Exploring the explanatory variables of peer support: perspectives from direct-entry and transfer students

Abstract

Peers can play an invaluable role in hel** a student to learn, and peer support is a means to help collaborative students learn well in teams. Students who communicate well with peers understand multiple points of view, and peer support allows students to achieve a shared goal. In higher education, a student can enroll on an undergraduate program directly after completing high school/secondary school or as a transfer student after finishing an associate degree/a higher diploma. Compared to direct-entry students, transfer students are believed to have more psychological issues and receive less peer support because they spend less time in university. However, there is a lack of studies to investigate the factors affecting peer support among direct-entry and transfer students in higher education. This article is aimed at addressing this research gap. The online questionnaire survey was conducted in 2018 with 1,819 responses. Through regression analysis, the results indicated that teaching for understanding & encouraging learning, alignment & constructive feedback, deep & organized approach, social connections, and heard of English learning centre are related to peer support. In addition, self-efficacy, generic skills, and general support & advising may help to explain the differences between direct-entry and transfer students. Despite the two different admission pathways, the majority of the explanatory variables of peer support are common and the whole learning experience influences students’ perception on peer support. This study suggests strategies and resource allocation to cope with their differences so as to encourage peer support in universities.

Appendix: Exploratory variables

Teaching for understanding & encouraging learning (11 items, α = 0.92)

• 1. It is clear to me what I am expected to learn in subjects

• 2. We are allowed some choices over what aspects of the subject to concentrate on in subjects

• 3. What we are taught seems to match what we are supposed to learn

• 4. I can see the relevance of most of what we are taught

• 5. Subjects have given me a sense of what goes on "behind the scenes" in the subject area

• 6. The teaching helps me to think about the evidence underpinning different views

• 7. Teaching encourages me to relate what I learned to issues in a wider context

• 8. I found most of what I learned in subjects really interesting

• 9. Academic staff try to share their enthusiasm about the subject with us

• 10. I enjoyed participating in subjects

• 11. Academic staff help us to see how we are supposed to think and reach conclusions in subjects

Alignment & constructive feedback (7 items, α = 0.89)

• 1. The subjects provide plenty of opportunities for me to discuss important ideas and topics

• 2. I receive enough feedback about my learning (e.g., assignment work)

• 3. It is clear to me what is expected in the assessed work (e.g., final examination)

• 4. I can see how the subject assessment fits in with what I am supposed to learn

• 5. The feedback given on my work helps me to improve my ways of learning and studying

• 6. The subject assessment helps me to make connections to my existing knowledge or experience

• 7. The feedback given on my subject assessments helps to clarify things I hadn’t fully understood

Deep approach & organized studying (8 items, α = 0.84)

• 1. I put a lot of effort into my studying

• 2. On the whole, I’ve been systematic and organized in my studying

• 3. Ideas I’ve come across in my academic reading set me off on long chains of thought

• 4. I look at evidence carefully to reach my own conclusion about what I’m studying

• 5. I organize my study time carefully to make the best use of it

• 6. I carefully prioritise my time to make sure I can fit everything in

• 7. I try to relate new material, as I am reading it, to what I already know on that topic

• 8. I try to relate what I have learned in one subject to what I learn in other subjects

Surface approach (4 items, α = 0.71)

• 1. I’ve often had trouble making sense of the things I have to study

• 2. Much of what I’ve learned seems no more than lots of unrelated bits and pieces in my mind

• 3. Topics are presented in such complicated ways that I often can’t see what they mean

• 4. Oftendd I have to study over and over things that don’t really make much sense to me

Self-efficacy (5 items, α = 0.86)

• 1. I believe I will do well in my studies

• 2. I’m certain I can understand the most difficult material in my studies

• 3. I’m confident I can understand the basic concepts of my own study field

• 4. I expect to do well in my studies

• 5. I’m certain I can learn well the skills required in my study field

Generic skills (7 items, α = 0.88)

• 1. I have learnt to apply theoretical knowledge to practice

• 2. I have learnt to develop cooperation and interpersonal skills

• 3. I have learnt to analyze and categorize information

• 4. I have learnt to see things from different points of view

• 5. I have learnt to look at things critically

• 6. I have learnt to make arguments and look for different solutions

• 7. I have learnt to develop new ideas

Study workload stress (3 items, α = 0.78)

• 1. The workload of my studies is too heavy and causes too much study-related stress

• 2. I put too much effort into my studies

• 3. I am suffering from a high level of study-related stress

Resources & sigma (4 items, α = 0.80)

• 1. Most of university support is designed for non-transfer students

• 2. The resources to support non-transfer students are more than that for transfer students

• 3. Academic staff provide more support to non-transfer students than transfer students

• 4. There is a stigma at the university among students for having started at a sub-degree institution

Academic study (4 items, α = 0.75)

• 1. The study load for transfer students is much more than non-transfer students

• 2. Non-transfer students have more opportunities to overseas exchanges than transfer students

• 3. Generally, transfer students are more concerned about "getting the grade" instead of learning the material

• 4. Many transfer students feel like they do not "fit in" on this campus

Social adjustment (6 items, α = 0.75)

• 1. Adjusting to the academic standards or expectations at university has been easy

• 2. Adjusting to the social environment at university has been easy

• 3. I am very involved with social activities at university

• 4. I am meeting as many people and making as many friends as I would like to at university

• 5. It is easy to find my way around campus

• 6. I would recommend to other transfer students to come to university

Transition adjustment (4 items, α = 0.58)

• 1. The large classes intimidate (frighten) me

• 2. My level of stress increased when I started university

• 3. I experienced a drop in grades (GPA) during my first semester at university

• 4. I feel more comfortable making friends with transfer students than non- transfer students

General support & advising (10 items, α = 0.90)

• 1. English support

• 2. Foundation subjects support

• 3. Overseas exchange opportunities and advising

• 4. Career counselling and advising

• 5. Psychological counselling and advising

• 6. Financial counselling and advising

• 7. Opportunities for community services

• 8. Job placement services for students

• 9. Work-integrated education (WIE) counselling and advising

• 10. Support from WIE staff (e.g., hotel, hospital, business company, etc.)

Academic experience & advising (6 items, α = 0.86)

• 1. Sense of belonging at university

• 2. Academic advising

• 3. Support from academic staff

• 4. Support from non-academic staff

• 5. Subject selection counselling and advising

• 6. Subject registration counselling and advising

Institutional attributes (4 items, α = 0.73)

• 1. Class size

• 2. Interaction with other transfer students

• 3. Interaction with non-transfer students

• 4. Leadership opportunities

Co** style: avoidance (3 items, α = 0.88)

• 1. I refuse to believe that it happened

• 2. I say to myself “this isn’t real”

• 3. I pretend that it hasn’t really happened

Co** style: emotional (3 items, α = 0.77)

• 1. I let my feelings out when things don’t go my way

• 2. I feel a lot of emotional distress and I find myself expressing these feelings

• 3. I get upset and let my emotions out

Co** style: active (6 items, α = 0.81)

• 1. I think about how I might best handle the problem

• 2. I make a plan of action

• 3. I try to come up with a strategy about what to do

• 4. I think hard about what steps to take to resolve the problem

• 5. I try to get emotional support from friends and family

• 6. I discuss my feelings with someone

Co** style: escape (3 items, α = 0.74)

• 1. I skip class

• 2. I reduce the amount of effort I put in to solve the problem

• 3. I give up trying to reach my goal quickly and easily

Social connections (8 items, α = 0.73)

• 1. It is difficult to make friends at university

• 2. I have a lot in common with the other students in my classes

• 3. I have a close friend or classmate whom I can turn to if I need support

• 4. I have a lot of friends at university

• 5. If I have to miss class, I have someone who will share their notes with me

• 6. I often eat lunch with other classmates

• 7. I am invited to social gatherings outside of class

• 8. I am involved in on-campus events and activities

Sense of belonging (2 items, α = 0.82)

• 1. I feel a sense of belonging to my department at university

• 2. I feel a sense of belonging to university

Depression (7 items, α = 0.89)

• 1. I couldn't seem to experience any positive feeling at all

• 2. I found it difficult to work up the initiative to do things

• 3. I felt that I had nothing to look forward to

• 4. I felt down-hearted and blue

• 5. I was unable to become enthusiastic about anything

• 6. I felt I wasn't worth much as a person

• 7. I felt that life was meaningless

Anxiety (7 items, α = 0.88)

• 1. I was aware of dryness of my mouth

• 2. I experienced breathing difficulty (e.g., excessively rapid breathing, breathlessness in the absence of physical exertion)

• 3. I experienced trembling (e.g., in the hands)

• 4. I was worried about situations in which I might panic and make a fool of myself

• 5. I felt I was close to panic

• 6. I was aware of the action of my heart in the absence of physical exertion (e.g., sense of heart rate increase, heart missing a beat)

• 7. I felt scared without good reason

Stress (7 items, α = 0.89)

• 1. I found it hard to wind down

• 2. I tend to over-react to situations

• 3. I felt that I was using a lot of nervous energy

• 4. I found myself getting agitated

• 5. I found it difficult to relax

• 6. I was intolerant of anything that kept me from getting on with what I was doing

• 7. I felt that I was rather touchy

Academic locus of control (18 items, α = 0.72)

• 1. I came to university because it was expected of me

• 2. Some people have a knack for writing, while others can never write well no matter how hard they try

• 3. At least once I have taken a course because it was an easy good grade

• 4. Professors sometimes make an early impression of you and then no matter what you do, you cannot change that impression

• 5. There are some subjects in which I could never do well

• 6. Some students, such as student leaders and athletes, get free riders in university classes

• 7. I sometimes feel that there is nothing I can do to improve my situation

• 8. There are many more important things for me than getting good grades

• 9. For some courses it is not important to go to class

• 10. Doing work on time is always important to me

• 11. What I learn is more determined by university and course requirements than by what I want to learn

• 12. I am easily distracted

• 13. I can be easily taken out of studying

• 14. I cannot accomplish what I need to do because I get depressed

• 15. Things will probably go wrong for me some time in the near future

• 16. I keep changing my mind about career goals

• 17. There has been at least one instance in school where social activity impaired my academic performance

• 18. I would like to graduate from university, but there are more important things in my life

Table 5

Table 6

Table 7

Table 5 Correlations between different factors and peer support for tranfer students

Table 6 Correlations between different factors and peer support for direct-entry students

Table 7 Correlations between different factors and peer support for all students