Differences in Resilience and University Adjustment between School Leaver and Mature Entry University Students
Document Type
Journal Article
Publisher
The College of Community Psychologists of the Australian Psychological Society Ltd
Faculty
Faculty of Computing, Health and Science
School
School of Psychology and Social Science
RAS ID
7662
Abstract
Research shows that mature entry and school leaver students have vastly different experiences when transitioning to the university environment. It is suggested that the transition to university is a major life transition and thus is a period of great stress. For mature entry students and school leaver students, the impacts upon adjustment to university are varied during the transition to university study. It has been proposed that for successful university adjustment, high levels of resilience are needed. Three hypotheses were tested with a sample of undergraduate students (n = 63). Hypothesis one, that there is a relationship between resilience and adjustment was supported. This indicates that 31.9 percent of the variance in adjustment can be accounted for by resilience. Hypothesis two, that there is a difference in university adjustment between school leaver and mature entry students, and hypothesis three, that mature entry students would exhibit higher levels of resilience than school leavers, were both not supported. These findings imply that individual differences are more important in adjustment to university than group differences, and have the implication that universities may be better off considering these individual differences when accommodating new students.
Access Rights
free_to_read
Comments
Munro, B. J., & Pooley, J. (2009). Differences in Resilience and University Adjustment between School Leaver and Mature Entry University Students. The Australian Community Psychologist, 21(1), 50-61. Available here