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Vocational Identity, Academic Locus of Control and Campus Engagement 0f Disability Focused Major Students
Abstract
For many college students, who have transferred to four-year universities, it can be difficult to develop student engagement and sustain a positive academic performance. Several factors contribute to the academic and social success of students transferring from two-year community colleges to four-year universities. The purpose of this study is to expand the understanding of factors affecting transfer students’ experience in four-year institutions. Explicitly, the researchers evaluated the relationship between vocational identity, academic focus of control and student alienation among transfer students enrolled in disability services majors. In this study, a survey method was utilized to explore factors shaping transfer students’ campus engagement in a rural four-year higher education institution. Findings indicate that many transfer students have an internal locus of control and benefit from student engagement opportunities. Moreover, transfer students’ academic locus of control interacts with their vocational identity and student isolation during their college experience. The findings of this study aimed to improve the understanding of factors that could shape the transfer college experience of students in disability service fields.
Keywords: Transfer students, academic locus of control, vocational identity, disability services, student engagement
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