Exploring the learning experiences of older mature undergraduate students

Pearce, Nick

doi:10.5456/wpll.19.1.59

Cited by 13 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Mature students have been a growing group of applicants to higher education for several decades (Evans & Nation, 1996;Pearce, 2017;Schuetze, 2014), although application numbers have fallen in recent years (UCAS, 2017). The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) (2017) found that in 2017, 10.4% of successful HE applicants from the UK were mature, and in 2018, the number of acceptances for students aged 26 and over increased by 6.7% (UCAS, 2018).…”

Section: Mature Studentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bringing technology to the mature classroom: age differences in use and attitudes

Staddon

2020

Int J Educ Technol High Educ

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Mature students are anecdotally thought to be more anxious about technology than younger students, to the extent that they avoid using technology. This is a problem in today's higher education classrooms which often use a range of learning technologies, particularly as cohorts are becoming more and more likely to contain mature students. Previous work examining the attitudes of mature students to technology no longer reflects contemporary student age profiles or the current technological landscape. This study asks whether modern mature students in a UK university have more negative attitudes towards technology than younger students, and whether their usage of technology is different. A new diagnostic instrument, the Technology Attitudes Questionnaire, was developed to determine how students use technology for course activities and personal use, and their attitudes towards technology more generally. It was found that mature students use fewer technologies than younger students and use them less frequently, but have used them for a longer period over their lives. No difference was found for attitudes towards technology between the mature and younger groups. This research aims to contribute to the wider field of technology attitudes and use, particularly for the modern mature student cohort. These findings can be used to inform how educators design learning resources and use technology on their courses, working towards an age-inclusive programme. IntroductionThis paper conducts a timely exploration of students' attitudes towards digital technology and how students use technology, using a new instrument designed for purpose. It asks whether mature students have more negative attitudes towards technology than younger students, and how the usage differs between these two groups. It will be of use to educators who are designing resources using technology for use in higher education (HE) classrooms, which are more and more likely to contain mature students as part of a changing cohort. Additionally, it makes a wider contribution to the study of technology attitudes and use, an ongoing field that is continually changing with the evolving technology landscape and a changing student cohort.

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Section: Mature Studentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bringing technology to the mature classroom: age differences in use and attitudes

Staddon

2020

Int J Educ Technol High Educ

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“…Literature on NTSs, centered on late admission to HE, generically refers to them as "mature students" (Amorim, 2018;Broadhead, 2020;Pearce, 2017). The age that defines these students varies from country to country, but they are at least 21 years old (Baptista, 2013;Broadhead, 2020;Heagney & Benson, 2017).…”

Section: Non-traditional Students (Ntss)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Entering Higher Education After 30: What Can Be Learned from Biographical Narratives of Non-Traditional Students

Dotta¹,

Leite²,

Lopes³

2021

Studia paedagogica

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The needs of the market and of knowledge society, combined with democratic ideals, have justified policies that encourage the adult population to continue their studies. Portugal has been following this political movement, which in turn drives non-traditional students to higher education. In order to uncover the reasons that lead these students to enter higher education and the challenges it poses to them, research was conducted using biographical narratives. These narratives revealed the existence and effects of intrinsic motivations related to the satisfaction of learning and to the pleasures of taking part in stimulating activities and of achieving or overcoming something. They also showed the importance of having strategies to combat dispositional, situational, and institutional barriers in order to prevent non-traditional students from dropping out.

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“…These influences can sometimes trigger a powerful emotional reaction which then limits new mathematical learning (Lee et al, 2018) Strategies for teaching and learning mathematics Adult learners often have complex lives (Mason, 2018) and face particular challenges and barriers (Mark, 2018). They may, for example, struggle with time management or lack of confidence (Pearce, 2017). Their learning journeys may be 'fraught and stressful' (Pearce, 2017: 70) as they navigate their different roles as students, carers and employees.…”

Section: Barriers To Learning Mathematicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These participants formed a belief, a fixed mindset (Dweck, 2006), that they could not do mathematics. This type of belief creates a barrier to motivation (Pearce, 2017).…”

Section: Barriers To Learning Mathematicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stories of Mathematical Resilience: How Some Adult Learners Overcame Affective Barriers

Cousins¹,

Brindley²,

Baker³

et al. 2019

wide particip lifelong learn

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Exploring the learning experiences of older mature undergraduate students

Cited by 13 publications

References 15 publications

Bringing technology to the mature classroom: age differences in use and attitudes

Bringing technology to the mature classroom: age differences in use and attitudes

Entering Higher Education After 30: What Can Be Learned from Biographical Narratives of Non-Traditional Students

Stories of Mathematical Resilience: How Some Adult Learners Overcame Affective Barriers

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