Cultivating a sense of belonging can be challenging in online contexts as well as for underrepresented students in engineering education. This study used a mixed methods sequential explanatory design to understand underrepresented students' experiences in a Canadian first-year course. Taking place during remote delivery due to COVID-19, we…

In this study, black South African first-generation students' experiences related to identity development during their first year at a higher education institution were explored. Chickering and Reisser's [1993. "Education and Identity." 2nd ed. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass] seven-vector identity development theory served as overarching…

Internationally, classes in higher education institutions are becoming larger and more diverse. Support for "non-traditional" students has often taken the form of additional remedial classes offered outside the main curriculum, which has met with limited success. Sociocultural theories of learning argue that the potential clash between…

Faculty can play a critical role in supporting students' intercultural development, but studies indicate that instructors report a lack of formal understanding about how to maximize this opportunity. Through the investigation of 115 first-year students' written reflections, this study provides faculty with students' perspectives on intercultural…

Entry into higher education (HE) is recognised as a challenging time for undergraduates as they negotiate the norms and practices of new academic communities and foster relationships with peers and academics. Given the significance of this time period, our University has piloted a new four-week module that immerses students in their discipline and…

This study investigates differences in academic engagement and retention between first-generation and non-first-generation undergraduate students. Utilizing the Student Experience in the Research University survey of 1864 first-year students at a large, public research university located in the United States, this study finds that first-generation…