Abstract
The purpose of this phenomenological inquiry was to explore how international undergraduate students enrolled in a first-year seminar (FYS) course perceived and described their academic experiences in a large, public university in the southeastern region of the United States. Guided by Schlossberg's (1984) 4 S Transition Model, this qualitative investigation was conducted through in-depth interviews with 10 international undergraduate students representing different countries and academic majors. The participants' narratives revealed that the academic experiences of international first-year students enrolled in the FYS course can be described as challenging, especially in terms of a) understanding U.S. higher education, b) establishing relationships with American peers, c) navigating academic differences, and d) perceiving the lack of institutional understanding. At the same time, the stories of these 10 students demonstrated that participation in the FYS course had an overall positive impact on students' academic experiences during the first year, especially in terms of a) developing academic skills and competencies, b) developing transferable skills and competencies, c) increased use of campus resources, and d) overall adjustment within the first year. The findings are discussed in relation to the relevant literature and recommendations for practice and future research are provided.
Notes
If this is your thesis or dissertation, and want to learn how to access it or for more information about readership statistics, contact us at STARS@ucf.edu
Graduation Date
2019
Semester
Summer
Advisor
Cox, Thomas
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
College
College of Community Innovation and Education
Department
School of Teacher Education
Degree Program
Education; Higher Education
Format
application/pdf
Identifier
CFE0007667
URL
http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0007667
Language
English
Release Date
August 2019
Length of Campus-only Access
None
Access Status
Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)
STARS Citation
Krsmanovic, Masa, "The Stories of Transition: A Qualitative Exploration of International Undegraduate Students' Academic Experiences in First-Year Seminar Courses in the United States" (2019). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 6519.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd/6519