Access to higher education as a point of transition for mature students, an experience by which they are transformed

This thesis explores Access to Higher Education (Access) as a site of transition and a transformative experience for mature students studying in Further Education (FE) and interrogates how widening participation policy discourse for under-represented groups, posits mature students’ identity, as one of individual and collective deficit. Employing Mezirow’s concept of transformative learning, ten biographical accounts of ex-Access students provide opportunity to explore emic accounts of identity change. Bourdieu’s notion of habitus allows for exploration of participants’ backgrounds prior to their engagement with Access. Habitus provides location for Bandura’s notions of adult efficacious self-belief and pursuit of identity capital. The research employs Cheng et al.’s model of transition to map the biographical accounts of transformative learning and further informs the thematic analysis. The research design is influenced by my insider researcher status, adopting case study and pragmatic approaches to foreground the participants’ lived experiences of Access. The data collection methods of card sort and semi-structured interviews, that focus upon their voices. Contextual features, changes to Access provision and FE environment, are examined for their impact upon the transformative potential of Access, examining if FE may continue to be a site of intellectual and social transformation within mature students’ experience of education. Significantly, the findings cite academic study skill development, as supporting and sustaining participants’ return to education and illustrate Access as the site for perspective transformation.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

Doctorate in Education

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

Doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Wolverhampton

Year dc:date.issued

2023

Author dc:creator

• Dobson, Mark

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Wilde, Julie

• access to higher education
• transformative learning
• mature students
• further education
• study skills
• widening participation
• habitus
• self-efficacy
• identity
• capital
• transition

Statement dc:rights

• Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

Licence

• https://wlv.dspace7.openrepository.com/bitstreams/9a671fe9-41e6-4775-93f2-9b19dd65504f/download