Characteristics of the Relationship Between College Students and their Peers: Implications for Adjustment to College
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Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the college students’ opinion about the characteristics of the relationship between them and their peers, as well as to understand how it changes over the years and how it influences on the adjustment to college from freshmen’s and seniors’ perspectives. Individual semi structured interviews were conducted with 24 college students from Economy and Psychology of a university in Southern Brazil. The answers were submitted to content analysis. Results showed that freshmen keep a good relationship with their classmates in general, although the class may be considered as disunited over the terms. Nevertheless, the students believe their classmates contribute to a better performance through emotional and instrumental support. We conclude that the incentive from professors for the development of group activities and for the creation of a pleasant environment is relevant to facilitate the learning and the adaptation to college.
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