity. Nevertheless, the maximum use of such ideas outlines the prospects for a new stage in the development of psychological and pedagogical science in Ukraine. The international contribution of the article lies in the re-inventory of views on the subjectivity of the post-totalitarian state against the background of world trends. This will allow countries that have little experience in transforming education, psychology and sociology (Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, etc.) not to formally adopt the experience of Western democracies, but also to acquire constructive traditions in their own discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the spread of the Covid‑19 pandemic, the President of South Africa declared a national lockdown that commenced on 27 March 2020. This posed numerous challenges to the higher education sector, one of which was the preparation of students forced to stay at home to be able to study remotely under unique and often unfavourable circumstances. This article outlines and reflects on the conceptualisation, development, and implementation of an online orientation programme aimed at preparing students to rapidly move to emergency remote learning as a result of a nationwide lockdown. Teaching and Learning Centre staff in the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management at a South African university rapidly created a short online orientation programme in the institutional Learning Management System, using Salmon’s five-stage model as a conceptual framework. The objective was to enable students to acquire the skills and knowledge required for continuing with the university academic programme from 20 April 2020 via emergency remote learning. The orientation programme covered the priority areas of how to get started in emergency remote learning, broad study skills, how to use the required technologies for learning, and managing personal well‑being during social isolation and emergency remote learning. In this article, the conceptualisation and development of the orientation programme is analysed, before reflecting on its implementation, challenges, mitigating measures, and lessons learned. Feedback from students indicates that the majority of students felt more prepared for continuing the academic programme, although they still reported feeling anxious about the many uncertainties. The intervention emerges as a useful strategy for helping students transition during a crisis and contributes to the understanding of how to prepare students for rapid transition to Emergency Remote Learning.

Previous studies have explored a multitude of factors influencing student learning outcomes based on various theories. Knowledge transfer theory was adopted to develop the antecedents of student learning outcomes in the complete learning process. This study aims to explore the conspicuousness between various factors within the structural model, such as knowledge transfer, student orientation, and absorptive capacity, by combining marketing and management concepts with higher education studies. This study takes Taiwanese University students as its research samples, and purposive sampling is adopted. A total of 873 questionnaires are collected in this study. PLS-SEM was used to verify the structural relationship in data analysis via running of SmartPLS. The results indicate that knowledge transfer and student orientation have significant impacts on students' absorptive capacity and learning outcomes and that students' prior knowledge has a positive moderating effect on the relationship between knowledge transfer and absorptive capacities. Based on these findings, the researchers propose feasible suggestions for related issues and future research.

Previous studies have explored a multitude of factors influencing student learning outcomes based on various theories. Knowledge transfer theory was adopted to develop the antecedents of student learning outcomes in the complete learning process. This study aims to explore the conspicuousness between various factors within the structural model, such as knowledge transfer, student orientation, and absorptive capacity, by combining marketing and management concepts with higher education studies. This study takes Taiwanese University students as its research samples, and purposive sampling is adopted. A total of 873 questionnaires are collected in this study. PLS-SEM was used to verify the structural relationship in data analysis via running of SmartPLS. The results indicate that knowledge transfer and student orientation have significant impacts on students' absorptive capacity and learning outcomes and that students' prior knowledge has a positive moderating effect on the relationship between knowledge transfer and absorptive capacities. Based on these findings, the researchers propose feasible suggestions for related issues and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research intends to advance the understanding of the university teacher-student relationship in the context of teachers' market orientation with the aim to improve students' performance. Thus, the study is articulated on three axes: the students' performance approach, the relationship among diverse aspects of teachers, and, finally, the effect of these aspects on students' performance. The results gained from a sample of 45 teachers and 932 students show that teachers' student orientation influences perceived learning and student satisfaction. Other interesting results are also attained that lead to certain conclusions and implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research intends to advance the understanding of the university teacher-student relationship in the context of teachers’ market orientation with the aim to improve students’ performance. Thus, the study is articulated on three axes: the students’ performance approach, the relationship among diverse aspects of teachers, and, fi nally, the effect of these aspects on students’ performance. The results gained from a sample of 45 teachers and 932 students show that teachers’ student orientation infl uences perceived learning and student satisfaction. Other interesting results are also attained that lead to certain conclusions and implications.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to assess the consistency with which quality is maintained in the orientation process. Orientation is a key university process intended to prepare new students for life in higher education (HE). For open and distance learning (ODL), orientation can be a key process for lessening some of the challenges associated with the separation of the learner and the lecturer. Indeed, for ODL students, orientation can be fraught with a variety of challenges one of which could be quality problems. Design/methodology/approach - Convenient sampling was used to obtain a total of 89 students in the first semester and 34 students in the second semester. The respondents came from all the eight districts in the Midlands province of Zimbabwe. They belonged to various degree programmes found in the eight faculties of the institution. Correlation was used to determine quality variations. Using a mixed methods approach, the study sought the views of the students and the relationships between activities done in the two semesters of 2018. SPSS version 16.0 software was used to compute Spearman’s correlations whereas content analysis was used to analyze the open-ended responses to the questa-view. This mixed methods approach helped the researchers to analyze and compare the quality of the orientation sessions. Findings - Results yielded a positive and high significant correlation between first and second semester variables (r=0.916, p=0.000), a finding indicating that staff members in the Midlands Regional Campus of Zimbabwe Open University have not changed their ways of conducting orientation. On a scale of 1 (least effective) to 5 (most effective), the average ratings for the presentations in the first and second semesters were 4.08 and 4.26, respectively. In the qualitative analysis, adequacy of the venue, timing, coverage of aspects and use of media were all rated positively for the two sessions. However, for the two sessions, some students mentioned negative sentiments to do with the provision of needed materials at time of student registration, the public address system, orientation packages, time management and communication. Research limitations/implications - This paper looks at the process of orientation as it was done at one regional campus of an ODL institution in Zimbabwe. It also analyses the quality of the orientation using correlation as a lens that measures consistency and also by critically analyzing content in the respondents’ voices. Implications are that the findings and recommendations can also be applied in other ODL (and even non-ODL) institutions with a view of finally coming up with common policies and procedures with regards to providing quality service and support to the twenty-first century student. Practical implications - Findings were relevant and could be used for designing applicable orientation programmes in ODL institutions and for improving the quality of student support and services. Originality/value - While a number of studies have been carried out on orientation in HE, it would appear that research on orientation in ODL institutions, especially in Zimbabwe, appears minimal, hence this study covers an unexplored niche.

In this article, we developed and implemented an escape room activity for first-year pharmacy student orientation. The purpose of the activity was to engage students in socialization with their classmates, to familiarize students with the key personnel of the program, to acquaint students with co-curricular programming in the academic calendar, and to peruse key policies in the student handbook. An escape room was developed for first professional year student orientation in a large classroom setting. The escape room featured several gameplay elements, including a personnel bingo game, a computerized student calendar scavenger hunt, and group assessments designed to acquaint students with policies within the student handbook. One hundred nineteen students participated simultaneously in the orientation escape room activity in break-out groups to accomplish the objectives of the escape room as measured by embedded assessments. All students successfully escaped the encounter. Students demonstrated proficiency in orientation learning objectives on group assessments. Students were queried about their attitudes towards the instructional design via a post-survey. The proof-of-concept for this work was evaluated via a log of estimated faculty time and monetary costs for implementation. A student orientation escape room was successfully designed and implemented. Students were assessed to evaluate the retention of knowledge obtained during orientation. Despite not having previously met their classmates, survey responses indicated that students were positively inclined toward the educational activity. This is the first report of a co-curricular escape room developed for pharmacy student orientation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

WhatsApp as the most popular instant messaging technology that has created opportunities for online cooperation and teamwork among students in the university context [1] and allows students to communicate even outside school hours [2]. Transitioning from high school to university can be a challenging experience for many students, particularly those who are entering a new academic atmosphere with greater autonomy and higher workload [3]. This data publication [4] presents a dataset capturing the perceptions of first-year university students on the utilization of WhatsApp as a means of continuous induction into university life. The dataset includes responses from participants on 7 background questions and 14 Likert scale questions, measuring agreeableness on the academic dimension of the academic dropout wheel [5]. The questionnaire aimed to investigate the effectiveness of WhatsApp groups established by academic support staff in facilitating the integration of first-year students into both formal academic structures and informal social systems within the campus. The data may offer valuable insights into the potential benefits of WhatsApp as an educational tool and its impact on fostering a positive academic environment, ultimately helping to reduce dropout rates in institutions of higher learning. Researchers, educators, and policymakers can utilize this dataset to gain a deeper understanding of the role that WhatsApp can play in enhancing student engagement and promoting successful integration into university life. By harnessing the information from this dataset, institutions can develop targeted strategies to provide effective support systems for first-year students, thereby promoting academic success and retention., (© 2024 The Author(s).)

There are a multitude of factors influencing the learning outcomes of students, with all previous studies basing their conclusions upon predetermined variables according to different theories and exploring the relevance between them. In this study, two important antecedents--the transfer of teachers' knowledge and student orientation--are put forward based on the knowledge conversion theory and marketing concepts to explore the conspicuousness between various factors within the structural model. This study uses students from colleges in Taiwan as its research samples. Purposive sampling is adopted to acquire the samples required for statistics. A total of 801 participants are involved in this study. The results indicate that knowledge transfer at the teacher level plays a significant role in students' absorptive capacity and learning outcomes, that student orientation at college levels has a great influence on students' absorptive capacity, and that the prior knowledge of students has a positive moderating effect on the influence of teachers' knowledge transfer on students' absorptive capacities. Based on these results, the study provides suggestions for relevant theoretical and practical implications to indicate the contributions of this research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Retos: Nuevas Perspectivas de Educación Física, Deporte y Recreación is the property of Federacion Espanola de Asociaciones de Docentes de Educacion Fisica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The paper, in theoretic terms deals with the phenomena of social networks and points out the possibility of their use as a technology innovation in university teaching. The central part of the empiric relations of the paper, them being the main purpose of this research, is the orientation of the students of teacher training faculties in Serbia towards social networks and their use in university teaching. The research was performed in the academic year 2012/13 on an appropriate and stratified sample of 208 students of the first and fourth year of Bachelor Academic studies and students of Master studies of teacher training faculties in Belgrade, Užice and Vranje. Besides the student preference of the use of social networks in education, the variables of the research are the year of studies and their attitude towards the use of social networks in teaching. The data was gathered through the survey and scaling techniques, and processed by the SPSS software package. The instruments used were a questionnaire and the Likert scale. Descriptive method was used to interpret the acquired data. The result of the research shows that the students of teacher training faculties have different opinions towards the use of social networks, and they have different attitudes towards the use of social networks in university teaching. One half of the surveyed students support and advocate this technology innovation, while the other half is against it or has no attitude whatsoever on the matter, which indicates that this phenomenon must be addressed with significantly more attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to determine if student confidence levels change when attending a series of five pre-semester orientation success workshops. This research was conducted at a Canadian Community College whose attrition rates for the Practical Nursing program within the host college average 36%. The workshop sessions occur prior to the student starting their program, and have two main purposes: to offer the student a connection to the college before they begin their program of choice, and to increase their confidence levels in their ability to fit into college life and be successful in their program of choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that student orientation (SO) is a high order construct that should be measured formatively rather than reflectively. Using a discovery-oriented approach, conducted by supplementing educational and marketing literatures with in depth interviews from 23 academic staff in seven different universities, the authors identified three second-order formative constructs and one first-order reflective construct to measure the concept of SO. The study then developed a self-administrated survey to validate the four identified constructs that form SO. Through using rigours statistical analysis, the study confirms that the measurement instrument for SO is the 53-item which can be validly and reliably measured using the nine multi-item components of: Measuring and Adapting Teaching Practices, Promoting Best Teaching Practices, Assessment and Feedback, Adopting Outside-In-Approach, Student Engagement, Employer Engagement Initiatives, Intrafunctional Coordination, Interfunctional Coordination and Effective Personal Tutoring System. The effect of SO on student satisfaction and university reputation was also hypothesised and tested using a structural equation modelling (SmartPLS 2.0). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A significant issue for U.S. institutions of higher education is reducing the anxiety of students in order to help increase retention rates and improve academic performance. The purpose of this study was to analyze the anxiety levels of incoming graduate students at a Midwest regional state university to determine if an online student orientation program would assist in lowering those levels. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Form Y-1 (STAI) was used to measure anxiety levels before and after an orientation program was administered. The population consisted of graduate students, with data indicating that anxiety levels of entering graduate students were significantly lower after completing the orientation program. The findings have implications for institutions seeking to understand anxiety levels of incoming students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This field/analytical study examined the marketing actions (antecedents) and performance (consequences) of relationship quality in a higher education setting. To analyze data collected from a random sample of 271 undergraduate students at AL-Zaytoonah Private University of Jordan, the linear structural relationship (LISREL) model was used to identify structural characteristics of relationship management between the University employees, including academic and administrative staff and students. The empirical results of this study were fourfold. First, greater employees' relational and student orientation resulted in higher relationship quality. Second, better education providers' (employees') attributes resulted in higher relationship quality. Third, higher relationship quality resulted in better relationship continuity. Fourth, committed student relationships resulted in student satisfaction, loyalty, positive word of mouth, and promotion. These in turn contributed to the enhancement of university image. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today's administrators in higher education face a dynamic marketplace that offers students an array of educational options and alternatives. Much like organizations more traditionally associated with marketing strategies and tactics, colleges and universities are gradually moving towards and embracing the marketing concept and a focus on consumer orientation. The fundamental objective in this study was to develop and empirically test a multi-item scale called the Collegiate Student Orientation Scale (CSOS). The results of the study showed that the CSOS demonstrated adequate internal reliability. Implications of the results and administrative applications for the new scale are discussed. Finally, avenues for future research are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Teachers' attitudes, behavior, and practices play an integral role in enhancing the students' learning activities. Teachers' strategies ensure the individuals' professional development by creating a healthy learning environment. The study's primary objective is to analyze students' attitudes toward learning English as a foreign language. The data was collected from the 359 colleges and universities students by adopting a convenient sampling technique. The study shows English self-concept and teacher behavior student orientation significantly positively impact attitudes toward learning English as a foreign language. Motivation for English and English Intentions mediate the relationship between English Self-concept, teacher behavior-student orientation, and Attitude toward learning English as a Foreign Language. The study motivates future studies to focus on the EFL, individuals' learning motivation and intentions in other domains across diverse contexts., (Copyright © 2022 Zhao and Shang.)

Less than 5% of US veterinary school graduates go on to practice predominantly food animal medicine, contributing to a serious shortage of veterinarians practicing in rural areas. Exposing students to clinical and farm experiences while in veterinary school is an effective way to recruit them to various types of veterinary careers. Students at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine (UMN CVM) were not always aware of food animal course options within the curriculum. Additionally, food animal faculty had noted that while face-to-face mentoring was the most effective way to help students select courses, it was too dependent upon faculty availability and students' comfort level in reaching out for advice. Consequently, it was decided to develop an online catalog of course options focusing on food animal topics. This course catalog, called the Food Animal Curriculum Roadmap, was designed as an interactive roadmap similar to a map of subway lines, where each line represents a species of interest (beef, dairy, small ruminant, swine, and poultry) and each station is a course. The roadmap was made available to all students at the college. A user survey showed that 96% of the respondents ( n = 30) indicated that they had a better understanding of course offerings after using the Food Animal Curriculum Roadmap.

Due to the upward trend in the globalization of sustainability issues and the intense competitive environment, it is evident that higher education institutions need new strategic approaches to succeed. To this end, the inquiry for this paper has been made into the debate about student relationship management. Going through the literature indicates that institutions have mainly perceived the concept as a technological initiative for solving the problems in individual domains, accompanied by uncoordinated efforts. Thus, the aims of this study are to theoretically present the critical success factors of this strategic approach and to empirically examine the recognized factors. To do so, a confirmatory factor analysis that is a quantitative analytic method was performed. The results and analyses revealed that there has been a significant correlation between the four critical success factors including knowledge management, student relationship management technology, student orientation, and employees' involvement. It was also found that these factors are significantly correlated with the construct of student relationship management success. The findings have consequently highlighted that in addition to the technological tool, the role of knowledge management, employees' involvement, and student orientation appeared to be particularly important for the implementation of the application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]