The Problem of First-Year Seminars: Risking Disengagement Through Marketplace Ideals

Abstract

First-year seminars (FYS) have become increasingly prevalent in North American postsecondary institutions. The popularity of such initiatives owes much to the belief that providing unprepared students general life and academic skills can bolster engagement and thereby improve retention. In this paper we argue that, despite their good intentions, many FYS actually perpetuate the kind of disengagement they were designed to alleviate due to their reliance on a narrow, instrumental view of education. To demonstrate, we briefly outline the history and curricula of the FYS movement to draw attention to its dependence on marketplace ideals, rationales, and strategies. We demonstrate some of the ways this vision of education impoverishes the university experience and suggest that, in order to be robust, FYS must focus first and foremost on cultivating rich understandings of the broader purposes of higher education and its relation to the good life, both for and beyond one’s own fulfillment.

Implementing a First-Year Experience Curriculum in a Large Lecture Course: Opportunities, Challenges and Myths

“…Our concern is not at all with the merits of incorporating these elements into our courses and programs. Instead, our concern, as it has been expressed by other scholars (Hickinbottom-Brawn & Burns, 2015;Kift, 2015;Permzadian & Credé, 2016) is with the rather sudden and rapid growth of FYE initiatives in the Canadian post-secondary system where the focus has shifted from "educating citizens to preparing workers" (Hickinbottom-Brawn & Burns, 2015, p. 155). The tensions here are perhaps unsurprising; nevertheless, they must be continually addressed.…”

“…Indeed, Canadian universities from Brock to MacEwan to SFU hoping that first-year students socialize and thus improve university life can certainly have positive educational consequences. Hickinbottom-Brawn and Burns (2015) recognize this when they say, "At first blush, the goals of FYS seem worthwhile and appropriate," and that "Students want their degrees to be useful, as opposed to useless, and so they should" (p. 159). When the motive is to appear as a more marketable institution, however, the FYE project can look questionable, such as when university marketers proclaim "Our students get jobs" (p. 160).…”

“…In a comprehensive review of the field, for instance, Harvey, Drew, and Smith (2006) collected approximately 750 English language peer-reviewed publications ranging from 1960-2000 on the topic of the first-year experience. Hickinbottom-Brawn and Burns (2015) write that the "contemporary [First-Year Seminar] movement" began in 1972 with a conformist course offered at the University of South Carolina (p. 156). The ambit of this "University 101" class was not only student retention and better teaching practices, but also the engendering of "positive attitudes and behaviours towards the institution" (p. 156) in the wake of protest against the Vietnam War.…”

“…Current FYE curricula continue to be prescribed for a broad range of issues relevant to first-year student experience-and in a broad range of disciplines (Jamelske, 2009). These issues include fostering positive attitudes toward the university, improving student academic performance in foundational areas such as reading and writing, and encouraging faculty to reflect on their own teaching practices (Hickinbottom-Brawn & Burns, 2015).…”

“…FYE design and implementation differ from one program to another, but they share the belief that many students are unprepared for their first year of studies (Hickinbottom-Brawn & Burns, 2015). In Canada for example, to help students entering into first year, Implementing a First-Year Experience Curriculum in a Large Lecture Course / D. Ahadi, J. Pedri, & L. D. Nichols…”