The first year students’ perceptions of higher studies: a case of University of Latvia
2017
Birzina, R., University of Latvia, Riga (Latvia) | Cedere, D., University of Latvia, Riga (Latvia)
Nowadays too many students drop out before the end of their higher education studies. Especially topical this problem is directly of the first year students, so it is important to find out how prepared are students for higher studies. The present article reveals the first year students’ readiness for studies in the context of three learning dimensions: cognitive, emotional and social. The research was conducted during the implementation of first year study courses of the Bachelor programme at the Faculty of Biology of the University of Latvia. The qualitative data were obtained in structured interview of 62 first year students related to their perception of learning and factors, which influenced their readiness for studies. The coding system based on three learning dimensions - cognitive, emotional and social - was developed. After coding the qualitative data, they were converted into quantitative considering the developed coding system. A Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric test was conducted to discover statistically significant differences among students’ groups in the three learning dimensions. The gained results showed that students’ readiness for studies correlates with their background knowledge of science content, their previous learning experience, which depends on the teacher and students’ motivation to learn.
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