Venus and Mars in a Tertiary Bridging Program

An examination of the outcomes for students in an on-campus tertiary bridging program at a regional university indicated that younger students demonstrated lower levels of academic achievement and higher rates of attrition during the initial transition period. This study examined the influence of family, peer and academic staff relationships on the experience of two cohorts of students during the initial transition period to determine how these relationships were associated with the students’ sense of academic identity and self-efficacy. Participants comprised a sample of 299 students from two semester cohorts including 150 aged 24 years or below. A custom questionnaire was developed that measured a number of study behaviours, the quality of the supportive nature of peer, family and staff relationships, academic self-efficacy and academic identity. The dominant factor in the experience of the program for young females was found to be the quality of the supportive relationships available from all sources, with staff support being the dominant influence on their sense of academic identity and self-efficacy, while supportive peers were found to be associated with better attendance. Relationships were found to have little association with academic identity and self-efficacy for young males. The study supports the use of different approaches based upon gender for the induction of younger students into a tertiary bridging program.