Motivation for Psychology Students in Transition to Higher Education - Essay Example

Motivation for Psychology in Transition to Higher Education By The paper aims to distinguish what motivates students to choose Psychology as their future career. Since transition to higher education is difficult and demanding process, cases when freshmen withdraw from university are quite common. Researches suggest that lack of decent motivation serves as a reason of such decisions along with inappropriate preparation and social barriers. Psychology students are expected to be more aware in their choice since their profession presupposes social interaction and internal desire to help people. However, the factors that influence future psychologists` choice are common for all the students: financial, personal, and social. Younger students who perceive a stereotyped image of university as a place for “making friends” and “becoming a part of the unity” are driven by desire of socialization. For older students this factor does not play crucial role. They admit that Psychology is a natural way for their personal and social development. Most students nevertheless point to external factors, such a getting a well-paid job or better career opportunities, as leading reasons. Providing students with more information about real educational process ad career perspectives can influence students` motivation substantially. Introduction Students` transition to higher education is one of the subjects of academic discussions due to the difficulties that students face during adjustment. In most cases there is a great difference between students` expectations regarding university and the reality. This happens because students` previous high school experience on which they rely making their assumptions has almost nothing in common with university life. Mismatch between students` aspirations regarding studies and the reality can cause students` withdrawal from university or attempts of withdrawal, which happens mostly during the first year of studies. That is why induction into university life, students` first year in the educational institution receives much attention. There is a great interest in making students` transition less stressful and influencing their adjustment and grades positively. Motivation plays a crucial role in establishing right attitude of students towards university (e.g. Harvey, Drew & Smith, 2006) For different students, nevertheless, different areas become obstacles. For some living in a dormitory is difficult and irritating while for others this experience is entertaining and useful in terms of communication. For some students the load is optimal to combine work and studies while others spend all the time writing essays. Thus, it is not well understood yet how exactly students experience and deal with new issues at university (Maunder et al., 2009). However, in terms of life path, transition to higher education is one of the most exciting and difficult stages. With such experience when everything is new and unknown changes in self-perception and adjustment in terms of self-identity are inevitable. University life offers a number of completely new routines and tasks, and it is absolutely interesting to communicate to new students about this experience. Many of them do not have enough cultural and psychological preparation to handle such things like meeting thousands of new people, for example. For many students university experience becomes first international interaction that is why apart from familiarizing with new practices they have to adapt to completely new surroundings. Feelings of fear, detachment, and differentness usually accompany adjustment process (Currant & Kennan, 2009). Gale and Parker made a typology of students` transition into higher education which reflects how students manage with their first year at university (2012). The authors distinguished between three concepts of transition: induction, development, and becoming. Induction transition views this whole process as a pathway and journey. Induction presupposes sequentially defined periods of adjustment, liner progressive movement, and probable crisis as culture shock. Nevertheless, the transition itself is gradual and bearable. Transition as development includes transformation and maturations as core processes of adjustment. The crisis that may appear in this type of transition is identity crisis. The emphasis is made on career and research culture development for students. The information is received with the help of previous experience of students. The change of identity accompanies the whole process of maturation. Transition as becoming means that student develops in a series of fragmented movements navigating multiple narratives and subjectivities (Gale & Parker, 2012). Students of Psychological Department in generally face similar difficulties entering the university; nevertheless, there naturally are some distinctive peculiarities. Thus, what are Psychology students’ experiences of their transition to higher education? Methodology The research aimed to distinguish what problems Psychology students deal with and how they can possibly be solved in advance. The perception of university before and after entering was also a subject of research. The questionnaire survey also aimed to distinguish typical stereotypes about university and how they are overcome. The research included six people of different age (from 19 to 31), ethnicity, and gender. Among the respondents were White, White British, Black British, and White Scottish. Students were of different social status and background; some of them were married and had children while others have just left high school recently and that was their first experience of such kind. For some respondents going to university did not require moving out of home while others had to live in the halls. The interviewees were recruited on the Psychology department and were questioned a number of the same questions in a personal interview. Some students were quite informal and discreet while others tied to stick to formal style. It was reflected in the manner of speech and the words they chose for the answers. Several younger students utilized swear words and colloquial expressions and were joking. From the interview`s perspective it was evident that students were a bit uncomfortable with answering several questions regarding personal experience as it probably revealed their financial problems and intimate things. In such cases students were trying to turn the serious answer into a joke. Almost all the respondents indicated that they were barely prepared to the university life as it was difficult to forecast what exactly was required. Social Motivation Factor Among the factors that motivated students to study, social, financial, and personal were mentioned most often. “Making friends” is generally one of the main social motives of going to university. This is easily explained by the essential necessity in integration and social acceptance. The following concepts are usually connected with the sense of belonging: getting acquainted with new people, finding cultural similarity, sharing mundane experience. Being and feeling a part of great unity is a strong driving force for many yesterday pupils (McClelland, 1985). One of the most prevailing students` assumptions that can even be interpreted as a stereotype about university concerns intense social life. It is believed that students have to hang out most of the time, consume a lot of alcohol, skip lectures, and find many new friends. Several respondents mentioned that they had stable stereotype of students getting drunk frequently. In a metaphorical sense university life is often connected to the concept of freedom for many young students as they receive a chance to choose their surrounding and manage their time personally. For establishing friendly connections in the university, the environment that is totally hostile from the beginning such factors as familiarity, similarity and attraction play crucial roles. Someone who is perceived as more similar, more familiar or more attractive will be regarded as a potential friend in the university. Thus for students coming from the same town or even country it is common to stick together. Age can also serve as a determining factor for “making friends” that is why older and more experienced students usually keep from freshmen (Moreland & Zanojak, 1982). Alcohol as the means to break barriers I communication can be connected to this desire of young people to find new acquaintances easier. Nevertheless, for most respondents’ social life turned out to be unexpectedly pleasant experience. One respondent stated that living, spending time, and studying together was an exciting aspect of university life. In normal conditions it is difficult to imagine that people can share common routines to such an extent and for Psychology students this experience was another challenge as they were applying their newly acquired psychological skills to daily situations. However, making new friends turned out not as easy as it seemed first. For most students it was frustrating and hard to adjust to the quantity of different people and it resulted in stress for the first couple of weeks. For students coming from small areas meeting so many new people was eye opening and challenging, as it probably incorporated meeting people of different races and nationalities. One of the motives to start friendship was helping each other with academic tasks. Living in the halls was another determining factor of easy adjustment as living in the halls usually means being totally involved into university life. However, introverted and reserved students on the contrary felt even more detached from the rest of the people. One respondent mentioned loneliness as a prevailing feeling during his first year at university. Nevertheless, social life depends much on age and marital status. The older student who had three children did not mention alcohol and parties as an attribute of students` life. She underlined that mature students cooperated in order to help each other with the tasks, thus social interaction was directed on facilitating the process of adjustment. Connecting with other students also was mentioned as a means of time management for more experienced students since it allowed sharing and redirecting useful information. For three respondents out of six making new friends was a core experience in the university as it enriched their cultural life and personal life. Therefore, it is possible to say that stereotypes about social life depend much on the age and previous experience of the students. And social life adjustment depends more on the age and character of the person than his aspirations regarding the university. In this context Psychology students do not differ much from the rest of the freshmen. Personal Motivation The dominant social factor that motivates students to get a degree is a possibility of self-enhancement and becoming “someone”. The perception and the possibilities of personal goals are nevertheless, mostly created by society and are built in school and in the family environment. There is need that others perceive you as a “socially worthy” person (Fiske, 2002). For Psychology students the necessity of social value becomes extremely important since it is one of the professions that are determined by the internal desire to serve people. Some scientists even claim that psychologists are motivated by personal “soul wounds” that make them curing others. “Wounded healer”- the person who received serious psychological trauma but managed to recover partially and aims to help others is one of the stereotyped images of a psychologist but this understanding usually comes with age (Dunn, 2000). Strong internal motivation is the factor that usually distinguishes Psychology students from the rest of the students since most part of them must be aware of the science to get real interest in it and to be motivated. Surprisingly enough several students showed lack of any aspirations regarding future career. In the course of data analysis it became clear that for some students university degree was important while specialization did not matter much. One student marked that he was almost automatically expected to go to the university after school as if it was meant to be this way. The other wanted to meet parents` expectations and get a degree. The student that graduated from college and was studying general Psychology previously had shaped her perception of this science and was motivated to study it deeper. The other, older respondent had unsatisfying experience of low-paid jobs and understood that Psychology could be her devotion. Family for most of the respondents was the major influence in career choice. Some respondents explained that the experience of one of family members was an important catalyst in choosing the university. The last two respondents showed more aware and mature answers and were better prepared to the challenges of university life proving the theory that strong internal motivation leads to realistic perception of the university and better moral preparation. Financial Motivation Career serves as the crucial factor which makes pupils study. However, having finished school few people know what can help them to receive stable, well-paid job and they rely on the parents`, friends` and relatives` experience. In most cases the desire to get a degree which will guarantee certain position is more important than gaining knowledge in a particular subject. For respondents, however, personal factor was not domineering. Only one student who studied psychology previously mentioned internal desire to pursue studies and achieve the desirable specialty. Most students shape their identity by making themselves more disciplined and organized. This in their understanding helps them to become more professional which leads to becoming a better person. Some respondents mentioned procrastination as a main barrier that appears in university which has to be overcome. However, no one admitted that becoming a psychologist was determined by strong internal necessity to be needed and to be useful to people except for one older, more mature student of 31 who had a big family. She mentioned that she received a lot of knowledge from life experience and was adapting theoretical information to her previous experience. According to McCuin et al., this is normal for younger students who generally perceive higher education as a natural gradual development of education system on the route to the job. Understanding of a bigger, more existential goal comes with life experience and knowledge and has to be determined by dramatic events in life (2009). Transition Type Most respondents perceived studying in the university as development. The process of transition was divided into stages and accompanied with gradual maturation. Most respondents admitted that gaining special time management skills played a crucial role in their development into a good student. Elaborating personal motivation was another most common stage of progress. For some students, becoming more social was important in the sense of personality adjustment. Therefore, it is possible to conclude that transition to higher education is a difficult and all-encompassing process for people. It requires social skills, preparation, and serious motivation. Psychology students are motivated by financial, personal, and social benefits mostly. Younger students admit that becoming a part of unity serves a core driving force for them, which can be explained by eternal peoples` need for socialization. According to questionnaire survey, it is not quite common for students to choose Psychology as a specialty for personal self-development; only older students distinguish this factor as motivating. Most students are attracted by a possibility to receive a degree as it promises better career opportunities. But those who claim that they were motivated to choose Psychology basing on the external factors such as family, society expectations, do not show lack of aspirations. References Currant, K., & Keenan, C. (2009).Evaluating Systematic Transition to Higher Education. Oxford Bookes University. Retrieved from: http://bejlt.brookes.ac.uk/articles/evaluating_systematic_transition_to_higher_education/ Dunn, C. (2000) Carl Jung: Wounded Healer of the Soul . London: Pireus Press. McClelland, D. C. (1985). Human Motivation: Scott, Foresman & Co. McQueen, H., Wilcox, P., Dawn, S., & Walker, C. (2009). Widening Participation and the Role of Social Motivation in Students’ Transitional Experiences in Higher Education. Maunder, R., Gingham, J. and Rogers, J. (2009) Transition in higher education: exploring the experiences of first and second year psychology undergraduate students. Paper presented to: British Psychological Society Psychology of Education Annual Conference, Preston Moreland, R. L., and Zajonc, R. B. (1982). "Exposure Effects in Person Perception: Familiarity, Similarity, and Attraction." Journal of Experimental Psychology, 18, 395- 415. Read More