Transitioning from under-resourced schools to university: an application of Schlossberg's transition model to the South African context
Date
2018
Authors
Gutnick, Shira Chana
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Abstract
The transition from school to university is a process commonly characterised by stress and
significant challenge. Ensuring that this transition happens successfully is critical for
academic success. The challenges associated with this transition are exacerbated for students
from under-resourced environments. It is believed that failure to transition effectively
contributes to the high university drop out-rates in South Africa currently. This study
explores the individual experience of the under-resourced student’s transition to university
through the application of Schlossberg’s (2011) transition theory. This was done with specific
focus on Schlossberg’s (2011) 4S System, which focuses on the resources that students’
utilise during a transition. These resources (4 S’s) include situation, self, support and
strategies. This model was specifically chosen, as Schlossberg (2011) emphasises the
importance of understanding the individual in transition. Participants were obtained through a
purposive sampling technique. Interviews were conducted with nine participants from underresourced
backgrounds, with an age range of 20 to 23, in different faculties at The University
of the Witwatersrand. Thematic Content Analysis was utilised for data analysis. Findings
demonstrated the centrality of students’ access to various resources, in the context of their
transition to university, as these impacted the transition process. Concurrent stressors
including insufficient skill, language barriers and culture shock which were among the factors
that compounded participants’ situation. Further, participants’ sense of self was often
compromised due to feelings of inferiority and a sense of lack of control. However, some
participants demonstrated high self-efficacy and motivation. In terms of support, participants
expressed the importance of family, friends and academic staff, and the stress associated in
the absence of these support structures. Lastly the exploration of strategies indicated how
students used an array of strategies in order to manage the transition. Importantly, the results
demonstrated that under-resourced students are not passive victims in the transition to
university, but are active agents attempting to negotiate in the processes to which they are
exposed. These themes and additional subthemes were explored and considered in the light of
previous literature.
Description
A research report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
degree of MA by coursework and Research Report in the field of Organisational
Psychology in the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand,
Johannesburg, 15 March 2018
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Citation
Gutnick, Shira Chana (2018) Transitioning from under-resourced schools to university: an application of Schlossberg's transition model to the South African context, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, <http://hdl.handle.net/10539/25906>