An exploration of the role of coaching in supporting non-traditional students in higher education in the UK : the perspectives of the students and their coaches
Widening participation and ensuring fair access to universities for non-traditional students has been a key policy objective for successive governments in the UK since the late 1990’s. In spite of the relative success of policies and strategies to increase and retain the number of non-traditional students accessing and participating at university, the discrepancy in numbers between non-traditional and traditional student groups still exist. What is known about coaching as a supportive developmental relationship suggests that it could make a difference to non-traditional student groups in particular. In order to understand how coaching could be relevant in this case, this study explores the research question of what are the HE experiences of non-traditional students leading to and during their undergraduate studies using heuristic inquiry, portraying the voices of non-traditional students from the unique perspective of the researcher, who has direct experience of the phenomenon under investigation. The aim of this study is to explore the role of coaching in supporting non-traditional students during their undergraduate studies in the UK.
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