ERIC Number: EJ1086091
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016-Feb
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1521-0251
EISSN: N/A
Social Networking Web Sites as a Tool for Student Transitions: Purposive Use of Social Networking Web Sites for the First-Year Experience
Nalbone, David P.; Kovach, Ronald J.; Fish, Jessica N.; McCoy, Kelsey M.; Jones, Kathryn E.; Wright, Hillary Rawlings
Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, v17 n4 p489-512 Feb 2016
The current study investigated the potential role that social networking Web sites (e.g., Facebook) played in creating both actual and virtual learning communities within the first-year seminar. Researchers conducted a 2-year longitudinal study to assess whether students who were connected within a university-founded virtual network persisted in greater numbers, transitioned more smoothly, and rated overall university satisfaction higher than those in a control group. Results indicated that Facebook led to small, but significant, changes in students' desire to work with others, adjustment to college, and satisfaction with their institutions. Administrative uses for social networking in student transitions, persistence, and satisfaction are also proposed.
Descriptors: Social Networks, Social Media, Web Sites, College Freshmen, Student Experience, Student Adjustment, Longitudinal Studies, Student Satisfaction, Experimental Groups, Control Groups, Student Motivation, Academic Persistence, School Holding Power, First Year Seminars, Urban Areas, Student Surveys, National Surveys, Learner Engagement, Multivariate Analysis, Regression (Statistics)
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: National Survey of Student Engagement
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A