Weekly internship experiences of first-generation students: A diary study of well-being, belonging, and early career development.
Method Stream: Qualitative Research
ECs Both 14 and 23 EC thesis possible
Description:
First-generation students are students who are the first in their family to attend university and tend to experience lower well-being, belonging and self-efficacy at university. However, little is known about how first-generation students experience their transition into the workplace. Statistics shows that first-generation students have lower job success and earn a lower salary, but there is very limited knowledge about underlying explanations. In your thesis you will examine the experiences of psychology students during their first steps into the workplace, namely during their internship. Students completed a questionnaire at the start of their internship and weekly data was collected using a diary method in which students described a meaningful experience of that week throughout their internship. In addition, students were asked to rate the described experience (in terms of importance and affect), the impact of the experience and they were asked to rate their well-being during the past week. We expect that the way first-generation students evaluate positive and negative experiences at the work floor influences their self-confidence, belonging at work, and career prospects. You can do a qualitative analysis (focusing on the written diary entries) or mixed-methods analysis (combining the diary responses with the weekly ratings). Due to the richness of the data there is a possibility to examine several research questions depending on your interests. The results will help to gain insight into the experiences of first-generation students at the work floor and help internship supervisors in guiding first-generation students during their internship experience. In case of a larger (23 EC) thesis, additional data collection is possible, for example with focus groups or another follow-up study.