Browsing by Subject "sense of coherence"

In 2020 new university students started their studies in special arrangements due to COVID- 19-pandemic. This thesis has two purposes. First, this thesis examines the student engagement of first-year students at the University of Helsinki. Second, it examines the correlation of student engagement and sense of coherence. The theoretical background of this study is Korhonen’s (2014) model of student engagement, where engagement develops through the interaction of individual and collective progress, strengthening student’s identity and sense of belonging. This study aims to answer to the following research questions: 1) How are the first- year students engaged in their studies, and how does their engagement differ from that of first year students in 2012? 2) How does engagement differ according to change of residence and previous experiences university studies? 3) What engagement groups can be found in first year students? 4) Is there a connection between sense of coherence and student engagement? The data was collected with a survey in spring 2021. The survey was answered by 183 first year students at the University of Helsinki. In the survey student engagement was measured with EEQ and sense of coherence was measured with the SOC-13 scale. The data was analyzed with quantitative methods. First-year students were more engaged in the individual dimension, but in the collective dimension engagement was weaker. Students’ engagement was strong in areas of identity and sense of belonging. There were several differences between 2021 and 2013 data. First-year students who begun their studies in 2020 had better academic skills, but in all other areas engagement was weaker. In particular, sense of belonging and participation were weaker than in students who started their studies in 2012. Students who moved to a new residence experienced fewer social practices in their studies. Students who had earlier university degree, had stronger academic skills and stronger sense of meaning in studies, identity and belonging. Three different engagement groups were found and named strongly, individually and weakly engaged. Sense of coherence correlated positively with five areas of student engagement.