A Study Of The First Year Experience In American Universities From The Perspective Of Articulation Between High Schools And Universities

Since the middle of the 20th century,under the international trend of advocating the construction of a lifelong education system,"articulation between high school and university" has become an important issue that all countries need to solve urgently.At the same time,as countries have successively entered the stages of popularization of secondary education and higher education,articulation between high school and university has become more and more prominent.More and more high school graduates have problems of maladjustment to study and life after entering the university,which seriously affects the continuous development of individual students and the quality of university personnel training.As a first-year university that plays a connecting role between high school and university,freshmen’s first-year experience and development largely determine the success of the university,which is crucial to improving the quality of undergraduate education.Therefore,the First Year Experience of universities has attracted much attention as an important measure of "articulation between high school and university".The United States is the birthplace of the First Year Experience of universities,it has rich experience and lessons in solving the problems of freshmen’s first-year learning and development.Therefore,this research mainly examines the background and goals,strategies and effects of the rise and development of the First Year Experience in American universities from the perspective of "articulation between high school and university".This research builds an analysis framework based on Astin’s "I-E-O" theoretical model,student participation theory and Tinto’s University student leaving theory,and adopts document analysis.Through document analysis,the research conclusions are drawn.Under the background of universalization of high school education,popularization of higher education and even popularization,the group composition of university freshmen and their development needs are becoming more and more diversified,and the problem of individual development of students during the transition from high school to university More prominent.For this reason,the "articulation between high school and university" in the United States has only focused on the "system articulation" of high school students in the 1950s and1960s,and began to focus on the "education articulation" in the sense of promoting student development in the 1970s.Since the 1980s,under the aspirations of ensuring the development of diversified new groups and the quality of their training,the First Year Experience has continued to develop as an important measure for the "education articulation" between high schools and universities.It is mainly to help freshmen get the ability to adapt and integrate into university study and social life,to ensure the retention rate of freshmen and even the increase of graduation rate,ultimately achieve the goal of improving the quality of university personnel training.The First Year Experience mainly adopts a number of specific strategies such as "freshman curriculum","first-year academic advising",freshman peer leader program,freshman orientation,and service learning.It comes from two paths: academic support and social support.Help a diverse group of freshmen to transition to the university smoothly and promote the continuous development of their abilities.Facts have proved that the First Year Experience not only has a positive effect on the connection between the academic and cognitive,social and psychological,emotional and value development of freshmen,but also ensures the continuity of the freshmen’s development.However,the First Year Experience still has the following problems: First,the design ignores the integration relationship between the various strategies;second,the implementation process is affected by many factors,which restrict the freshmen Participate in enthusiasm.Finally,it summarizes the experience and lessons of the First Year Experience of American universities in promoting the articulation between high school and university,and considers the significance of the reform and development of the freshman education in my country.