The bridge to higher education – scaffolding the transitional experience of prospective higher educational learners using a small online course

Building on the ‘conceptions of students transitions theory’ identified by Gale and Parker (2012), this paper provides a case-study approach to further understand how the transition from secondary to higher education can be best managed, along with a proposed theoretical expansion to their ‘conceptions transitions model’. Evidence presented in this paper suggests that both social and academic support is required, with various key authors addressing a skills development gap at the transitional stage and the necessity to research into this field (Van Herpen et al., 2020). Using technology to transfer knowledge a small online course (SOC) was developed for a discipline specific course. The theoretical contributions extends Gale and Parker’s (2012) framework, depicting an embryonic stage (T0) supporting prospective students through the transition creating an early sense of belonging. Practical implications of implementing the SOC demonstrates an increase in student applications and a rise in key information sets (KIS) data for the courses concerned.