Session 2 – 11th April – 14.30-15.20

Title of Presentation:

"I feel that I've grown as a person, exploring the wider impact of returning to education amongst a population of mature students"

Presenter:                      Jenny Mercer

Organisation:                  University of Wales Institute, Cardiff

                                        – Centre for Psychology

This is a paper based on research conducted at FE colleges and a University within the SouthWalesValleys

Summary:

Walters (2000) suggests that the motivation for learning amongst mature students may be associated with an aim to change some aspect of the self. Similarly, Burke (2002) describes mature students as having a desire for self-discovery, whilst Adams (1993) uses the term ‘transformative’ to describe the self-development that ensued as an outcome for mature women returning to higher education. Thus it seems that individual change and development of the self may be an important part of college life for older learners. Such findings were also apparent in the research that is the focus of this presentation.

Thirty-one mature students, who had returned to education via the Access course route, took part at different stages of their academic career. Using a social constructionist version of grounded theory the narratives of their experiences were analysed. For this population it appeared that education represented more than an academic qualification – it resulted in a profound change in their sense of self. Whilst such an enhanced sense of self was facilitated by their educational experiences, learning was strongly connected to the personal and individual also.

It is argued that a central role was renegotiating a part of the self that had not been developed earlier in the lifespan (often due to other commitments and roles such as the family, or negative and constraining educational environments). The process and challenges involved in negotiating such changes were explored within the research, as well as the implications for the psychological study of the self.

Findings of this nature have a further application within the educational environment, where widening participation has remained central to the government’s higher education policies in recent years.  Learning, it seems, can have wider reaching benefits. The example discussed in the present research focuses on the role it can play within the area of adult self development. Such a positive outcome requires recognition if we are to truly encompass and understand the impact of lifelong learning on the diverse student populations that we are currently seeking to attract and accommodate within the academy.