Transfer Student Self-Efficacy: A Success-Oriented Narrative of the Transfer Student Experience

Abstract

ABSTRACT Past scholarship and college enrollment trends suggest that the transfer process can be challenging, complicated, and even frustrating for many students seeking to obtain a baccalaureate degree. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to redirect this predominant narrative in order to offer a success-oriented narrative of the transfer student experience. In particular, this research seeks to highlight student success by establishing a deeper understanding of the role that self-efficacy plays in the transfer process for community college students seeking to transfer to a four-year institution. Borrowing from Bandura’s (1994) construct of self-efficacy, this paper introduces the Conceptual Framework for Transfer Efficacy and describes the way in which students develop self-efficacy beliefs around their ability to transfer and navigate the transfer process. Data from this study were collected using a nested qualitative case study methodology. Findings focus on the way in which students described sources of self-efficacy during the transfer process and suggest that transfer student self-efficacy may play an integral role in the transfer process. The paper concludes with implications for research and practice.