Loots, S.Oosthuizen, Lauren Lisa2025-01-082025-01-082024http://hdl.handle.net/11660/12948Dissertation (M.Ed.(Higher Education Studies))--University of the Free State, 2024Globally, first-year students face many challenges as they transition into university. This is mainly because they need to adapt to a new environment, and because there is a steep increase in the volume, complexity, and variation in an undergraduate degree workload compared to high school. In addition, many South African students are underprepared for university due to inequalities in the basic education system. The variation in school quintile and access to resources means that students entering tertiary education do not all enter on an equal footing. In response, most higher education institutions have support initiatives in place for students, in the form of First Year Experience programmes. In this study, I focus on one of these programmes – the First Year Seminar (FYS). The purpose of an FYS is to support students in their transition into university. To do so, however, it must be well-designed, well-executed, and evaluated to measure if it has achieved what it set out to do. There is limited literature in the South African space on the design and evaluation of FYS programmes. Because these programmes are often operationally focused, there is also limited research on the use of theoretical underpinnings or conceptual frameworks in contributing to the knowledge base of FYS programmes. To address this gap, this study makes use of Transition Pedagogy and its First Year Curriculum Principles (FYCPs) as a conceptual framework to argue for the optimisation of FYS programmes by interrogating how the planning, implementation, and evaluation of such programmes can support the transition and success of first-year students. The primary research question guiding this work is: 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘚𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦-𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯? 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦: 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦-𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘚𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘥? 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘚𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴? The first article analyses the use of an evidence-based approach to design and evaluate an FYS. To do so, curriculum documents from the FYS at the University of the Free State (UFS) are analysed and mapped against the FYCPs for design. Key findings indicate that the nature of the FYS at the UFS – a hybrid seminar that is delivered institution-wide through its integration into the curriculum of all faculties – does meet the criteria for evaluating FYCPs. However, this investigation was also useful in determining ways to improve the design of this FYS to better support students’ transition into university. The implications of these findings are promising for the development of well-designed and evidence-based FYS programmes as core contributors to supporting first-year students’ transition into university. The second article uses data from students’ evaluations of the FYS at the UFS over a five-year period to reflect how the evaluation of an FYS can inform successful student transitions. The FYCPs for design of a transition programme are used as a conceptual framework to map against the student-informed design of the institutional FYS, and the article draws on the pragmatic paradigm to integrate quantitative and qualitative data in this goal-oriented, applied social research study. Although previous studies have examined student evaluations of transition programmes, there has not been a strong focus on using student evaluation data to inform the design of transition programmes. As such, this study focuses on the types of questions asked in student evaluations and how that data informs the design of a transition-focused FYS. The FYCPs are used to map how the FYS addressed these principles for supporting transition. Key findings show that the design and implementation of the FYS improved each year as a result of the student evaluations and that the majority of the FYCPs were addressed. However, there is room for improvement in the consistency of the questions asked in the student evaluations, as well as the frequency at which these were conducted. These findings contribute to the literature base of case studies in which student evaluations are used to inform the design of an evidence-based transition programme. Ultimately, this dissertation contributes to the field by exploring the value of using datainformed approaches to the design, implementation, and evaluation of FYS programmes in South Africa, thereby impacting the transition of first-year students into higher education. Additionally, this study will add value by contributing to the literature base on transition and student success in South Africa.enFirst year curriculum principlesFirst year seminarFirst-year studentsEvidencebased approach to designEvaluation of a first year seminarTransition programmeStudent evaluationDissertationUniversity of the Free State