| Abstract: |
The authors argue that successful "transitions" are inseparable from both "learning" and "becoming." Furthermore, for students to experience successful transitions (and the learning inherent in navigating those transitions) individual educators and institutions more generally need to attend to the issues of "community, participation," and "becoming." Students' sense of community and connection is a key factor in transitions. Simply put, the college transition represents the entrance of the student into a new social and academic milieu. This is true for all sorts of transitions into college. Community is relationship-rich, providing abundant opportunities for students to develop meaningful academic relationships with both peers and institutional staff, particularly faculty and academic advisors. The research on college student impact has demonstrated the power of these academically grounded interactions time and again. In addition to connecting students' social and academic experiences, these forms of community provide students with critical "access" to (a) mentors who support and deepen students' learning; (b) experiential learning extending beyond mere "involvement," to real "contribution" to the work of the community; and (c) tools, resources, and conversations that solidify and validate community membership. For students to fully transition into their new communities, it is imperative, as higher education professionals, create spaces where students are not only allowed, but encouraged to show up as their authentic selves, where the varied aspects of students' identities and nonschool community memberships are recognized as assets to the new community. According to the authors, successful transitions entail a process in which students become learners by working and learning alongside more experienced learners. In exploring the role of community and participation in student transitions, the issues of roles, membership, individual development, and identity have come up repeatedly. By their very nature, transitions involve students in reshaping and refining their identities. However, as described previously, transitions involve both individual and community elements. |