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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. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.)

We use quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate the links between participation in adult learning and self-efficacy, particularly for the subgroup of adults who had low levels of achievement at school. We focus on self-efficacy because it translates into a range of wider benefits and because it may afford protection from depression and other forms of social exclusion. Quantitative analyses of data from the National Child Development Study (NCDS) provide evidence for an association between taking courses and transformations in self-efficacy for all cohort members, but the association is greatest and the evidence is strongest for our subgroup. A related fieldwork project involving in depth interviews with 15 women with poor school attainment sampled from the NCDS provides insights into some of the processes that underlie the associations found: (i) perceptions of achievement in adult education increase self-efficacy; (ii) adult education leads to more challenging occupations, which build self-efficacy; (iii) resistance to participation in adult education is reduced as self-efficacy increases; and (iv) learning on the job can build self-efficacy, and although participation in employer-provided training courses does not appear to play an important role, it reflects engagement in occupations where the value of learning is recognized. The interviews also illustrate how school impacts on self-efficacy and motivation to learn throughout the life course, and how important background and life circumstances can be in shaping the impacts of adult learning on self-efficacy. (Contains 1 figure, 3 tables, and 4 notes.)

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 questions the adequacy of administrative responses to poorly understood disabling conditions in the UK An illustrative case study, the administration of the Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to people with chronic fatigue syndrome or myalgic encephalomyditis (CFS/ME), is examined. Controversies surrounding CFS/ME and institutional responses to the condition are summarized. The history and purposes of DLA are outlined, and research evaluating its administration and impact is reviewed. Quantitative data from the DSS are combined with qualitative data obtained from interviews with claimants and non-claimants of DLA with CFS/ME and with benefits advisers. Additional data from a national survey of people with CFS/ME are incorporated into the analysis. The findings show how the adjudication of DLA is particularly problematic in relation to people with CFS/ME. Decisions are likely to be based on inadequate evidence. These and other relevant findings are discussed in the context of the stigma attached to CFS/ME and other poorly understood disabling conditions, and socio-legal research and theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]