Struggling to become successful learners: Mature students’ early experiences of access to higher education courses

Abstract

This paper discusses how mature Access to Higher Education (AHE) students worked hard to gain access to Higher Education (HE) because they wished to pursue careers that required this level of education. They wanted to transform themselves as learners to achieve their aspirations despite the hurdles that many faced, such as maintaining families, continuing with semi-skilled employment and low level prior educational qualifications. Their engagement with AHE courses led students to change their views of themselves as they tried to make sense of their experiences and interactions with others on AHE courses. Despite their enthusiasm for AHE courses, many students had considerable anxiety about joining them because of their prior experiences of learning and lack of sympathetic support from employers and government provided job finding services. The paper is based on a study carried out with AHE students and their tutors in seven Further Education (FE) colleges in a region of England. It found why students became more confident and competent as learners, how this development affected their views of themselves and how many achieved success through their assertions of agency and support from their tutors and fellow students as well as their families.