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Implementation of a Universal Screening and Referral Program for University Students at Risk of Suicide: A Case Study and Recommendations
(Australian and New Zealand Student Services Association, 2025-04-01) Hasking P; Robinson K; Tonta K
Background: University students are at heightened risk of suicide and are reluctant to reach out for support. Traditional risk assessment approaches are unreliable, prompting calls for psychosocial assessments with multivariable algorithms grounded in person-centred approaches. This paper outlines considerations in implementing one such program, identifying potential implementation barriers and offering recommendations for minimising them. Method: We conducted three surveys with university staff and students (total N = 672) to assess acceptability of a preventative screening and referral program. Participants were also asked to identify barriers to implementing such a program within university settings. Results: Staff and students thought universal screening and referral would be acceptable, and important to implement. Identified barriers included privacy, risk and liability, appropriate resourcing, and cultural appropriateness. Conclusion: Universal preventative screening and referral for suicide risk among university students is a feasible, and scalable, means of identifying students at risk and offering support before they reach crisis point. Identifying barriers early, and having strategies to minimise them, can ease the way to successful implementation.
A comparative analysis of student and tutor expectations and experiences within a university tutorial setting : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the degree of Master of Arts in Second Language Teaching at Massey University
(Massey University, 1999) Dowds, Dorothy Ann
The changing face of tertiary education within New Zealand has brought with it new challenges. One of these challenges has been catering for the increasing numbers of international students that choose to study at Massey University. This study focuses on the needs of these students in their first year at university in the context of the university tutorial. The study compares the expectations and experiences of students with English as their second language with those of students with English as their first language. It also draws a comparison between the views of these two groups of students with those of the tutors involved in the course. Information was gathered from the three groups of participants, by a survey, on their expectations and experiences of learning that takes place within the interactive tutorial setting. Additional data was obtained by interviewing a sample of the students with English as a second language. The study reveals that there is a pronounced similarity between the expectations and concerns of both groups of students. All students and their tutors support the need for interactive learning. Despite this acknowledgement, high proportions of the students were dissatisfied with their personal performance within the tutorial. Language limitations were an acknowledged barrier to interaction for L2 students but these difficulties were not confined to international students with many local students having equally strong concerns. Lack of adequate preparation was raised as a major factor in the student's ability to participate successfully within the tutorial. . Tutors need to have skills that provide a positive interactive learning experience the will lead to a higher level of academic achievement for all students regardless of diverse abilities.
Intercultural interactions in a New Zealand university : Pakeha and Asian perspectives : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy (Arts) in Sociology at Massey University
(Massey University, 2005) Brebner, Lian-Hong
Research on the phenomenon of intercultural contact in Western higher education has attracted the interest of a wide scope of academic disciplines. Psychologists and communication experts have underlined the inextricable link between positive friendship encounter with host students and well-being of sojourning students. Educationalists have also highlighted the impact of culturally diverse classrooms on the academic experience of both home and overseas students. Against this backdrop, the focus of my study is to offer some sociological observations on the intercultural contact phenomenon from the perspective of Pakeha and Asian international students in the New Zealand university context. The present study has adopted a qualitative approach using focus groups and in-depth interviews. Results from the current research underscore that growth in the export education sector has strengthened New Zealand economy but it has not necessarily enriched the socio-cultural arena of its higher institutions of learning. Instead, ethnic segregation of varying levels has become more apparent institutionally as a result of the strengthening subcultures within the Asian international student communities. The proliferation of ethnic enclaves has had significant social implications for both Pakeha and Asians. The research outcome also indicates that academic capitalism has dominated the agenda of New Zealand higher education. Hence, the task of promoting international understanding and global interdependence in New Zealand higher education has been relegated to the periphery in terms of issues to be addressed. These sociological trends demonstrate an antithesis of the objective of international education. The challenge, therefore, is for those responsible for managing higher education to review and renew its commitment towards the cultivation of intercultural global citizens.
Psychological adjustment during the career transition process : a study of mature age students in New Zealand : a thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University
(Massey University, 1999) Ash, Teresa
Research has been conducted to identify the difficulties which mature students experience as undergraduate students, and to explore the career transition process of this population in the context of these difficulties. The research design involved a two-stage multi-method process which incorporated both qualitative and quantitative data. In order to measure the difficulties construct, it was necessary to develop a scale pertinent to New Zealand mature students. This was achieved through modification of an existing Hong Kong scale. A survey was designed in order to administer a range of scales. Pertinent measures were the difficulties scale, the Career Transitions Inventory which measured perception of psychological resources operating during career transition, the participation and commitment scales of the Salience Inventory, and the 12-item General Health Questionnaire. Global measures were used to assess perception of stress and coping in the mature student role. Demographic information was also collected. The research aim was to explore the impact of a range of variables on the four outcome measures of psychological well being, self reported academic performance, stress and coping. The sample group for the qualitative stage of the research consisted of a representative sample of mature undergraduate students from across the four colleges of Massey University, at Albany. For stage two the sample group consisted of 500 mature undergraduate students randomly selected by the administration staff of Massey University, at Albany. Five major areas of difficulty were identified in the undergraduate context. These were home/family concerns, finances, future career concerns, study skills, and support issues. The home/family, finances, and study skills domains of difficulty appeared most pertinent to mature students in this population. Home/family difficulty was associated with health indices, emerging as the strongest predictor of the psychological well being and stress variables. Study skills emerged as the most valuable predictor of the performance and coping variables. Results pointed to the psychological resources of readiness and social support as being most salient for mature students. Readiness emerged as predictive of psychological well being and coping, with social support predictive of performance. This study has both theoretical implications, and implications for career counselling interventions for mature students. Psycho-educational and psychosocial strategies at both the group and individual level are suggested as appropriate interventions.
Photos on Facebook : an exploratory study of their role in the social lives and drinking experiences of New Zealand university students : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Psychology at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2012) Tonks, Anna Patricia
Many tertiary students, within New Zealand Aotearoa and other Western countries, regularly engage in binge drinking episodes. These are often subsequently displayed on Facebook in photos. Most of the previous research has not addressed the significant role these photos play within contemporary student drinking cultures. The current thesis aimed to explore how New Zealand university students use photos on Facebook, within their drinking experiences, and how these related to their social relationships and student drinking cultures. A social constructionist framework and key conceptualisations from visual ethnography were employed as the theoretical framework for this study. Nine participants (aged 19; 5 female, 4 male) engaged in individual interviews with a researcher and an internet-enabled laptop. The participants showed the researcher their Facebook photos, and discussed their online practices, drinking and socialising. The interviews were transcribed and a discourse analysis was performed. Three primary discourses were identified. The first discourse, the normal, natural and everyday discourse, reflected the embedded and normalised camera culture and Facebook photo culture within the participants’ socialising and drinking practices. The second, the fun, pleasure and humour discourse, demonstrated the positive, light-hearted environment that the camera, Facebook photos and their subsequent online interactions provided. Participants were able to reconstruct and share their drinking episodes because the photos provided the participants with a visual online drinking story. The viewing and interactions with these photos became a post-night-out ritual that allowed participants to relive and continue the drinking experience after it had ended. The third discourse, acceptability and appropriateness, created a boundary or line that was individually and collectively negotiated and used by the participants to constrain and limit what was shared online. In combination, these discourses allowed the participants to present and participate in a normalised, positive and socially acceptable online student drinking culture. The results add to the growing body of literature around online student drinking cultures, and also extend our knowledge of context collapse, unintended audiences, impression management, identity and friendship. The findings are considered in relation to institutional policy, Facebook privacy, corporate ownership, and health promotion, and directions for future research are suggested.
A study on the relationship between Malaysian learners' self-concept in academic writing and their engagement in one higher learning institution : a dissertation presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2012) Adi Badiozaman, Ida Fatimawati Bt
Tertiary students, in a postcolonial context such as Malaysia, often face multifaceted challenges. These challenges come about in part because they are required to develop academic literacy in a second language (English). This study aimed to explore the relationship between learners' self-concept in academic writing and their engagement in the Academic Writing class. This study utilised a mixed methods approach, with an initial survey of 170 students, followed by two semi-structured interviews with each of eight student participants. The quantitative findings ascertained that a positive relationship existed between self-concept in academic writing and student engagement. Further exploration in the qualitative phase affirmed this and identified the nature of the links between the two constructs. The findings revealed that students' self-concepts in academic writing and engagement were dynamic constructs in that they were influenced by multiple internal and external factors from students' past and present contexts. They were therefore, susceptible to change, and developmental in nature. Both self-concept in academic writing and engagement were found to play an important role in helping students adapt to their new academic context and learning demands, since the intertwining ecologies of self-concept in academic writing and engagement appear to tap a common motivational element related to goals and future self. It was ascertained that the relationship between Malaysian learners' self-concept in academic writing and their engagement is reciprocal. The findings also present a greater understanding of how self-concept in academic writing and engagement are situated and constructed dynamically within context, creating unique ecologies. In particular, the nature and combination of internal and external factors that is available to students influenced the nature of academic legitimacy and literacy outcomes in the Academic Writing class. It is therefore suggested there is a link between learners' self, engagement and context. The findings of this study suggest that students may benefit from writing support and writing curriculum that is discipline-specific to help enhance their self-concepts, academic identity and academic legitimacy. It is also suggested that an extensive professional development programme be provided for instructors and institutions to cope with any major curriculum and policy changes.
Work, study and home demands : an investigation of their interrelationship, coping, and satisfaction : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2012) Parr, Annabel Susan
Escalating tertiary fees, user pay systems, and high living costs are some of the reasons students are combining paid work with study. In tertiary institutions there are a large proportion of students studying while working. Working students of all ages have home commitments, be it household management, family, pet, or flatmate responsibilities. The aim of this research was to look at how working students manage interrole conflicts between work, study, and home. This included how interrole conflicts, satisfaction, and coping related to one another and whether task-focussed coping and emotion-focussed coping mediated and moderated the interrole conflict and satisfaction relationships. Three hundred and twenty seven students who had been undertaking paid work during the semester completed an online survey. Results showed that although there were some mediational and moderational relationships, overall coping made little difference to the relationships between interrole conflict and satisfaction. It was found that the domain that gave rise to interrole conflict was also the domain where most dissatisfaction was experienced, suggesting the source of the conflict is more resented than the role affected by the conflict. The highest conflict was time-based study interfering with home, and the second highest conflict was time-based work interfering with study. Tertiary institutions need to extend hours for their services, and evening and weekend availability of lecturing staff. Ongoing promotion through seminars of ways to successfully manage home commitments with study commitments would be useful for working students as well. It is also important that workplaces promote initiatives such as flexible hours to help students combine work and study successfully. Postgraduates experienced interrole conflict more than undergraduates in 5 of the 6 interrole conflicts so it is important that they are specially targeted for attention. Future research might like to compare larger samples of postgraduates and undergraduates and see if each group experiences similar or different mediational or moderational effects such as coping. Future research should also continue to differentiate between time and strain-based interrole conflict as working students experience them differently.
A clinical study of the mathematical incompetence of some university students : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education at Massey University
(Massey University, 1982) Knight, Gordon Henry
The objectives of the study are to contribute to the clear identification and understanding of the factors which lie behind the severe mathematical difficulties experienced by some otherwise able university students. A careful description of the phenomenon, which might lead to an explanation, is dependant on an understanding of the cognitive processes of the individuals concerned. Consequently a research method and theoretical perspective were chosen which would enable a study of these processes to be made as they were used in solving mathematical problems. The method was based on the Piagetian clinical interview and the theoretical background was essentially that of Skemp's (1979) model of intelligent behaviour. The principal advantages of this model were its structural rather than global features and the close relationship implied between the cognitive and affective determinants of behaviour. Twenty six subjects were interviewed having a wide range of mathematical abilities and interest. Each subject was presented with the same sequence of tasks taken from the primary-secondary school arithmetic-algebra syllabus. The responses were probed in an unstructured manner. The analysis of the interview data had two stages. Firstly, in order to provide an overview, a formal coding was undertaken in which the response to each item was classified according to the level of understanding indicated. The resulting data was analysed initially in an entirely descriptive manner and then was subjected to Latent Response Analysis. Following this statistical analysis a closer clinical analysis was made using a multiple-coding approach to build up a mosaic of evidence concerning the conceptual structures used by the subjects. The principal conclusions of the study relate firstly to the vital importance of the availability of appropriate initial frameworks for the successful handling of mathematics. It is argued that the absence of such frameworks, or schema, interpreted in the light of Skemp's theory, explains both the affective reaction of subjects having difficulty with mathematics, and the development of intelligent behaviour within one form of knowledge but not in another. Secondly, the evidence of the study indicated that it was unlikely that the difficulties which the students were having with mathematics were due either to the abstract nature of the concepts involved or to the logical nature of the subject matter. Thirdly, the topic of fractions emerged clearly as the most likely source of real difficulty. It is suggested that generations of curriculum designers have seriously underestimated the difficulties associated with learning in this area. Finally attention is drawn to the necessity for teachers to constantly monitor the development of the cognitive structures of their students and to be sensitive to signals in the affective domain which might indicate developing problems in the cognitive area. In this way the vicious interaction of cognitive and affective reactions to mathematics, which is the most distressing feature of the problem, might be avoided.
Culture cross : foreign students intercultural interactions on a New Zealand university campus : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Social Anthropology at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2010) Bragg, Alaric Bernard Marshall
This MA Thesis examines foreign students on-campus intercultural interactions at a New Zealand university – namely, the Massey University Turitea campus in Palmerston North. Prior research has shown that many foreign students in New Zealand universities have tended to spend their on-campus activities with other international students, usually from their own countries, rather than New Zealand ones, while other foreign students are largely interested in and open to intercultural interaction with New Zealanders when on campus. The purpose of my research was to examine and assess the nature, degree and reasons that foreign students engage in intercultural interactions when on-campus, and determine what my findings indicated towards the greater international student community in New Zealand. One of two methods that I used during my fieldwork consisted of interviewing seven research participants, who I contacted through personal friendships and Massey University clubs and organizations associated with foreign students, about their on-campus intercultural interactions. The second method was a level of participant observation, in which I participated in and observed my research participants during their academic and social university activities to assess their on-campus intercultural interactions. Major findings include the significant role of social and sports organizations in helping foreign students establish intercultural interactions, which are also promoted for many foreign students new to Massey via orientation programs, and the importance of campus accommodation facilitating foreign students intercultural interactions. Major conclusions include the need for more emphasis on internationalization at the Massey campus and the necessity of increased opportunities for intercultural interaction in and out of class.

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