This article explores students' experiences of intellectual, social, and emotional growth during the first year at university and the extent to which these experiences can be considered transformative (Mezirow, 1981). The study is a qualitative interpretive multiple-case study built on semi-structured interviews with students in two higher…

In educational research, girls are frequently depicted as success stories, able to effortlessly navigate academic excellence as empowered females. However, these depictions lack nuance and often fail to capture the complexity of young women's experiences as they shift from compulsory schooling into higher education. Using a methodology of…

The initial composition course in the community college has the potential to be a transformative space for the identity formation of adult learners towards the linguistic signifier of "scholar." Freshman students of variable ages enter a new culture which demands the negotiation of an alternative academic language, an adaptation to the…

The lens of transformative learning provided a deeper understanding of students' experiences and the process of learning within an interdisciplinary creativity course for first-year college students. Through the thematic analysis of 930 reflective narratives written by 93 students, the research identified how the overall course activities expanded…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the first-year university experience as an agent for the (re)learning and (re)making of masculine identity as it intersects with other categories of identity. Historically, male students from working-class backgrounds have often struggled with identity issues and many leave school early for…

The primary purpose of the current study was to explore the nature and process of transformation as described by students in their stories of first-semester experiences and to compare these processes to those outlined in transformative learning models in order to examine the degree to which they correlate. The secondary goal was to investigate how…

Teaching is complicated, and is compounded by changes in the education landscape as far as diversity is concerned. This has forced education planners to reconsider the manner in which initial teacher education programs are structured, to meet the needs of the diverse classroom population. This study reports on the experiences of South African…

The early experience of commencing university students is an important precursor for retention and student success and involves a transformation in learning. This article reports the experiences of commencing students in an Australian Education (Primary) degree. Data were collected using a mixed methods approach, consisting of an online survey,…