An ecological perspective on the transition of new university freshmen

Abstract

This study describes and analyzes the communication perspectives of freshmen as they adjust to the new environment and their role as university students during the first academic term of their first year. Our interest in the freshman year lies in the transition experiences of new students, examined here through a series of focus group interviews with students living on and off campus. This study is grounded in an ecological approach to communication, and focuses on the students' perspectives about their experiences vis‐à‐vis the various levels of their environment during the first academic term. The focal points of analysis are the immediate setting or microsystem (i.e., the place of residence) and the intermediate setting or mesosystem (i.e., relationships among family, friends, and school). The implication of these students' perspectives about the importance of communication is that competent interpersonal and group communication are as important for them, if not more important, as the public speaking skills typically taught in fundamental oral communication courses.