Identity Struggles of Adult Returners

Abstract

This article addresses a perceived gap in higher education literature: there is very little writing that successfully combines the issues of individual learners who dropped out and then returned to higher education -the adult returners. To address this problem, the article draws upon data from the qualitative part of a larger research project that deals with non-traditional students in the Czech Republic. This article analyzes data from eight subjects with drop-out experience chosen from the initial corpus of thirty non-traditional students. The results indicate that adult learners have to deal with three central identities and with potential identity struggles as they interact: student identity, work identity, and familial identity. The final result of the interaction between these identities can be either the integration or the disintegration of identities, whereby one of the possible consequences of identity disintegration is to drop out from higher education.

Jak poznáme kvalitní kombinované studium? Pilíře kvality v hodnocení zralými studenty

“…Za klíčovou hrozbu pro studium zralých studentů je považována nutnost slaďovat rozmanité pracovní, rodinné a studijní povinnosti (Kaldi, 2009). Mimostudijní závazky se mohou stát se studiem prakticky neslučitelné (Brücknerová et al, 2020), což může vyústit až v neúspěšné ukončení studia (Rozvadská, 2020).…”

Part-time & adult learners of color: factors influencing persistence in a certificate program pathway to a degree

“…Interestingly, in this study, adult learners of color did not emphasize their racial identity as a central part of their student identity. Adult learners' perception of their experiences foregrounded their intersecting work, familial, and adult learner identities (Brunton & Buckley, 2021;Rozvadská, 2020).…”

“…This finding supported Rozvadská (2020) results that show adult learners' identity was shaped by the institution they attended, and some adult learners successfully integrated their work and student identities that facilitated their successful return to higher education. LBS College supported adult learners' identity integration by validating their work, familial, and adult learner identities (Rozvadská, 2020).…”