Perceived similarity in achievement and integration process among first year at the university
(2018) EARLI SIG 4 — Location: Giessen (28.August.2018)
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- The first year at the university is a challenging transition accompanied by major changes in students’ educational environment. One of these changes lied in the building of a new social network. Some educational theories used social integration as a cornerstone to understand student’s adjustment process (Tinto, 1997). In this context, social psychology emphasized the importance for social comparison and similarities within a social group (Suls & Wheeler, 2012). Grounded in educational (Tinto, 1997) and motivational model (Eccles & Wigfield, 2002) of academic adjustment, this study focused on the effect of perceived similarity in social integration and achievement process. Social network analyses were carried out on 140 freshmen. The regression analyses mainly highlighted that, in accordance with the similarities hypothesis, students socialized with peers who are perceived as similar in expectancy, course-value and engagement. The perceived similarity in engagement was in turn predictive of student’s actual engagement and achievement. Such findings showed that student’s tend to build a homogeneous social network which will entail their perceptions, attitudes and behaviors regarding to the academic context. When integrated in an adaptive network, social integration would therefore provide important resources for student’s adjustment process (McEwan, 2013). Conversely, when integrated in poor social group student’s integration could have the opposite effect. The limitations and implications of these results are discussed in the presentation.
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De Clercq, M., & Roland, N. (2018). Perceived similarity in achievement and integration process among first year at the university. EARLI SIG 4, Giessen. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/52919