First-year learning communities (FLC’s) are known to improve student integration, retention and learning (Tinto, 1997). However, the FLC classroom social climate and its potential role in contributing to this positive effect of FLC’s have not been studied. This project aims to elucidate student’s perceptions of the social climate in the Undergraduate Pharmacy FLC’s and to clarify positive or negative experiences or interactions.

Aim and research question

The aim of our research is to elucidate students’ perceptions of the social climate within the Utrecht Undergraduate Pharmacy FLC’s by exploring students’ perceptions and valuation of peer and teacher interactions within these learning communities during the first year, relate these perceptions to the dimensions of the classroom social climate and clarify which characteristics can explain positive or negative experiences of interactions. Our research questions are:

1. How do students perceive and valuate peer and teacher interactions in Utrecht Pharmacy FLC’s during the first year and how are the perceptions related to the social classroom climate?
2. What factors promote or hinder a positive student valuation of the interactions with peers and teacher in Utrecht Pharmacy FLC’s and how are these factors related to the classroom social climate?

Set-up and method

Fourteen first-year students from the cohort 2020-2021 participated in semi-structured individual interviews in the first (T1), second (T2) and fourth period (T3) of the first year. To substantiate the results for answering research question 1, first year students (n=100) completed an online questionnaire on the quality of peer and student-teacher interactions at the end of the year.

Results

Our results show that interactions in the FLC are positively valued when students experience learning support from peers and teacher, social connectedness with peers and teacher, and active participation in class which corresponds to the classroom social climate dimensions student cohesiveness, student involvement and personalization (Fraser et. Al, 1986). Students’ valuation of interactions was influenced by a variety of factors of which online classes was the one factor that hampered all valued social climate
dimensions. Furthermore, social connectedness with peers and teacher was not only one of the most valued classroom climate aspects, it also indirectly promoted learning support and active participation.

Conclusion

Our results provide insight in the process of integration and on how to promote this integration on a classroom level and may therefore be used as a guideline for improving classroom climate. Specifically, our study highlights the importance of social connectedness in the classroom which, in our opinion, needs an increased amount of attention in higher education.

References

• Fraser, B. J., Treagust, D. F., & Dennis, N. C. (1986). Development of an instrument for assessing classroom psychosocial environment at universities and colleges. Studies in Higher Education, 11(1), 43–54. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075078612331378451
• Tinto, V. (1997). Classrooms as communities: Exploring the educational character of student persistence. The Journal of Higher Education, 68(6), 599–623. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.1997.11779003