Investigating the relationship between student engagement and transition

Don Vinson (1) , Sarah Nixon (1) , Barbara Walsh (1) , Cath Walker (1) , Elizabeth Mitchell (1) , Elena Zaitseva (1)

1 Centre for Sport

Failure to establish meaningful and effective transition for undergraduates can lead to academic underachievement. Student engagement represents a key component of student success. This study sought to investigate the impact of a bespoke transition programme featuring a wide range of innovative, student-centred activities on enhancing students' engagement with educationally effective practices through examining student relations with others, learning and the discipline. For the study 104 undergraduates on a Sport Development course at a British university undertook a five-week transition programme. Data were collected via weekly questionnaires and focus groups at the end of weeks 1, 3 and 5. The investigation revealed that transition programmes require a high-intensity, novel and varied timetable supported by a student-centred staff team. Effective transition programmes can enhance students' engagement with educationally effective practices. Future research should investigate the longer-term impact of such programmes.

Mots clés: engagement; enjoyment; induction; transition; university preparation

Don Vinson, Sarah Nixon, Barbara Walsh, Cath Walker, Elizabeth Mitchell, et al.. Investigating the relationship between student engagement and transition. Active Learning in Higher Education, 2010, 11 (2), pp.131-143. ⟨10.1177/1469787410365658⟩. ⟨hal-00550958⟩