University of Groningen Secondary school students' university readiness and their transition to university van Rooij, Els IMPORTANT NOTE: You are advised to consult the publisher's version (publisher's PDF) if you wish to cite from it. Please check the document version below. Document Version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Publication date: 2018 Link to publication in University of Groningen/UMCG research database Citation for published version (APA): van Rooij, E. (2018). Secondary school students' university readiness and their transition to university. University of Groningen. Copyright Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). 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Download date: 08-10-2021 Secondary school students’ university readiness and their transition to university Els Cornelia Maria van Rooij 48103 Els van Rooij.indd 1 18-01-18 14:28 The research in this thesis was conducted at the research division Higher Education of the department of Teacher Education at the University of Groningen. The PhD programme was embedded in the Interuniversity Center for Educational Sciences (ICO). ISBN 978-94-034-0416-5 (printed version) ISBN 978-94-034-0415-8 (electronic version) Cover design: Majken Enequist, www.majkenenequist.com Layout: Ferdinand van Nispen, Citroenvlinder DTP&Vormgeving, www.my-thesis.nl Printing: GVO Drukkers & Vormgevers, www.proefschriften.nl 48103 Els van Rooij.indd 2 18-01-18 14:28 Secondary school students’ university readiness and their transition to university Proefschrift ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Rijksuniversiteit Groningen op gezag van de rector magnificus prof. dr. E. Sterken en volgens besluit van het College voor Promoties. De openbare verdediging zal plaatsvinden op donderdag 15 maart 2018 om 14.30 uur door Els Cornelia Maria van Rooij geboren op 14 maart 1987 te Deurne 48103 Els van Rooij.indd 3 18-01-18 14:28 Promotor Prof. dr. W.J.C.M. van de Grift Copromotor Dr. E.P.W.A. Jansen Beoordelingscommissie Prof. dr. W.H.A. Hofman (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen) Prof. dr. S.E. Severiens (Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam) Prof. dr. K. van Veen (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen) 48103 Els van Rooij.indd 4 18-01-18 14:28 48103 Els van Rooij.indd 5 18-01-18 14:28 48103 Els van Rooij.indd 6 18-01-18 14:28 Contents Chapter 1 Introduction 9 Chapter 2 Method 39 Chapter 3 A systematic review of factors related to first-year students’ 51 success in higher education Chapter 4 Factors that contribute to secondary school students’ self- 103 efficacy in being a successful university student Chapter 5 The relationship between secondary school students’ 125 engagement profiles and the transition to university Chapter 6 Secondary school teachers’ beliefs and practices regarding 155 university preparation Chapter 7 Academic adjustment as a pivotal process in the transition 179 from secondary education to university Chapter 8 Conclusion and discussion 201 References 247 Appendices 267 I. Samenvatting 268 II Vragenlijsten 286 III Interviewprotocol 301 IV Acknowledgements 304 V About the author 310 VI List of publications, presentations, and activities 312 48103 Els van Rooij.indd 7 23-01-18 09:49 48103 Els van Rooij.indd 8 18-01-18 14:28 CHAPTER 1 Introduction 48103 Els van Rooij.indd 9 18-01-18 14:28 “For me, university is like a big black hole. I’ll just jump in and see what happens.” Grade 12 secondary school student 48103 Els van Rooij.indd 10 18-01-18 14:28 Introduction 1.1 Introduction Are students who graduated from secondary education ready for university? More 1 specifically, are they ready to adjust academically? Many of the 47,316 students who started their university studies in the Netherlands in September 2016 (VSNU, 2017a) have probably not given this question much thought. Going to university is an exciting new phase in life, with all the adventures that come with it, especially for students who move out of their parents’ house and start to live on their own in a new city. However, many students do not know what to expect or have unrealistic expectations about university in general (Heublein et al., 2017; Smith & Wertlieb, 2005) or about the specific degree programme they have chosen to pursue (De Buck, 2009). Even despite the lack of (accurate) expectations, the transition from secondary education to university may turn out quite well if the student finds himself or herself fit in perfectly into the new environment. However, for a substantial number of students this is not the case. In the Netherlands, 33% of all first-year students in the academic year 2014/2015 did not continue in the same degree programme they had started: 7% left university altogether and 26% switched programmes (Inspectorate of Education, 2017). Apart from the negative consequences this has for universities regarding costs and success rates, it could also have negative psychological and financial effects on the student, e.g., the feeling of failure and the loss of money on an unfinished study programme. Moreover, the number of students who do not cope with the transition effectively is probably a lot higher than these dropout rates suggest, since not all students who have a difficult time will quit or switch. In a sample of first-year students at a university in the United Kingdom, Lowe and Cook (2003) found that one out of four to one out of three students faced considerable difficulties in adjusting to postsecondary education. These adjustment difficulties may cause academic problems, such as underachievement, and psychological problems, like depression (Leung, 2017; Lowe & Cook, 2003). Besides the mismatch between expectations and reality, there are several other reasons for dropping out, switching programmes, and going through a difficult stage in life during the transition to university. An important reason concerns the difference between the heavily regulated secondary school learning environment and the university environment that makes a strong appeal to a student’s self-regulation capacities, in combination with a significant increase in the amount and complexity of study content. A lot of research into first-year 11 48103 Els van Rooij.indd 11 18-01-18 14:28 Chapter 1 success confirmed that a substantial number of students struggle with time management and self-regulation, especially in the first semester (e.g., Haggis, 2006; Van der Meer, Jansen, & Torenbeek, 2010). Even for highly able students the required self-regulation and time management skills can be problematic, because many of them went through secondary school without having to exert much effort and therefore never felt the need to learn how to learn (Balduf, 2009; Grobman, 2006). Wintre et al. (2011) reported that as many as half of all university students obtained a lower GPA in university than they did in secondary school. Fortunately, improving university students’ success is a primary concern of the Dutch government and of the universities and thus receives a lot of attention. Measures that have been taken to improve retention and decrease delay include ‘matching’, the binding study advice (BSA), and the incorporation of learning communities in first-year programmes. Matching (sometimes referred to as the study choice check) is a procedure with the goal of obtaining an optimal fit between the student’s capacities and interests and a degree programme. Moreover, it aims to make sure the student has realistic expectations of the programme he or she plans to pursue. Matching is mandatory: Once a student applies for a degree programme, he or she has to undergo the matching procedure. Universities are free to choose what matching activities they offer, which has the consequence that these activities vary from having students complete a short questionnaire or participate in an intake interview to having students take part in a class and in some cases even take a test to see to what extent the student is able to handle the content of that class. Results of the matching procedure are informative only and do not deny a student access to the degree programme. As such, matching does not serve as a selection mechanism for institutes, but intends to function as a self-selection mechanism by showing students to what extent a programme suits them. The BSA refers to a binding advice the student receives after one year of study. This advice can be positive or negative. In the latter case, a student is not allowed to continue the programme. A student receives a negative BSA when he or she does not obtain a certain minimum of credit points after one year of study. Programmes can decide upon their own threshold. For many programmes, the minimum number of credits required is 45 (out of 60), but in some programmes it is as high as 60. Preliminary research showed different effects of the BSA on student success. Arnold (2015) found that in large degree programmes the BSA had a positive effect on time-to-degree, but De Koning, Loyens, Rikers, Smeets, and Van der Molen (2014) found no differences in achievement between a BSA cohort 12 48103 Els van Rooij.indd 12 18-01-18 14:28 Introduction and a pre-BSA cohort.