Previous research has revealed how mature students are more likely to drop out of university education, achieve poorer degree outcomes and have greater family, financial, caring and work commitments to contend with than their younger peers. In response to calls for further empirical work on mature students' university experiences and informed…

In order to realise career and personal goals, as well as financial autonomy and security, many women are pursuing higher education alongside the role of motherhood. Student-mothers face many challenges when engaging in higher education, and many fail to complete their studies. This phenomenological study applies a feminist lens to the choices,…

Existing research on digital inclusion has shown that older adults (65+) are, in general, less digitally skilled than other age groups. While older adults can gain digital skills through 'cold' (formal) training by ICT instructors or through 'warm' (informal) support from family and friends, studies have suggested that formal training is more…

Individualising processes often are prescribed as all-embracing solutions in adult education policies worldwide. Nevertheless, re-adaptation of educational frameworks to individual students' needs may result in tensions for involved agents due to complexities of such initiatives. This literature review examines individualising processes in…

In the novel 'Pride and Prejudice', Austen (1813) wanted to show the marginal or subaltern standing of a woman in the 18th century England by saying that a woman was always subservient to a man, and the sole identity of a woman was being a wife to a male at that time. In present-day Bangladesh, a similar view is evident, where women are raised…

This paper traces the evolution of discourses around the role of critical social theory in the field of lifelong education that have played out in the pages of the "International Journal of Lifelong Education" and elsewhere in the field, beginning with early critical theoretical discourses, a consideration of the impact of some key…

Compared with other age groups, the literacy practices and creative outputs of older adults (50+ years) have been seldom researched. Generally, research about older adults has tended to focus on decline and agential passivity, rather than potentiality. In this article, we report on a small ethnographic study of older Australians who were part of a…

Currently, the number of Chilean young people not in education, employment, or training--NEETs-- remains comparatively high and major gender gaps persist. Recent studies have revealed the heterogeneity of this social group, but they have failed to provide an in-depth analysis of its characteristics informed by the reasons which its members regard…

A wide range of literature has already emerged which assesses the sudden closure of Higher Education Institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when many academic institutions turned to ERT (emergency remote teaching) in order to maintain teaching and learning. The Faculty of Lifelong Learning at Institute of Technology Carlow, Ireland,…

The study deals with strategies for legitimising non-participation in adult education and training (AET) in groups of people with the lowest levels of participation: low-educated workers, retired individuals and people on parental leave. It aims to identify and describe strategies for legitimising non-participation. Results are based on extensive…

Mature students transitioning into their first year of higher education face many difficulties that affect their motivation, participation and success. Their feelings of being disconnected from their peers and from their institutions are among the key barriers to the successful completion of their courses. Encouraging online student engagement…

Since continuing learning draws on education, wherever it is available, no matter by whom provided, it is clear that programmes offered by formal education institutions are only one of many sources and options. The current study aimed at identification students' preferable levels and challenges of using distance learning in COVID-19. The sample…

This study addresses the retention problems of at-risk students in the Foundation Year Program at the Bahrain Teachers' College. Data were collected from the instructors and the students using questionnaires and focus group interviews. Findings show that both instructors and students think the college could play a more active role to increase the…

The literature on educational choices and participation has tended to focus on youth and to some extent on older adults, with little attention to the group in between. This paper therefore analyses participation in various types of learning by people in their 30s and 40s. This group are often juggling career and family life commitments meaning…

There are full-time employed graduate students who undertake full-time studies at universities in other countries but there is minimal documentation of such engagements in Ghana. This study explored the coping experiences of full-time workers who are pursuing full-time graduate studies in a Ghana higher institution. Purposeful sampling was…