Using activity theory to inform the design of academic resources for first-year engineering students

Abstract

University academic resources such as tutoring, office hours, and peer-led study programs are key institutional tools for supporting student learning, but these resources are often underutilized by the students who need them most. A student's ability and willingness to seek academic help are strongly correlated with student retention. Academic resources play a role in both the academic and social spheres of a student's college experience and may impact a student's decision to persist in a challenging discipline or remain enrolled at their institution. This qualitative study examines how socio-institutional culture shapes first-year engineering students' navigation of academic resources. Using cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) as an analytical lens, researchers conducted twenty semi-structured interviews to identify internal, social, and structural contradictions that shape help-seeking behaviors. Thematic analysis revealed three interrelated cultural norms: Hustle Culture, Collaborative Culture, and Academic Hierarchy. Each norm generated systemic contradictions, including belonging versus bandwidth, peer networks that gatekeep less popular resources, and the hidden curriculum surrounding expert support. When asked how to address these contradictions, study participants proposed consolidating resources, increasing transparency, and amplifying peer recommendations. The process of mapping activity system contradictions, naming cultural norms, and generating student-centered design opportunities is transferable across institutional contexts and useful to first-year experience practitioners, academic support directors, and advising offices seeking to co-create interventions that are responsive to their students' sociocultural realities.