There are three interrelated concepts of what medical students learn, which include the formal, informal, and hidden curriculum. Several researchers who have investigated notions of the hidden curriculum have demonstrated how the experiences of medical training entrenched in the hidden curriculum can have a profound impact on medical student adaptation. The most influential transitional stage in undergraduate medical education is the third-year clinical clerkship, when medical students transition from classroom learners into clinicians. The Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s (NOSM) clinical clerkship year consists of a mandatory eightmonths of living and working in rural and northern communities throughout Northern Ontario, and learning in the context of rural family practice. Informed by a social constructivist research paradigm, I explored how 12 third-year students described the challenges they had to manage and, in response, the strategies they employed to adapt to their clerkship. I elicited their experiences and perspectives to contribute to a rich understanding of how students at the NOSM describe developing processes of adaptation during the Comprehensive Community Clerkship. Data were collected between August 2011 and April 2012, including: a) pre-clerkship interviews and a demographic questionnaire, b) mobile methods in the form of ‘guided walks’ in the communities, and c) post-clerkship interviews. The quality of the data collection and analysis were enhanced through processes of methodological and interpretive rigour, representativeness and authenticity, rich description and contextual relevance, audit trail, and reflexivity. Through an inductive thematic analysis of the data, the findings provide a rich description of events experienced such as medical training in one’s hometown or a familiar community, iv transitions including adaptation to the clinical setting and to the medical profession, and the influence of the clerkship on career path, personal well-being, and empathy for patients. The findings serve to advance our understanding of how medical students describe developing processes of adaptation throughout a longitudinal integrated clerkship. Implications are considered for medical students, the NOSM, the clerkship communities, and medical schools nationally and internationally. I propose recommendations regarding the suitability of authentic methods in medical education research, and discuss the implications for rural and northern health research.

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2017-01-04T10:52:29Z No. of bitstreams: 1 ronnyalexliboriodossantos.pdf: 1083029 bytes, checksum: 591670fd22a17e09f5f6fd62b4c3da02 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Diamantino Mayra (mayra.diamantino@ufjf.edu.br) on 2017-01-31T10:32:44Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 ronnyalexliboriodossantos.pdf: 1083029 bytes, checksum: 591670fd22a17e09f5f6fd62b4c3da02 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-01-31T10:32:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ronnyalexliboriodossantos.pdf: 1083029 bytes, checksum: 591670fd22a17e09f5f6fd62b4c3da02 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-09-19 / Esse trabalho tem como objetivo analisar a influência da adaptação discente sobre o fracasso escolar do 6º ano do Ensino Fundamental (EF) da Escola Estadual Geógrafo Milton Santos (EEGMS) pertencente à Coordenadoria Distrital 03 da rede estadual de ensino do Amazonas. A adaptação discente durante as transições entre os ciclos escolares constituiu o recorte entre as causas do fracasso escolar para nortear as análises desse problema entre os alunos que ingressam no 6º ano do EF. O fracasso escolar foi materializado no trabalho pelos índices de reprovações dos últimos quatro anos (2010 a 2014), que deram a dimensão do problema dentro do cenário educacional brasileiro. Tais percentuais, por conseguinte, serviram como indícios dos possíveis problemas que acometem os alunos durante seu ingresso no 6º ano do EF. Assim, a seguinte pergunta direcionou o estudo: quais os principais problemas acarretados pelo processo de transição dos alunos do 5º para o 6º ano do EF na escola EEGMS? A metodologia utilizada para a execução da pesquisa tem uma abordagem qualitativa e foi realizada a partir de um estudo de caso. A pesquisa contou com instrumentos de coleta de dados a partir de entrevistas semiestruturadas, análise documental e pesquisa bibliográfica, a qual apresentou o posicionamento de autores que discutem a adaptação discente, a transição entre os ciclos escolares e o fracasso escolar. Tal processo deu suporte para as análises da adaptação discente sobre o fracasso escolar no 6º ano do EF, considerando o processo de transição entre os ciclos. O resultado da pesquisa serviu de aporte para a construção de um Plano de Ação Educacional, que visa ajudar a escola investigada a diminuir o impacto das transições escolares, principalmente em relação ao início dos anos finais do EF, pois esses impactos têm reflexo direto na continuidade e na conclusão da trajetória escolar dos alunos. / This study aims to examine the influence of student adaptation in school failure of the 6th grade of Elementary School (EF) from Escola Estadual Geógrafo Milton Santos (EEGMS) wich belongs to the District Coordination 03 of the state of Amazonas education system. Student’s adaptation during transitions between school cycles were the cut between the causes of school failure to guide the analysis of this problem among students entering the 6th grade of Elementary School (EF). School failure was embodied in work by failing rates of the last four years (2010-2014) which gave the size of the problem within the Brazilian educational scenario. These percentages therefore served as evidence of the possible problems that affect students for their entry in the 6th grader of Elementary School (EF). The question that guided the study: What are the main problems posed by the transition from the 5th to the 6th grades students from Elementary School at school EEGMS? The methodology used to conduct the research has a qualitative approach and was carried out from a case study. The research included data collection instruments from semi-structured interviews, document analysis and literature, which presented the position of authors who discuss student adaptation, the transition between school cycles and school failure. This process gave support for the analysis of student adaptation of school failure in the 6th grade of Elementary School considering the process of transition between cycles. The survey results served as a contribution to the construction of an Educational Action Plan, which aims to help the investigated school to reduce the impact of school transitions, especially from the beginning of the final years of the Elementary School, since these impacts have a direct impact on continuity and completion of school life of students.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Educational Leadership / W. Franklin Spikes / The purpose of this study was to further develop an understanding of the nature of the adaptation process of adult first generation students to the undergraduate college experience. This study utilized the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ) in conjunction with personal interviews to explore whether first generation adult college students adapt differently to college than do their continuing generation peers and if there is a commonality of experience, across demographic differences, for first generation, adult college students. Fifty-five adult college freshmen were surveyed using the SACQ. From this sample, sixteen first generation volunteers were interviewed regarding their college experience. T-test analysis of the SACQ scores showed that the first generation students were not adjusting to college as well as their continuing generation peers on the overall measure to adjustment and on three of the four subscales. The personal interviews indicated that while there was variation in the first generation students’ adaptation with seven of the sixteen volunteers classified as adjusting poorly to college, three with mixed adjustment, and five with good adjustment, there were also commonalities in the students’ experience, regardless how well they were adjusting to college. Eleven meta themes emerged from the interview data, and these themes correlated with characteristics of nonpersisters as compiled by Kasworm, Polson, and Fishback (2002). This research indicated that further investigation into adult first generation college students is appropriate especially with regard to how these adults view themselves as role models. In addition, this study indicates a need for future research into the links between adult students’ first generation status and persistence problems in their college experience.