A Polish-German Comparative Study of Support Information for First-Year University Students Faced with the COVID-19 Pandemic at Selected Universities

• Authors: Hewilia Hetmańczyk , Dagmara Dobosz , Marcin Gierczyk , Jarosław Rychlik , David Rempel

Abstracts

EN

The COVID-19 pandemic has leftits mark on higher education, including first-year university students. The transition to online education has been particularly challenging for the University of Silesia and, to a far lesser extent, the International University of Applied Sciences. This study examines the academic experiences of first-year students entering university in the academic year 2020/2021. This article presents the results of a comparative study conducted on a sample of N=185 students from the University of Silesia (Poland) and N=120 students from the University of Applied Sciences (Germany) using an online questionnaire. The research showed that German students ranked the investigated issues higher; this does not mean that the University of Silesia provides a lower level of support, but that the information strategy and support elements are different.

Keywords

EN

first-year experience (FYE); first-year students; COVID-19; university; experience

• Publisher: Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek
• Journal: The New Educational Review
• Year: 2022
• Volume: 67
• Pages: 30-42

Dates

published

2022

Contributors

author

Hewilia Hetmańczyk

• University of Silesia in Katowice

• https://orcid.org/0000000343620245

author

Dagmara Dobosz

• University of Silesia in Katowice

• https://orcid.org/0000000322303208

author

Marcin Gierczyk

• University of Silesia in Katowice

• https://orcid.org/0000000167342521

author

Jarosław Rychlik

• Workshop of Law and Public Order, Warsaw

• https://orcid.org/0000000219481882

author

David Rempel

• IU Internationale Hochschule

• https://orcid.org/0000000285120292

References

• Biedroń, M., Mitręga, A., & Wawrzak-Chodaczek, M. (2021). Remote Learning During the Covid-19 Pandemic in the Opinion of Polish University Students. The New Educational Review, 64(2), 122-133. https://doi.org/10.15804/tner.2021.64.2.10
• Bryant, A. L., Schulenberg, J., Bachman, J. G., O’Malley, P. M., & Johnston, L. D. (2000). Understanding the Links Among School Misbehavior, Academic Achievement, and Cigarette Use: A National Panel Study of Adolescents. Prevention Sciences, 1(2).
• Clinciu, A. I. (2013). Adaptation and Stress for the First Year University Students. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 78, 718-722. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.04.382
• Combrink, H. M. v. E., & Oosthuizen, L. L. (2020). First-Year Student Transition at the University of the Free State during COVID-19: Challenges and Insights. Journal of Student Affairs in Africa, 8(2), 31-44. DOI: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4446
• DeAndrea, D. C., Ellison, N. B., LaRose, R., Steinfield, C., & Fiore, A. (2012). Serious social media: On the use of social media for improving students’ adjustment to college. Internet High. Educ., 15, 15-23.
• Enochs, W. K., & Roland, C. B. (2006). Social adjustment to college freshmen: the importance of gender and living environment. College Student Journal, 40(1), 63-72.
• Evans, S., & Morrison, B. (2011). Meeting the Challenges of English-Medium Higher Education: The First-Year Experience in Hong Kong. English For Specific Purposes, 30(3), 198-208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2011.01.001
• Fallows, S., & Steven, C. (2000). Building Employability Skills into the Higher Education Curriculum: A University-Wide Initiative. Education Training, 42(2), 75-83. https://doi.org/10.1108/00400910010331620
• Hassel, S., & Ridout, N. (2018). An Investigation of First-Year Students’ and Lecturers’ Expectations of University Education. Front. Psychol., 8, 2218. DOI: 10.3389/ fpsyg.2017.02218
• Jun, M., Songyi, L., & Taeeun, S. (2021). First-Year College Student Life Experiences during COVID-19 in South Korea. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(18), 9895. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18189895
• Leese, M. (2010). Bridging the gap: supporting student transitions into higher education. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 34(2), 239-251. https://doi.org/10.1080/03098771003695494
• Lowe, H., & Cook, A. (2003). Mind the gap: are students prepared for higher education? J. Furth. High. Educ., 27, 53-76. DOI: 10.1080/03098770305629
• Maślanka, E., Mroczka, D., Ostrowska, A., Szczupaj, A., & Wit, J. (2013). Rola uczelni w procesie adaptacji studentów pierwszego roku. Studencka Konferencja Naukowa czerwiec 2013 [The role of the university in the process of adaptation of first-year students. Student Scientific Conference June 2013] (pp. 1044-1056). Wyższa Szkoła Prawa i Administracji.
• Orosová, O., Gajdošová, B., & Benka, J. (2021). Academic Stress Factors in Slovak University Students During the Covid-19 Pandemic. The New Educational Review, 65(3), 122-133. https://doi.org/10.15804/tner.2021.65.3.10
• Pather, S., Norodien-Fataar, N., Cupido, X., & Mkonto, N. (2017). First year students’ experience of access and engagement at a University of Technology. Journal of Education (University of KwaZulu-Natal), 69, 161-184.
• Smith, J. S., & Wertlieb, E. C. (2005). Do first-year college students’ expectations align with their first-year experiences? NASPA J., 42, 153-174.
• Stanisz, A. (2006). Przystępny kurs statystyki z zastosowaniem STATISTICA PL na przykładach z medycyny. Statystyki Podstawowe. Tom 1 [[An affordable statistics course with the use of STATISTICA PL on examples from medicine. Basic Statistics. Vol. 1]. StatSoft.
• Szymczak, W. (2010). Podstawy statystyki dla psychologów [Fundamentals of Statistics for Psychologists]. Difin.
• Tinto, V., & Goodshell, A. (1994). Freshman Interest Groups and the First-Year Experience: Constructing Student Communities in a Large University. Journal of the First-Year Experience & Students in Transition, 6(1), 7-28.
• Wintre, M. G., & Yaffe, M. (2000). First-year students’ adjustment to university life as a function of relationship with parents. Journal of Adolescent Research, 15(1), 9-37.
• Yan, Z. & Sendall, P. (2016). First-Year Experience: How We Can Better Assist First-Year International Students in Higher Education. Journal of International Students, 1(6), 35-51.
• SUPP Team. (2015). Adaptacja Kulturowa, Integracja i Wsparcie Psychospołeczne dla Studentów Zagranicznych na Wybranych Uczelniach Wyższych [Cultural Adaptation, Integration, and Psychosocial Support for International Students at Selected Universities]. Warszawa.

Identifiers

DOI

10.15804/tner.22.67.1.02

Biblioteka Nauki

2034182