The social adjustment process is a prominent factor in the literature on the transition to higher education (HE). This vast body of research, however, has predominantly focussed on academically oriented first-year higher education (FYHE) contexts, leaving professionally oriented programs (providing vocational education that prepares students for a particular occupation) rather underexamined. Therefore, this study set out to explore what first-year students in professional HE contexts perceive to be the most important social experiences associated with their adjustment process in the first semester of FYHE. Furthermore, this study examines the extent to which the uncovered key experiences associated with social adjustment are reported at different times. Hereto, drawing on the critical incidents technique, qualitative data were collected from 104 purposively selected freshmen, enrolled in a Flemish (Dutch-speaking part of Belgium) university college which offers professional HE programs, such as social work and nursing. At the start of the second semester of FYHE, these respondents completed ‘reflective logs’ wherein they reflected on three critical social experiences during their first semester in HE. Firstly, a qualitative content analysis revealed that students report on five overarching themes: (1) dealing with the unknown, (2) establishing a first connection, (3) establishing a deeper connection, (4) support from peers and others, and (5) loneliness. Secondly, a quantitative analysis of code occurrence suggests that these five uncovered themes seem to be more significant at different times in the first semester of FYHE. Implications of the findings for the development of guidance and coaching initiatives are discussed.

在向高等教育过渡的文献中，社会适应过程是一个重要因素。但是，这项大量的研究主要集中在以学术为导向的第一年高等教育（FYHE）的背景下，而对以专业为导向的课程（提供为学生为特定职业做准备的职业教育）却未加充分审查。因此，本研究着手探讨在专业高等教育环境下一年级学生认为哪些是与FYHE第一学期调整过程相关的最重要的社会经历。此外，本研究调查了在不同时间报告与社会适应有关的未发现关键经验的程度。至此，利用关键事件技术，定性数据是从104名有意选拔的新生中收集的，这些新生入读了佛兰德语（比利时的荷兰语部分）大学学院，该学院提供专业的HE计划，例如社会工作和护理。在FYHE的第二学期开始时，这些受访者完成了“反思性日志”，他们在HE的第一学期中反思了三种重要的社会经历。首先，定性内容分析显示，学生报告了五个总体主题：（1）处理未知事物，（2）建立第一联系，（3）建立更深层次的联系，（4）来自同伴和其他人的支持，以及（ 5）寂寞。其次，对代码出现的定量分析表明，在FYHE的第一学期中，这五个未发现的主题在不同时间似乎更为重要。