The first year of college. Working conditions, admission procedures and academic dropout from the teachers’ perspective

Abstract

The main purpose of this article is to analyze the perspectives of first year teachers from some faculties of the National University of Rosario, Argentina, with regard to the conditions in which university teaching is performed. Within these perspectives, the authors specifically investigate the evaluations of the admission system and the ways in which they interpret the academic dropout that takes place during the first years. In the framework of a research that contemplates a qualitative and a quantitative phase, this article presents the results obtained in the second of these phases. The data gathering technique we implemented was a questionnaire to first year teachers of the mentioned university. A multiple correspondence analysis was carried out, as well as bivariate analysis. The general results show that most of the teachers agree with the system of direct admission, setting and accompaniment instances, and that they consider the enrollees’ personal problems as the main causes of abandonment during the first year. The study aims to highlight the importance of recognizing the first year as a cycle with specific characteristics.