The Relation of Self Variables to Transfer Student Success as Measured by Academic, Psychological, and Career Functioning PDF Download

Author: Thomson Joseph Ling
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ISBN:
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Languages : en
Pages : 170

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Book Description
Research has suggested that transfer students experience difficulty in many domains however limited research has examined the variables associated with transfer student success. The present study examined transfer student success using a sample of 163 first-year transfer students at a large mid-Atlantic university. The mean age of the participants was 20 years, ranging in age from 18 to 33 years old. More than half of the participants were women, approximately half of the participants identified as White, one fifth of the participants identified as African American, one fifth as Asian, approximately 4% as Hispanic, and the rest as International or Other. Half of the participants indicated they transferred from a two-year institution and half indicated they transferred from a four-year institution. Independent variables examined were academic self-efficacy, career self-efficacy, and sense of belonging/social integration. Transfer student success was assessed through academic performance, psychological functioning, and career functioning. All variables except academic performance were assessed using survey data. Academic performance variables were assessed from student records. Using canonical correlation, two patterns of associations were found to explain transfer student functioning in a new institution. The two canonical variates suggested that patterns of transfer student experiences could be categorized in career development terms. The achievement pattern differed from moratorium in that the pattern of experiences was associated with feeling connected to faculty and valuing their friendships in college. On the other hand, the moratorium pattern differed from the achievement pattern in that peer and faculty interactions were not as important and the pattern of experiences suggested need for information about career options and themselves. Moreover, the pattern related to moratorium showed no association with confidence in career decision-making tasks. This study is one of the first to examine the transfer student experience in-depth independent of native students. While this study begins to address the complex story of success in transfer students, additional research is still needed. Replication should occur at colleges and universities of different sizes and in different locations. These findings, if replicated, suggest that counselors should provide differing interventions with transfer students to influence different pattern of experiences. Appended are: (1) Description of What Will Be Covered in the Introduction; (2) Demographic Form; (3) Institutional Integration Scale (IIS); (4) Self-Efficacy for Broad Academic Milestones Scale (SE-Broad); (5) Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale--Short Form (CDSES); (6) College Self-Efficacy Instrument (CSEI); (7) Occupation Identity Scale of the Extended Version of the Objective Measures of Ego Identity Status (EOM-EIS); (8) Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D); (9) Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE); (10) Commitment to Career Choices Scale (CCCS); (11) Participant Raffle Form; (12) Debriefing Form; (13) Informed Consent Form; and (14) Notification of Gift Certificate. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.) [M.A. Thesis, University of Maryland, College Park.].