Using photo elicitation to understand first-year student experiences: Student metaphors of life, university and learning

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dc.citation.issue1
dc.citation.volume23
dc.contributor.authorKahu ER
dc.contributor.authorPicton C
dc.date.available2022-03
dc.date.issued2020-02-29
dc.description.abstract© The Author(s) 2020. The transition from school to university is challenging and a greater knowledge of the first-year student experience will enable staff to better support their students. University- and government-run student surveys fail to capture the depth and breadth of the first-year experience and so qualitative research is needed to get a more nuanced and holistic understanding of students’ lives. The study described in this article used a photo elicitation method. We asked students to choose four images that represented their first year at university. The data – the chosen photographs and the students’ explanations of their choices – were thematically analysed, focusing in particular on the diverse metaphors students used to depict three dimensions of their experiences: life, university and learning. The findings highlight the dual nature of the transition to university – learning to be a university student and learning to be an adult – as well as the challenges and stresses of that process. The lack of agency that students felt is evident. The students likened their journey to a rollercoaster and talked of not being able to keep up with the fast-moving curriculum. They depicted themselves as passive acquirers of knowledge. The findings offer new ways for staff to understand the challenges that potentially disrupt student engagement in the first year. Both students and staff could benefit from recognising the metaphors in their thinking and, potentially, seeking new metaphors that might reveal different and more positive ways of experiencing the first year in higher education.
dc.description.publication-statusPublished
dc.format.extent35 - 47
dc.identifierhttp://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000517079900001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=c5bb3b2499afac691c2e3c1a83ef6fef
dc.identifierARTN 1469787420908384
dc.identifier.citationACTIVE LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION, 2022, 23 (1), pp. 35 - 47
dc.identifier.doi10.1177/1469787420908384
dc.identifier.eissn1741-2625
dc.identifier.elements-id431183
dc.identifier.harvestedMassey_Dark
dc.identifier.issn1469-7874
dc.relation.isPartOfACTIVE LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION
dc.rightsSAGE Publications
dc.subjectfirst-year experience
dc.subjecthigher education
dc.subjectphoto elicitation
dc.subjectstudent engagement
dc.subject.anzsrc1301 Education Systems
dc.subject.anzsrc1303 Specialist Studies in Education
dc.titleUsing photo elicitation to understand first-year student experiences: Student metaphors of life, university and learning
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.notesNot known
pubs.organisational-group/Massey University
pubs.organisational-group/Massey University/College of Humanities and Social Sciences
pubs.organisational-group/Massey University/College of Humanities and Social Sciences/School of Psychology
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