Browsing by Author "Salmijärvi, Linda"

Prolonged higher education studies and delayed graduation is a relatively widespread problem in Finland. Many higher education students fall behind in their pace of studies, and many distinct factors contribute to this. The purpose of this study was to gain understanding of the factors that hinder or promote studies and explore the variety of study paths that slow progressing students have had. In particular, the study explores stu-dents' perspectives on the events that have influenced the pace of their studies. The study used pre-collected longitudinal interview data set from four students whose study pace was slower than recommended and whose study progress had been followed over a three-year period. The participants were humanities students at the University of Helsinki. Two interviews were conducted with each student participating in the study. The first interviews were conducted in 2011 and the second interviews in 2013. The data consists of a total of eight interviews, which were analyzed using a theory-based content analysis approach. The research questions were: 1) Which factors promote or hinder slowly progressing students' study progress? 2) What kind of learning paths do slowly progressing students have and what are the meaningful events in their learning paths? Results of the study show that the factors that promote studies can be divided into factors related to the university and factors related to the students. University-related factors included, for example, effective course arrangements and adequate guidance. Student-related factors were divided into internal and external factors. Student-related factors included a high level of motivation, enthusiasm towards learning and finding a direction in their studies. Factors that hinder learning were also divided into university-related factors and student-related factors. University-related challenges included overlapping courses, insufficient guidance, and difficulty in finding information. Student-related challenges included lack of priorities in studies, a general lack of ambition in studies and working while studying. In summary, students need more support and guidance from the university as an organization, as well as clearer teaching arrangements. To make higher education studies progress as smoothly as possible and within time limits, we need more focused and purposeful guidance throughout each student's study path.