Abstract
The transition and adaptation of students to higher education (HE) involve a wide range of challenges that justify some institutional practices promoting skills that enable students to increase their autonomy and to face the difficulties experienced. The requirements for this adaptation were particularly aggravated by the containment and sanitary conditions associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). With the aim of promoting academic success and preventing dropout in the first year, a support program was implemented for students enrolled in two courses in the area of education at a public university in northern Portugal during the first semester of 2020/2021. Three sessions of 50/60 min were implemented, namely, the first session focused on the verbalization of the demands, challenges, and difficulties of the transition, and the second and third sessions focused on the difficulties of academic adaptation and academic performance. Data from a dropout risk screening instrument and from the activities performed during sessions were analyzed. The main results point to student satisfaction with the content and the activities of the sessions and their usefulness. Students report not only high satisfaction levels with HE attendance, but also some emotional exhaustion due to academic activities. The continuity of the program is recommended with some improvements in its planning to ensure a more definitive version of the program in the next two years.
Highlights
The European Education Area that was implemented some years ago seeks to foster cooperation between European Union Member States to enhance the quality and inclusiveness of national education and training systems (Farnell et al, 2021)
In Portugal, students from low socioeconomic groups are more represented in polytechnic schools or in social and human sciences programs at university, seldom in their first vocational option, as the entry system based on grades strongly regulates access to higher education (HE) (Fonseca et al, 2014; Ferrão and Almeida, 2018; OECD, 2019)
Considering the words provided by all the students, and the fact that the size of the words increases depending on the number of times they are mentioned, the words that stand out were challenging (n = 55), responsibility (n = 33), stressful (n = 19), change (n = 15), and difference (n = 14)
Summary
The European Education Area that was implemented some years ago seeks to foster cooperation between European Union Member States to enhance the quality and inclusiveness of national education and training systems (Farnell et al, 2021). In Portugal, students from low socioeconomic groups are more represented in polytechnic schools or in social and human sciences programs at university, seldom in their first vocational option (nearly 40%), as the entry system based on grades strongly regulates access to HE (Fonseca et al, 2014; Ferrão and Almeida, 2018; OECD, 2019). This socioeconomic differentiation in access persists in their academic trajectories in undergraduate programs, as students from low socioeconomic groups present higher academic failure and dropout rates
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