Study orientations in different tutoring environments: university language students' first two years

This study investigates the study orientations of students in a two‐year follow‐up in two Finnish universities that had different tutoring systems. Both universities offered tutoring of first‐year students by senior students, but one also offered tutoring by staff members. The study orientations of students were assessed on the basis of their responses to 77 statements covering four domains: learning approaches, conceptions of learning, regulation processes, and general study orientations. Results showed that students tutored by staff (n = 70) were more self‐regulated and put greater emphasis on practical knowledge and cooperation in learning than did students who did not have staff tutorin…

Approaches to Transition Support for First Year Students in Higher Education

The growing numbers and diversity of the student population challenge the study and learning environments in higher education institutions. In this chapter, students’ transition from secondary to higher education was examined by analyzing practices of support offered to first year students in order to promote retention, smooth progress, and success in their studies. We classified the practices supporting students starting their university education on the basis of the main contents of the programs, using four categories: (1) introduction and orientation, (2) enhancing a sense of belonging, (3) developing academic skills, and (4) pedagogical arrangements. These approaches to support were ana…

Pedagoginen asiantuntijuus liikkeessä ja muutoksessa : huomisen haasteita

University-wide, top-down curriculum reform at a Finnish university: perceptions of the academic staff

This study examines academic staff’s perceptions of a university-wide, top-down curriculum reform in terms of the management of the reform, the support provided by the university’s administration, and the utilisation of the university’s guidelines. Differences between faculties are also scrutinised. The study was conducted at a multidisciplinary public research university in Finland using the survey method. The data (n = 394) consisted of academic staff’s responses to multiple-choice and open-ended questions. Correlation coefficients, exploratory factor analyses, and a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were utilised to analyse the quantitative data. Responses to the open-ended questions …

Pedagoginen asiantuntijuus liikkeessä -hankkeen tulokset

Opetussuunnitelmatyön 2015-2017 arviointi Jyväskylän yliopistossa

Prerequisites for the successful group mentoring of first-year university students: a case study

In this article we present a case study on a group mentoring practice proven successful in earlier studies in terms of student self-regulation and collaboration. The purpose of our study was to unc...

Study guidance experiences, study progress, and perceived learning outcomes of Finnish university students

In recent decades, the massification and diversification of higher education have generated new challenges for the guidance of university students. The present study focuses on students’ experiences of guidance in relation to their study progress and perceptions of their learning outcomes. The data (n = 4916) were collected from 2010–2013 through yearly Internet surveys whose targeted respondents were the students of a Finnish University. According to the results, general study guidance was a very strong predictor of students’ self-assessed development of their academic and generic skills as well as working life orientation. It also decreased the probability of slow progress in studies. Sig…