Integration or Adaptation: The Learning Challenge for Higher Education and Gen Y

Sharn Donnison

Higher education research on student retention and transition has been an ongoing focus since the 1950s. During the past decade research into this area has gathered momentum as institutions of Higher Education increasingly recognise the economic and social costs of failing to retain and transition future graduates. Measures to improve transition and retention rates have generally focused on developing strategies to engage students in their studies and tertiary discourses by providing institutional, academic and/or social support. The success of these measures has varied across different institutions and different contexts. Gen Y students (those students born after 1980) not only provide a challenge to traditional higher education learning and teaching, but also provide a rich context for examining quality tertiary learning. Recent research suggests that this generation's previous experiences of schooling have been characterised by teaching strategies that have favoured constant supervision, encouragement and support; approaches which historically have not been elemental to learning in Higher Education. In this paper I explore the relationship between the learning support provided by higher education institutions and Gen Y's perceived learning needs. This exploration is framed from within the complementary theoretical constructs of integration and adaptation transition discourses (Zepke, Leach, & Prebble, 2006). I argue that the presence of Gen Y in Higher Education offers an exciting opportunity for Higher Education to examine its current learning and teaching practices and to realign these in light of the realities of today's young adult learner. I conclude that the best approach for meaningful Gen Y student engagement is one that amalgamates the transition strategies of integration and adaptation through recognising and responding to Gen Y's particular learning characteristics and through supporting the direction of Higher Education learning support initiatives.

Integration or Adaptation: The Learning Challenge for Higher Education and Gen Y

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