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This paper examines the motivations and outcomes for mature students who study part-time in higher education (HE) in the UK. Although many students in HE are mature part-time learners, they have not been the specific focus of much research or policy interest. In-depth narrative interviews were carried out with 18 graduates who had studied part-time at a university college specialising in part-time provision. The sample was drawn from a quantitative survey of 1539 graduates concerning their motivations for studying and the benefits derived. Researchers could therefore choose respondents on the basis of previously reported outcomes of study and on other life course information, which was included in the survey. The paper reports a wide range of motivations and outcomes, which are regarded as forms of capital, and illustrates how studying part-time as a mature student can have a profound effect on people’s lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the advantages of combining quantitative and qualitative findings concerning the wider benefits of adult learning. The research issue is a broad one that was under-researched when the projects were conducted. Quantitative and qualitative projects addressed different facets of this issue. Mostly, they were designed and conducted separately, and combined only at the stage of interpreting findings. We therefore refer to the project as multi rather than mixed method research. The advantages of combining methods in this research fall into the five categories presented as purposes of mixed methods research by Greene, Caracelli, and Graham (1989): initiation, triangulation, complementarity, development and expansion. I suggest that initiation, which refers to the new perspectives that are developed when researchers attempt to combine apparently contradictory quantitative and qualitative findings, is conceptually distinct from the other advantages. Unlike the other four advantages, it is not associated with particular and concrete outcomes, such as additional evidence for validity (triangulation), developing a fuller picture of the research issue (complementarity) or expanding the scope of the research (expansion), its design and implementation (development). Rather, initiation is a process through which the reconciliation of apparently contradictory findings leads to triangulation, complementarity, development and expansion. The ease with which findings from different methods are reconciled is a dimension that applies to multi-method research, which is highlighted by initiation. It bears on the creativity and innovation associated with triangulation, complementarity, development and expansion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research uses the National Child Development Study to investigate the effects of adult learning upon 12 outcomes that act as proxies for health and social capital. To minimise selection bias we consider changes in outcomes rather than levels. We find that adult learning plays an important role in contributing to the small shifts in attitudes and behaviours that take place during mid-adulthood. The results hold as controls are added for demographic, educational and other background factors, as well as for changes in life circumstances during mid-adulthood. It is therefore very likely that there are substantive and genuine effects of adult learning. However, we do not suggest a purely one-way causal relationship. Evidence from additional analyses suggests rather that participation in adult learning is a very important element in positive cycles of development and progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]