Some aids in adaptation of first-year students at the classical university

Abstract

The paper deals with peculiarities of adaptation features to the educational process of first-year students and the some factors (aids) which help them overcome emerging difficulties. Among the main tasks at this stage are the development of a questionnaire and conducting an electronic questionnaire among first-year students, identifying the main difficulties and analyzing positive and negative factors of student adaptation in the higher institutions. Some mains aids have been found to help first-year students overcome emerging difficulties. They are electronic resources in libraries, living conditions in the dormitories, relationships in student groups, receiving help from parents, relatives, fellow students, senior students, etc. Using electronic questionnaires, the diagnostics of adaptation of students to the educational process in conditions of the classical university has been conducted among 200 students in 2016 and 750 students in 2018. Most students have established relationships in their student group and think that the atmosphere in their group is favorable. Students get help from parents, relatives, fellow students, senior students and teachers, and students themselves help others as well. There should be more involvement of curators and teachers in adaptation of first-year students. It has been established that the renewed social environment, new living conditions are sufficiently favorable for the successful adaptation of students to the educational process in higher education. Some difficulties in the process of adaptation of first-year students to the university have both objective nature (unfamiliar lifestyle, new learning process, new forms and methods of studies, the need to study more by themselves, etc.), as well as subjective nature (poor school preparation, stress, fatigue caused by lectures, students’ own lack of organizational skills, and laziness, poor study skills, inability to prioritize, etc.). The empirical study proves that in the university conditions there are various factors during the adaptation of first-year students.

Keywords

• adaptation
• educational adaptation
• social adaptation
• first-year students
• electronic questionnaire
• classical university