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Within the Caribbean, the number of students pursuing postgraduate studies in higher education institutions (HEIs) has increased over the years. Consequently, locally contextualised epistemologies and empowering methods are needed to help adult learners in Caribbean higher education (HE) navigate their studies. This paper presents findings from a photovoice study undertaken with postgraduate adult learners at an HEI in Jamaica. Participants used photographs, written reflections and group discussions to explore their HE journey. Given the intervening nature of the pandemic in the immediate period after the study was conceptualised and participants engaged, this paper focuses on the ways in which photovoice offered participants opportunities to make meaning of their HE journey. Findings demonstrate that the use of photovoice was transformative in how it empowered participants through the opportunity to engage in self-discovery and discuss their thoughts and emotions, facilitated peer support, and how it enabled adult learners to forge resilience as they undertook their studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The past decade has witnessed significant changes in the student population entering HE programmes of study. Such changes have been accompanied by increased central accountability and reduced central funding. This paper reflects on the role that computer-based learning (CBL) can play in supporting students, specifically adult learners, in such an environment. It suggests that the technology has demanded more attention than the pedagogic issues and argues that CBL must take advantage of adult learners' experiences to gain maximum advantage in the future . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we discuss the findings from a qualitative research project that explored the struggles of twelve work-based learners whilst they studied on a Foundation Degree in an English University. It examines the concept of struggle within the current context of Higher Education and discusses the need to acknowledge learners' emotional domain as a normalised and essential aspect of academic study at university. Concepts of self-belief, self-efficacy and agency were central to this investigation where motivation and purpose for learning presented as critical factors for undertaking the Foundation Degree. The learners' experiences in undertaking written assignments were analysed to explore implications for practice within universities to meet the complex learning needs of non-traditional, adult learners. The data leads the authors to recommend that universities adopt a pedagogy of transparency for learners within the context of widening participation agendas. Learners' emotions, we advocate, should be welcomed and nurtured as they frequently precede the business and purpose of a Foundation Degree; that of learning and personal growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents empirical research exploring adult returner students’ patterns of learning via qualitative analysis of a series of semi-structured interviews. Interviewees’ comments shed light on the relation between patterns of learning on the one hand, and study skills, epistemological issues and attitudes to peer interaction on the other. The data suggest that this group of students adopt a reproductive approach to learning, which is coupled with rudimentary study skills and a dualist, right/wrong epistemology. This constellation leads to a certain scepticism regarding the usefulness of peer interaction, even though such student-centred types of teaching are held to promote ‘deep’ learning. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The aim of this study was to investigate whether recognised barriers to learning still exist for mature adult learners in a higher education (HE) centre within a further education (FE) college. Eighty-four students who attend the further education college were asked to complete a questionnaire and participate in follow-up semi-structured interviews. The results identified that the impact of potential barriers is minimised by the approach adopted in the HE centre of the FE college in this study. The traditional barriers of accessibility of the institution, finance and family commitments did not seem to be an issue for these students. Contact with students early in the process seems to allay many of the fears about returning to study, particularly at HE level. This initial contact forms the basis of the support mechanisms that are laid down for each student throughout the course of their choice. This approach is a model designed for the particular FE institution described in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines a longitudinal case study exploring the experience of a cohort of part-time, adult, work-based learners, mostly experiencing higher education for the first time. A wide range of instruments, including diaries and interviews, were used to collect data to explore, in some depth, the nature of the learning experience. Data analysis was undertaken using a matrix framework focusing on the positive and negative dimensions of the experience using the twin perspectives of learning context and individual identity. The study is shown to be part of a longer action research cycle. The study identified tensions between individual anticipation and anxiety and an institutional tension between positive conceptualisations of a supportive learning community contrasted with manifestations of higher education as an alien environment that actually hampers learning. The research was driven by the need to explore the development of a support infrastructure that addresses student needs. At one level the purpose of the research was to develop the course with a view to continuous improvement of the student learning experience. However, at the same time the research underlines the power of action research as a means of improving practice by formalising tacit reflection on learning and teaching and how this benefits both tutors and students by improving engagement and awareness of the learning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]