Concepts of success for mature students who study English: a case study.
Concepts of success for mature students who study English: a case study.
Return to Study: English was a course run jointly by the Department of Adult Continuing Education and the Department of English at Southampton University for 14 years from 1982 and 1995 inclusive. The aims of the course were a combination of the traditional 'liberal' motives for university adult education and an adaptable, access route into higher education. This case study reports the opinions of 153 mature students who attended this course, many of whom continued into formal higher education and were awarded degrees.
This information was gathered through questionnaire and interview. It interrogates how the individuals involved regard the success of this learning initiative. These ideas go beyond a higher education award and question issues such as confidence, career prospects, status, and personal development. Students' thoughts upon these issues are complex and of interest to those who plan and teach in both adult education and in English Studies. In addition to the fieldwork, matters such as the education of adults and the position of English within higher education and society at large are problematised.
The main research questions are, 'What constitutes a successful learning experience for adult students? How nearly do these conform to university criteria for success? Why did these able people not succeed during compulsory education? The attitude to education in the birth families of these mature students and the impact which this had upon them is reported. School experience is also described, mainly in the works of the students themselves. Almost one quarter of this work consists of reported data. These data suggest that mainly economic and social factors, together with some biological and historical influences prevented these students from thriving in compulsory education, rather than any intellectual or academic lack. The findings challenge not only the concept of a meritocracy, but also current policy about education for adults. Theoretical approaches are mainly those currently found in the field of English studies, although there is a strong interdisciplinary paradigm within this. The work also looks at motivation for study in adulthood and the longer-term impact of this study is reported where available.
University of Southampton
Fitzgerald, Eileen Mary
c93e398f-2904-4ca1-8854-15ef2a7f149e
1996
Fitzgerald, Eileen Mary
c93e398f-2904-4ca1-8854-15ef2a7f149e
Fitzgerald, Eileen Mary
(1996)
Concepts of success for mature students who study English: a case study.
University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis, 339pp.
Record type:
Thesis
(Doctoral)
Abstract
Return to Study: English was a course run jointly by the Department of Adult Continuing Education and the Department of English at Southampton University for 14 years from 1982 and 1995 inclusive. The aims of the course were a combination of the traditional 'liberal' motives for university adult education and an adaptable, access route into higher education. This case study reports the opinions of 153 mature students who attended this course, many of whom continued into formal higher education and were awarded degrees.
This information was gathered through questionnaire and interview. It interrogates how the individuals involved regard the success of this learning initiative. These ideas go beyond a higher education award and question issues such as confidence, career prospects, status, and personal development. Students' thoughts upon these issues are complex and of interest to those who plan and teach in both adult education and in English Studies. In addition to the fieldwork, matters such as the education of adults and the position of English within higher education and society at large are problematised.
The main research questions are, 'What constitutes a successful learning experience for adult students? How nearly do these conform to university criteria for success? Why did these able people not succeed during compulsory education? The attitude to education in the birth families of these mature students and the impact which this had upon them is reported. School experience is also described, mainly in the works of the students themselves. Almost one quarter of this work consists of reported data. These data suggest that mainly economic and social factors, together with some biological and historical influences prevented these students from thriving in compulsory education, rather than any intellectual or academic lack. The findings challenge not only the concept of a meritocracy, but also current policy about education for adults. Theoretical approaches are mainly those currently found in the field of English studies, although there is a strong interdisciplinary paradigm within this. The work also looks at motivation for study in adulthood and the longer-term impact of this study is reported where available.
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Published date: 1996
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Local EPrints ID: 462947
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/462947
PURE UUID: db89eb6c-eec6-4b3d-86a9-e6f6b224d662
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Date deposited: 04 Jul 2022 20:29
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 19:00
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Author:
Eileen Mary Fitzgerald
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