Abstract

Transition to higher education is a critical phase for students since it causes stress and confusion especially for underprepared students. It is not less critical for the institutions seeing that it is a significant time through which intensive efforts must be exerted to establish the foundation of effective learning and ethical personal principles. This case study presents a description of the first year students’ transition to a technical nursing institute in Egypt by analyzing their challenges and their perceptions regarding the various support offered by the institute. Adding to their perception on whether or not they feel safe in a community that helps them to thrive. This exploratory analysis aims to inform the practice as well as to spread and emphasize on the concept of thriving that calls for holistic student development on three aspects: academic, intrapersonal and interpersonal. Thirty-four students’ voluntarily participated in a survey and six of them also engaged in semi-structured interviews. As for the faculty member perspective, this data was collected through five survey responses and three semi structured interviews. Data analysis revealed that the consistent, intensive support services and structured rules constituted an environment conducive to students thriving despite of the resistance showed by the students at the beginning of the year. The case study showed the applicability of two of the western students’ development theories in the Egyptian context. As for the future research, opportunities may include analysis of the characteristics’ of the studied institution that matches the learning community cores practices, and the means through which the thriving concept can be incorporated in institutional strategic plan.

Department

International & Comparative Education Department

Degree Name

MA in International & Comparative Education

Graduation Date

2-1-2016

Submission Date

January 2017

First Advisor

Skaggs, Jennifer

Committee Member 1

Woltenberg, Leslie

Committee Member 2

Purinton, Ted

Extent

104 p.

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Rights

The author retains all rights with regard to copyright. The author certifies that written permission from the owner(s) of third-party copyrighted matter included in the thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study has been obtained. The author further certifies that IRB approval has been obtained for this thesis, or that IRB approval is not necessary for this thesis. Insofar as this thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study is an educational record as defined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 USC 1232g), the author has granted consent to disclosure of it to anyone who requests a copy.

Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval

Approval has been obtained for this item

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