View in EDS

"It wasn’t just about information, it felt like home": Reimagining first-year belonging through small shifts and shared experiences.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: "It wasn’t just about information, it felt like home": Reimagining first-year belonging through small shifts and shared experiences.
Authors: Cronin, Colum1
Source: Journal of Perspectives in Applied Academic Practice. 2026, Vol. 14 Issue 2, Part 3, p450-454. 5p.
Subject Terms: *First year experience programs, *Student engagement, *Parent participation in education, *College enrollment, *Student volunteers, *College student adjustment, Immersive design
Geographic Terms: Ireland
Abstract: Inspired by the European First Year Experience community, this vignette explores how the Marino Institute of Education (MIE), a small teacher education college in Dublin, redesigned its pre-arrival engagement to foreground belonging. Within Ireland’s centralised admissions system, where students often confirm their place only days before term begins, Tasters and Tours was created to offer early signals of connection and mattering rather than simply information. Drawing on scholarship on belonging and student transition, the initiative replaced a traditional Spring open day with immersive taster classes, student-led tours, and parallel sessions for parents. Student ambassadors, selected for authenticity and supported through confidence-building workshops, played a central role, with 85% of attendees reporting an increased likelihood of applying. The vignette concludes with reflections on how small, intentional design choices can shape whether an institution feels like somewhere a student might belong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Perspectives in Applied Academic Practice is the property of Edinburgh Napier University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
Description
Abstract:Inspired by the European First Year Experience community, this vignette explores how the Marino Institute of Education (MIE), a small teacher education college in Dublin, redesigned its pre-arrival engagement to foreground belonging. Within Ireland’s centralised admissions system, where students often confirm their place only days before term begins, Tasters and Tours was created to offer early signals of connection and mattering rather than simply information. Drawing on scholarship on belonging and student transition, the initiative replaced a traditional Spring open day with immersive taster classes, student-led tours, and parallel sessions for parents. Student ambassadors, selected for authenticity and supported through confidence-building workshops, played a central role, with 85% of attendees reporting an increased likelihood of applying. The vignette concludes with reflections on how small, intentional design choices can shape whether an institution feels like somewhere a student might belong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:20519788