Engaging first year students: a collaborative approach implemented in a first year nursing course

Abstract

Higher education is increasingly pre-occupied with issues relating to student engagement. While a growing body of literature links student engagement with university transition and retention, other strands reveal students' growing disengagement with university culture. The issues are largely expressed through political and empirical debates but lack theoretical perspectives capable of providing understandings of the processes involved in student engagement. This paper reconceptualises the processes of engagement and applies the understandings gained to a first year nursing course conducted at the University of Southern Queensland. The approach incorporates collaborations with other stake holders in the first year experience. It also priorities three critical practices or 'skills of engagement' that students can integrate to facilitate their engagement with mainstream university culture. The paper additionally documents the findings of a pilot study, as well as other evaluative data, investigating the effectiveness of the approach. The results are encouraging revealing benefits such as improved student engagement with university and discipline processes.