Navigating the second year landscape: How student perceptions and previous experiences influence student transition into and across year 2 of the undergraduate degree in nursing

In recent years there has been an increasing interest in the second year of the undergraduate degree programme in Higher Education Institutes; this stemmed from its association with declining academic performance, persistence, and satisfaction (Webb and Cotton, 2019).

Whilst emphasis is often placed on making the first year experience a success, transition is not limited to the early stages of the student journey but rather continues across the degree programme and in fact transitioning into the middle year of an undergraduate degree programme poses new challenges for students (Jevons and Lindsay, 2018) as they are expected to be more able to self-navigate their student journey, at the same time facing the often negative perceptions associated with the second year.

The presentation reports the findings from a research study, which is grounded in the theoretical framework of symbolic interactionism. I will demonstrate that student expectations of year 2 are based on symbolic meanings which are inferred through both previous experiences and implicit and explicit discourses in the learning environment which influence the way students navigate their way into and through year 2.

The presentation aims to foster discussion around potential solutions to alter the negative perceptions associated with year 2 to maximise success and the student experience at this often forgotten point in the student journey. In spite of the study’s focus on nursing students, the findings and discussion are relevant to educators across all disciplines.