Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Mature women student'

In recent years policy changes have encouraged access to and the participation of adults in British universities. This thesis is a case study which looks at the experiences of non-traditional adult women students in universities. Emphasis is placed on understanding the experiences of mature undergraduate women students in universities from the perspectives of the actors. This is a sociological study. I draw on and integrate three theoretical paradigms: Marxist feminism, Marxism and interactionism. I examine the significance of macro and micro levels in shaping the behaviour, attitudes and experiences of women adult students. Gender and class were important factors in shaping the past and present lives of women in this study. However, in deciding to return to learn the women were actively choosing to change the direction of their lives. An underlying question was to what extent did studying change the way participants perceived themselves as women? Learning and the influence of social science disciplines helped the women to deconstruct and redefine the self. Being a student was influenced by the interaction of structure and agency. The women's student identity was shaped by both their own actions and institutional forces. Adult students are not homogeneous. Younger, single mature women experienced university life differently from older, married women as do full-time students compared to part-time students. The women studied here adjusted to the institutional life of a university through the formation of subcultures. To understand fully the experiences of being an adult student the interactions between public and private worlds are examined. A biographical approach using interviews was employed. A small sample of male mature students was included to identify the extent to which experiences were gendered ones. Despite the struggles the women interviewed valued the acquisition of knowledge and learning in a university environment.

This thesis examines the experience of a group of mature women students before, during and after their period of study in higher education. Specific research areas of investigation focus on their existing skills, and the value they give to these skills, and those they develop over their time of study. The context for the study is provided by an examination of the historical development of girls’ and women’s education, looking specifically at its gendered nature. Similarly, the development of universities is examined, in particular, debates on what universities are for, and how they are increasingly linked to providing an educated and skilled workforce rather than being autonomous institutions of education. The research is situated in a period of keen interest in skills development, when many universities were considering their development in some form or other. This sets the context for the women participants in this study in schools that were piloting key skills in different ways. This is explored in relation to their experience of this burgeoning interest in skills. The research approach used was chosen to enhance understanding of the issues that affect mature women students returning to learning. It draws heavily on feminist methodology and is also influenced by the work of Michel Foucault and Paolo Freire. These theorists are used to shed light on how issues of power are endemic within the society in which this research takes place. The feminist methodology employed has allowed me to become part of the research, and to reflect upon my own experiences as a mature student in higher education as well as those of the other participants. The research analysis is based heavily upon multiple semi-structured interviews conducted with each of the women. The analysis reveals how the women feel their skills are valued both by themselves and by the institute of higher education where they studied and by wider society. Whilst the women feel that they have considerable skills as mature women, the discussion reveals a number of interesting factors regarding which skills the women expect to be valued in the wider world compared to the skills they value in themselves.

The central purpose of this thesis is to analyse the experiences of mature men and women students studying full-time in higher education. The data presented in this thesis are derived from in-depth interviews with mature students studying in Swansea University College. The thesis demonstrates the ways in which class and gender affected the experience of mature students both within and outside their place of study. The thesis argues that higher education, which is a transitional process for traditional age students, is a TRANSFORMATIVE process for mature students. This process centred upon the attempts of mature students to renegotiate their personal identity. The thesis thus focuses on the person and upon issues of identity. The theoretical framework draws upon the symbolic interactionist tradition and upon the sociology of gender. It explores the ways in which the relationship between gender and identity are articulated within 'every-day' social interaction. The thesis works with four class/gender categories. The extent of self transformation and the problems of achieving affirmation of the new self by a transition of pre-existing social statuses were least in the case of middle-class men and most acute for working-class women. The process of being the new person can only be continued within parameters set by the individual's social circumstances. Class and gender determine the extent to which these lie within the power of the individual to change. Working-class women experienced the greatest incongruence between their new selves and their unchanged domestic/social situations AND found the expression of their new selves blocked by untransformed relationships.

This study explored the experiences of mature women undertaking Master’s degrees at a Historically Disadvantaged Institution of Higher Learning in South Africa. Attaining a Master’s degree is a significant milestone in education and the process may take from one to three, or more, years. The study aims to describe aspects of the women’s experiences of their research journeys and the goal of the study is to present descriptions of these experiences. The methodology is qualitative and uses a critical feminist approach, appropriate to exploring the research questions. A critical feminist stance holds that women experience the world differently to men given the patriarchal structure of society. Emphasis is placed on the primacy of the co-researcher’s perceptions of their experiences. A single method research design was followed using semi-structured interviews. The analysis resulted in the emergence of a number of central themes. Together these reflect the experiences of the co-researchers, although they did not automatically share all the experiences. The findings show that postgraduate study, in the form of a Master’s degree, was found to be transformative, meaningful and worthwhile, although not without difficulties; mainly the demands required of multiple roles within home, community, work, and the university. This study contributes towards the larger body of research within education, in particular in the understanding the experiences of mature women within the field of postgraduate study.

This study was motivated both by my own experiences as a working class student at university and as a tutor working with so called 'non-traditional' students studying on higher education courses. The central focus is the experience of making meaning in academic writing of ten women students with whom I met on an individual basis over a period of between 1 and 3 years to talk about specific instances of their writing for undergraduate course work. Most of the study reported here is based on discussions of their academic writing at first year undergraduate level. In exploring the student-writers' experience my analysis has been significantly informed by the following writers and notions: Fairclough's three levelled framework for analyzing the production and interpretation of texts which builds on Halliday's contexts of situation and culture (see Halliday 1978; Fairclough 1989, 1992a); the work of Clark and Ivanic on critical language awareness about academic writing (see for example Clark and Ivanic 1991); the work of Ivanic on social identity and authorship in student academic writing (1993; 1998); the notion of literacy practices as developed by a number of writers (Street 1993; Barton 1994) and in particular the notion of essayist literacy (Scollon and Scollon 1981; Gee 1996); Bakhtin's dialogic notion of language and, in particular, the significance he attaches to addressivity in, and for, meaning making (1981). The central argument in this thesis is that any exploration of students' writing at university should be premised on a view of student-writers as meaning makers. This perspective has implications for the methodology necessary in order to carry out such an exploration, as well as for the specific arguments about the student-writers' experience made in this thesis. In relation to methodology, I argue for the centrality of dialogue and present a methodological framework for constructing this dialogue. In relation to the student-writers' experience of meaning making, I argue the following specific points: i.The demands surrounding student academic writing are embedded in an institutional practice of mystery. This practice of mystery is ideologically inscribed in that it works against those least familiar with the conventions surrounding academic writing, limiting their participation in higher education as currently configured. ii.Although the conventions surrounding student academic writing remain implicit, they constitute a particular literacy practice, essayist literacy, which is privileged within the university. The conventions of this practice work towards regulating individual student meaning making in specific ways. iii.The type of student/tutor addressivity surrounding student meaning making in academic writing significantly contributes to both the nature of the students' possible participation in HE and to the meanings that they make. I end by discussing the pedagogical implications of the arguments made in the study.

This thesis seeks to better understand the trend toward mature women college students as impacted by the gender division of labor. It is based on qualitative research involving in-depth, semi-structured interviews with ten African-American and eleven white mature women students age 30 and over enrolled at Virginia Commonwealth University. The interview questions focus on two main decision points in the lives of mature women students. The first is defined as the point at which they chose a course of action, other than attending college, after high school, or when they left college. The second is defined as the point at which these women decided to (re)enter college. The gender division of labor is explored as it exists in capital patriarchal society and emphasis is placed on the processes by which it is created and maintained at both macro and micro levels. The focus of the research is on the connection between the structure of the gender division of labor and the processes through which it affects individual lives in everyday, personal ways. The focus on the two decision points leads the analysis of the trend toward mature women students in a direction not taken by other researchers and helps to uncover aspects of the trend which had been neglected. The findings suggest that the designation of domestic and childcare tasks to women in the gender division of labor greatly affects the trend toward mature women students at both decision points. The gender division of labor becomes a lived reality in individual women's lives and influences their decisions concerning work, family and education. The findings suggest further that the explanations for the trend toward mature women students are much more complex than current literature reflects. For the women who participated in this research, the gender division of labor creates power differentials between women and men which affect women's decisions concerning college which have not been explicitly addressed in other research.

Higher education has expanded in many countries, including Ghana. This is attributed to the realisation that economies can only be developed and sustained through the development of human and knowledge capital, which is obtainable through higher education participation. Consequently, higher education institutions in Ghana have experienced some diversity and heterogeneity in their composition in terms of participants' ages, socio-economic status, culture and gender, among others. However, it is important to ask how different groups of students fare once entered. A recent ESRC/DFID research project by Morley et al (2010) found that mature students are most at risk of dropping out of higher education. Yet, the experiences of mature students are under researched in Ghana. My study employed the interpretive qualitative research approach to examine life narratives via interviews with eight mature undergraduate women from different socio-economic backgrounds in one public university in Ghana. The study is based on the idea that women who combine domestic work with academic work experience tensions, and therefore must devise strategies to manage their conflicting roles in order to navigate their way through higher education. The women in this study were sampled from the departments of Sociology and Basic Education, where they are known to be clustered. The rationale was to explore their experiences, describe the strategies they adopt to navigate through HE, and to use the findings to make suggestions for institutional development and learning. The findings indicate that the women students' different socio-economic backgrounds, marital status and family lives influence the way they experience higher education and the strategies they adopt for progressing through it. Most of the participants found academic work difficult and made reference to gaps in terms of their knowledge deficit, unfamiliar courses and teaching methods. Again, some women students felt out of place in the higher education arena and therefore had to ‘cut down much of their years' psychologically so that they could mix easily with the younger students. The implications drawn from this study are that there is need for the formulation of an institutional policy on mature women students in higher education, which would also ensure the regular provision of professional development programmes for higher education practitioners. It is expected that when higher education practitioners are regularly trained and sensitised about the heterogeneity in the composition of higher education, and particularly about mature women students' conflicting roles, it will improve their practice, enhance the qualitative experiences of mature women students and consequently, help to retain and increase their participation in higher education.

In the Western world, and specifically in New Zealand, a major impetus for retraining has arisen quite recently and gone largely unnoticed. The new social phenomenon, retraining in the sense of education for occupational change, is examined in this study. Alongside the three traditionally recognised groups of adult learners: those learning for leisure; second chance learners who have been previously educationally disadvantaged; and upskillers who seek to enhance their existing credentials through further tertiary education; is a fourth; the reskillers, those who are seeking education for occupational change. Women are shown to be pioneers in leading social change in this area of retraining. The key questions investigated in this thesis concern the existence of this new phenomenon in New Zealand; whether it is national or worldwide; and whether its origins are local or international. Whether there are distinctive characteristics to the manifestation of this phenomenon in New Zealand is investigated by examining current policy and practice. Additional questions concern whether there are feature of New Zealand employment or education which make upskilling and reskilling more or less likely in this country; the significance of women being the first to take up education for occupational change and what can be learnt from comparison with other countries specifically the Netherlands and England. Education takes place within a set of intersecting socio-political contexts. In the modern world these are simultaneously international, national, local and institutional. They impact on participants in a course of study yet are not often manifest to the individual. 'Learning for life’ is a significant area of both international and national socio-political concern, manifesting itself in a significant set of public discourses and in social phenomena which, as in this case of education for occupational change, are little researched or understood. The historical evolution of public policy relating to adult learners, internationally, and in New Zealand, is documented, with a particular focus on the period from the 1960s onwards. The major theoretical and ideological constructs are outlined and critiqued particularly with reference to public policy in New Zealand. Analysis shows an inexorable shift over time away from knowledge and skills attained through praxis, to knowledge and skills attained through formal institutionalised learning. At the same time as this change was taking place, participation rates in first secondary, and then tertiary, education rose. Concurrently more and more women entered tertiary education in order to make their way into an increasingly credentialised workforce. It is suggested that, credentials are used for screening purposes in addition to providing individuals with knowledge and skills needed for the occupations they enter. Case studies are used to illustrate and document these changes. Policies relating to learning for life are examined with reference to three different countries: New Zealand, England and the Netherlands. Provision of tertiary education for adults is investigated, and then illustrated through the coverage provided by institutions in three cities, Christchurch, Leicester and Utrecht. These studies show that different countries are subject to international geo-political and ideological forces but respond to them in locally and historically determined ways. The case study/qualitative analysis of the Christchurch Polytechnic’s Next Step Centre for Women and the New Outlook for Women courses illustrates the ways in which the twists and turns of public policy in New Zealand over thirty years have affected women wishing to seek education for occupational change. A quantitative study of mature students and their motivations for returning to study at the Christchurch Polytechnic allows for the impact of public policy and institutional provision on a group of mature individuals to be assessed. The study concludes that education for occupational change appears to be more advanced in New Zealand than in the European countries chosen for comparison. This may result more from individual initiative and the conditions which promote this, than from state policy direction or institutional provision. Policy consequences are proposed on the basis of these findings.

碩士
東海大學
教育研究所
93
The main purpose of this research is to expose the motivation of the mature women students to return to higher education, the learning experience on campus and the meanings they give to their education. Interviews were conducted with 8 women who are studying in higher education. The followings are some major findings of this research. Firstly, the motiva-tion of the reentry women to school based on the four factors: family, work, individ-ual and cultural. And the cultural factor, pursuing the degree and certification, is distinctive for Taiwan’s mature women students in higher education. Secondly, those women as mature students face particular difficulties due to their role and position in family and society, and they develop three kinds of strate-gies to overcome the obstacles they encountered. And by interviewing, we learn that mature women students didn’t ask for help but prefer to solve learning difficul-ties by themselves in the process of learning. Moreover, through returning to higher education, we could look at the meaning of higher education on three parts: personal change, the effect on family and work. The mature women students felt they had become much more expert, confident and they experienced the gender consciousness emerged. The process of studying itself also could be shared with their husbands and children, and it could lead their hus-bands to study, and these mature women students would be role models for their children. Besides, the mature women students could promote the working effi-ciency and lead colleagues to reentry to school. However, it also caused some negative effect, such as increasing conflict with partners and reducing quality on working. Finally, researchers make some suggestions for higher education institution and mature women students.

The purpose of this thesis was to explore the academic advising available to mature immigrant women over 45 years of age who return to university studies. In addition to my autobiographical account, I interviewed seven mature immigrant women enrolled in graduate studies and asked them about the role of academic advising in their choice of the university program to follow. I also interviewed two professional academic advisors in order to gain insight into their practice to meet the needs of this particular student group. The following themes emerged from the analysis of the data: Academic achievement was a product of very strong inner motivation combined with the support of families and friends. In turn, academic achievement helped women in improving their self-esteem and self-confidence which enabled them to achieve an important degree of satisfaction and self-realization. The results indicated that the majority of the women interviewed did not receive adequate academic advising and upon graduation they were not able to find jobs in the areas of their specialization. They also pointed to the importance of a humane, warm and friendly relationship with the academic advisor in order to disclose personal issues and get the needed help. Each one of the two academic advisors had a different approach to their practice. Nevertheless both advisors underlined the lack of university resources for in service education and upgrading of credentials. The results of this exploratory study point to the following recommendations: (a) The importance of providing career advising parallel to academic advising in order to help the students make choices which will lead to job opportunities upon graduation; (b) setting evening office hours for students who are employed full time during the day; (c) making available on the job education and training to academic advisors and faculty advisors in order to update their skills and knowledge to better advise mature immigrant women returning to university education.

This research study explored the dimensions of motivation that may exist for mature psychology graduates when completing their postgraduate degree. And because it is widely acknowledged that stress is often a close companion to motivation, specifically in the pursuit of academic goals, the study also investigated those aspects of coping skills these individuals employed to sustain their motivation in completing their studies. Eight mature female psychology postgraduates from four different South African public universities were identified using a non probability sampling technique. Semi structured interviews were then carried out with the eight participants; the interviews were then transcribed and analysed using content analysis. The results of the study indicated that self efficacy; intrinsic motivation, attribution and achievement goals all play a role in the students’ motivation. It further indentified perseverance as an important factor in the students’ completion of their studies. Positive beliefs, problem solving strategies and social support appeared to be the most widely used coping skills by this sample.