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The promotion of 'character' and its relationship to retention in higher education
Noble, Karen Diane Henderson, Robyn
Noble, Karen Diane
Henderson, Robyn
Abstract
With transition to university a strong focus across most higher education institutions, undergraduate teacher education programs have been increasingly scrutinised regarding their (in)ability to adequately prepare students for the challenging social contexts that they will meet. As a result, there has been a burgeoning of approaches which initiate beginning students. In the Education Faculty of a regional Australian university, the FYI (First Year Infusion/For Your Information) Program attempts to build capacity among pre-service students in a supportive learning community. In an intentionally created context, the program provides a Learning Circle approach to student support. Through consciously infusing the value of “character” into the transition program, there is evidence of tangible impacts upon students’ interactions in the learning process and their commitment to course completion. Data are presented that suggest that students’ high quality interactions with peers and academic staff in an informal context are vital to academic success, and that staff also benefit from this program. It would suggest that the development of effective partnerships between all stakeholders is paramount in helping to build capacity.
Keywords
Date
2011
Type
Journal article
Journal
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Book
Volume
36
Issue
3
Page Range
24-36
Article Number
ACU Department
Collections
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
Open access
License
File Access
Open