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Publication
The transition of mature students to higher education: challenging traditional concepts?
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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
The Bologna Process, recently implemented in Portugal, has brought many
changes to higher education institutions. One of these changes refers to a law that
enables mature students (23 years and older) to gain special access to higher education,
taking into account their professional experience and other biographical
elements. The numbers of non-traditional students are therefore increasing in our
country, making our academic population more diverse. We designed a research
project to investigate the special circumstances of non-traditional students in our
institutions and to provide recommendations that should improve their academic
lives. In this article, we describe survey results, focus-group interviews and life
histories and use them to understand the transition of mature students into higher
education. Our results include interpretations of the factors that students view as
barriers to their participation in higher education, the importance of peer support,
and reflections on life histories that provide greater insight into the transitional
process. Although several barriers were identified by mature students, there is
also a positive impact from transition. It is clear that transition today is no longer
punctual or linear either in time or space. We should therefore challenge traditional
views of the transition concept, in which students are considered to be a
problem to higher education institutions, because this diverts attention away from
the responsibilities of those institutions towards facilitating change.
Description
Keywords
Higher education Transition Mature students Barriers to learning
Citation
Monteiro, Rute Crisitna Correia da Rocha. The transition of mature students to higher education: Challenging traditional concepts?, Studies in the Education of Adults , 45, 1, 67-81, 2013.
Publisher
Niace - National Institute of Adult Continuing Education