University Staff's Perceptions of Community College Transfer Students' Transition Experiences Within a "2+2" Pathway in an Asian Educational Context.

Various countries have alternative pathway policies for 2-year community college graduates to articulate to 2-year university study, forming a "2+2" pathway. However, few studies have explored university staff members' perceptions of this "2+2" transfer pathway and their understanding of transfer students' (TSs) transition experiences. This descriptive qualitative study addressed this research gap. Forty-two academic and supporting staff participated in the focus group interviews. Specifically, the study explored the assets and challenges of the "2+2" pathway from the university staff perspective in Hong Kong. The articulation pathway and TSs are highly recognized for their prior learning, academic performances, and the value of the second chance. However, while the university staff were sympathetic to the challenges filling these transfer pathways, their offering of help was limited by government funding and policies restrictions. It is recommended that policies should be established at government and university levels to recognize and tackle TSs' unique needs to alleviate their heavy workloads through better articulation between community college and university studies. Improving articulation will allow TSs time for social involvement in university life and thus enhance their mental well-being.

A Qualitative Exploration on the Challenges of Transfer Students in an Asian Educational Context.

Limited research has been conducted on community college (CC) transfer students' (TS) experiences in four-year universities, particularly in Asian contexts. To fill this research gap, in this qualitative study, 124 TS from various disciplines in a Hong Kong university participated in 39 focus groups and seven individual interviews. Unlike their Western counterparts, our TS were relatively better prepared and more academically adaptive. Nevertheless, their social integration was restricted by a lack of time for extra-curricular activities, a sense of inferiority and incompetence, and restricted social circles that did not enable interaction with non-TS. These challenges and their implications are discussed. In particular, this study has highlighted differences between the special education systems for CC transfer in Hong Kong and those in Western CC models. The study has also highlighted the study-induced stress, and poor self-perceptions that TS experience, despite their academic abilities.

A Nurse-Led Education Program for Pneumoconiosis Caregivers at the Community Level.

Pneumoconiosis is an irreversible chronic disease. With functional limitations and an inability to work, pneumoconiosis patients require support from family caregivers. However, the needs of pneumoconiosis caregivers have been neglected. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a nurse-led education program, which involved four weekly 90-min workshops led by an experienced nurse and guided by Orem's self-care deficit theory. A single-group, repeated-measure study design was adopted. Caregivers' mental health (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, HADS, four single items for stress, worriedness, tiredness, and insufficient support), caregiving burdens (caregiving burden scale, CBS), and unmet direct support and enabling needs (Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool, CSNAT) were measured at the baseline (T0), immediately after (T1), and one month after intervention (T2); 49, 41, and 28 female participants completed the T0, T1, and T2 measurements. Mean age was 65.9 years old (SD 10.08) with a range between 37 and 85 years old. The program improved the caregivers' mental wellbeing, and reduced their caregiving burdens and their unmet support and enabling needs, both immediately (T1) and one-month after the intervention (T2). In particular, the intervention improved the caregivers' mental wellbeing significantly, specifically depression symptoms, stress, and tiredness immediately after the intervention; and reduced most of their unmet support needs and unmet enabling needs one-month after the intervention. This was the first nurse-led program for pneumoconiosis caregivers and should serve as a foundation for further studies to test the program with robust designs.

Challenges of university nursing transfer students in an Asian context: a qualitative study.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the social and academic experiences of nursing transfer students' (NTSs) in an Asian context. DESIGN: A descriptive qualitative study design using focus groups and individual interviews with Chinese NTSs. The data were transcribed verbatim and analysed by using qualitative content analysis. SETTING: A university offering preregistration nursing programmes in Hong Kong. PARTICIPANTS: Chinese NTSs studying in a 3-year special pattern within a 5-year Bachelor of Nursing programme in a university in Hong Kong. RESULTS: Four main categories were identified: 'expectations about study at the beginning of the programme', 'challenges during transition', 'coping by prioritising' and 'our world is small'. The NTSs had clear goals for becoming professional nurses and consequently aimed at higher academic achievements throughout the study. They anticipated enjoying university life at the beginning of their study; however, the challenges caused by heavy study workloads and transition from passive to independent learning approaches, compounded by the limited time of 3-year study, forced them to develop coping strategies to reconcile and prioritise their preconceived notions, academic pursuits, social engagements and personal well-being. Their high prioritisation of good academic performance confined their university lives to the small world of the academic arena. CONCLUSIONS: The study identified challenges faced by NTSs in adjusting to university study. Suggestions are offered to different stakeholders to address the issues at individual, institutional and government levels so as to enhance NTSs' learning experiences at university.

Differences in study workload stress and its associated factors between transfer students and freshmen entrants in an Asian higher education context.

Unlike the studies of freshmen entrants, the learning experiences of community college transfer (CCT) students in the receiving university is a topic that has only started to gain attention in recent decades. Little is known about the differences between CCT and freshmen entrants with regard to their study workload stress and its relationship with their perceptions of the teaching and learning environment, approaches to learning, self-efficacy and generic skills. The purpose of our study was to address this gap. This was a cross-sectional survey study conducted from April 2018 to November 2018 in a university in Hong Kong. The HowULearn questionnaire was adapted to local usage and validated for data collection. In total, 841 CCT students and 978 freshmen entrants completed the survey. The respondents were aged between 19 and 52 years (mean = 21.6, SD = 1.92), and 66.0% were women. The HowULearn questionnaire was determined by factor analyses to have eight factors. The reliabilities of the eight factors were found to be acceptable (Cronbach alphas = 0.709-0.918). The CCT students scored significantly higher than the freshmen entrants for perceived study workload stress and surface approaches to learning, but lower on teaching for understanding & encouraging learning, peer support, and self-efficacy beliefs. The surface approach to learning, deep & organized studying, alignment & constructive feedback, and generic skills were found to be predictors of study workload stress in both groups of students, and in the overall student data. This study has shown that CCT students and freshmen entrants differed with regard to their study workload stress and learning experiences. Our findings provide a message, both for educators in higher education and policy makers in the government-there is not a one-size-fits-all approach to different student populations when it comes to enhancing their learning experiences.

Perceptions of the English Use of College Transfer Nursing Students in a Non-English Speaking City: A Qualitative Study.

There has been limited research on nursing students' (NSs) language problems conducted in non-English speaking countries, especially research focusing on college transfer students. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceived needs and challenges of English use by college transfer NSs in a non-English speaking environment. A descriptive study design was adopted. Forty-five college transfer NSs from a university in Hong Kong participated in the study. Sixteen interviews were conducted. A qualitative content analysis was performed. Two main categories were identified: (a) Perceptions about English use (three sub-categories: (i) significance of having a good command of English; (ii) challenges in use of English; and (iii) low motivation and need to learn English), and (b) using English in nursing contexts (two sub-categories: (i) challenges in the use of English in nursing and (ii) improving English proficiency as a second priority in nursing students). In conclusion, college transfer NSs face challenges in general and discipline-specific English use, but their motivation to improve their English proficiency was not strong. Language centers should re-design the language courses to meet NSs' communication needs, while nursing educators should provide opportunities for students to strengthen their English use in research and clinical situations.