An Analysis of Reflective Journals on Undergraduate Students’ Experiences in a Reflection Centered Co-Curricular Program at a Regional University

Abstract

This study aims to explore how undergraduate students at regional universities give meaning to their university education and lives through participation in reflection-centered extracurricular programs within the structure of academic elitism and university hierarchy. To this end, a qualitative analysis was conducted on the reflective journals of 18 students who voluntarily participated in an 8-session online, non-face-to-face program during the vacation at I University, a regional university, and who completed all sessions and consistently wrote reflective journals. Braun and Clarke's reflexive thematic analysis was applied in analyzing the data, and the trustworthiness of the study was ensured through reflection on the researcher's positionality, research journals, and consultation with peer researchers. As a result of the analysis, the students' experiences were categorized into six domains and 18 sub-categories: 'Thinking and reflection, the experience itself', 'the process of reflection in class', 'academics', 'university', 'career', and 'the meaning of life', Students reinterpreted reflection not as a burdensome self-examination, but as a process of contemplation that involves re-examining oneself and one's life to reconstruct one's direction. They reconstructed the meanings of academics, university, career, and life from a perspective centered on achievement and hierarchy, shifting toward independent questioning, inner stability, and value-oriented choices. These results suggest that reflection-centered extracurricular programs can serve as an educational mechanism to help students at regional universities proactively seek self-understanding and life direction within a hierarchical structure, thereby proposing a practical model for restoring the essence of university education by placing reflection and contemplation at its center.