Purpose This article investigates some ongoing issues faced by higher education institutions (HEIs) having to rapidly move their teaching online during the early stages of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic Design/methodology/approach The article incorporates a review of academic and policy literature concerning digitalisation and online learning in universities and qualitative interviews with staff involved in online teaching and learning at a university in Scotland Findings For most HEIs and organisations across the globe, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the speed at which digitalisation and digital ways of working have been embedded in organisational life and service delivery including new ways of learning and working This has led to a recognition of the need for practically focused, effective inclusive digital interventions A range of initiatives that have been developed or accelerated in response to the pandemic are discussed These should be explicitly designed and implemented to also reach individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, including those with low-skill levels or qualifications and older age groups Effort is also needed by policymakers and HEIs to better understand the challenges and unintended consequences that digital learning and working poses Research limitations/implications More research is needed into the methods and implications of increased online teaching The range of interviewees is limited to one main organisation A wider range of staff, students, HEIs and other types of organisation would add additional insights Practical implications Insights from interviews highlight a number of institutional responses to digitalisation, which were accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic These identify learning and reflection points for HEIs moving to enhanced online teaching provision Originality/value This article provides an analysis of the processes, issues and impacts associated with the rapid shift to digitisation in HEIs at a point in time shortly following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 It raises issues around inclusivity of online learning, pedagogy, unintended consequences of digitalisation and privacy, when moving to online teaching that are relevant both during the pandemic and in the longer term

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Moving learning online and the COVID-19 pandemic: a university response

A number of studies and cases have brought to light the challenges and barriers mature students face as they embark on a course of study. Yet there is no agreed definition of the term ‘mature student’. The first part of this paper presents several definitions of the term found in the contemporary literature. The two prevailing criteria are the typical constraints mature students face while studying and student age. In our study, a survey questionnaire was distributed electronically to 64 mature students at Oxford Business College during August 2021. Our research found that the most concerning issue for those who took part in our survey during the Covid-19 pandemic was reconciling financial obligations associated with education and family responsibilities. This may be a consequence of increased job insecurity during the pandemic. However, only one-third of the mature students in our study said they had significant difficulties in balancing study with other commitments, and slightly more than one fifth had experienced extreme or significant amounts of stress. Most students had succeeded in finding the right balance, albeit with minor difficulties. Interestingly, the results of our correlation analysis showed that stress in managing activities was unrelated to gender and age, while absence from full-time education was significantly positively related to age and unrelated to gender. Stress in managing activities correlated positively with balancing study-related obligations with other life commitments. This result shows that higher levels of stress lead to greater difficulties in achieving a balance between study and other life activities. Furthermore, associations between the period of absence from full-time education prior to enrolment on the current study program and gender and age were statistically insignificant. The results of our multiple linear regression analysis showed that gender and age together explained a statistically significant percentage of variance in stress levels. Additionally, absence from full-time formal education accounted for 2% of the total score variance in stress caused by managing different activities. This finding indicates that longer periods of time spent out of formal education predict higher levels of stress among mature students later on. As we start to move beyond the pandemic, almost two-thirds of respondents said they would prefer lessons to be delivered online once the Covid-19 pandemic is over, while only a minority of them prefer traditional classroom-based lessons (on-campus). This is perhaps no surprise given the substantial time-saving advantages of online learning, the scarcest resource for mature students.  Article visualizations:

Study-life balance and mature students in higher education during the covid-19 pandemic: the case of oxford business college, united kingdom

Despite the plethora of research on widening participation in the last 20 years, access to the arts and humanities has remained relatively under-explored, especially in relation to the preparedness...

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/14740222211004884

Widening HE participation in the arts: Impacts of an access module on learner preparedness:

This article aims to identify, measure, and deeply understand the educational trajectories of non-traditional students (students over the age of 26 who are enrolled following a break in their formal educational trajectory) studying for education degrees in the Czech Republic. To fulfill the aims, we adapted previously identified types of educational trajectories that are traveled by non-traditional students to the circumstances of the Czech higher education system. We measured the distribution of three types (deferrers, returners, and recurrent learners) in a sample of 713 non-traditional students. We found that the types were nearly evenly distributed, with a slight prevalence of deferrers. For a deeper understanding of these types, we analyzed 30 narrative interviews. Qualitative data revealed each group's specific features, including their attitudes toward higher education studies, their academic enculturation, and their academic skills. We suggest that the returner type should be split into two categories for more specific quantitative analysis. On the basis of our research, we offer tailored recommendations for supporting particular groups of non-traditional students.

https://www.phil.muni.cz/journals/index.php/studia-paedagogica/article/download/2265/2156

Educational Trajectories of Non-Traditional Students: Stories Behind Numbers

There has been a growing recognition of the value of education in facilitating desistance from offending. Yet, despite a determined push to “widen access” universities continue to be an unwelcoming place for those with a criminal record. To better understand the role of higher education in raising aspiration towards desistance, this paper draws on findings from a study in Swansea, Wales. Adopting a Pictorial Narrative approach the findings suggest that, whilst the participants identified potential benefits of attaining a higher education, those aspirations were outweighed by a distrust of the “institution” and a fear that the stigmatisation experienced through the “criminal identity” would be hard to avoid and may morph into the “criminal/student identity”, thus leaving students vulnerable to judgement and exclusion. This paper makes recommendations about how higher education might be remodeled to support those who wish to desist and in doing so, truly “widen participation” to all.

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Understanding Aspiration and Education towards Desistance from Offending: The Role of Higher Education in Wales.

[Introduction] 
 
This paper aims to promote a re-think about the decline in part-time higher education in England. Most part-time learners are mature students, and the oft-reported drop in part-time student numbers can be viewed as a proxy for the retreat of older learners from higher education. A succession of reports has been published identifying the dramatic loss of part-time numbers. Despite the persuasiveness of the quantitative data cited, policymakers have yet to reverse the decline. The issue of disappearing part-time adult learners in higher education is important for individuals and institutions. Individuals miss out on developing their full potential, and their talents are wasted. Universities miss out by a loss of diversity in the student body, and through the contribution adult learners make to widening participation. Adults who study part-time are disproportionately likely to have characteristics associated with non-traditional and disadvantaged learners. If part-time learners are included, government claims about closing gaps in participation are untrue. The loss in part-time numbers equates to 17 per cent fewer students from disadvantaged backgrounds accessing higher education. This paper uses little seen qualitative information from parttime adult learners interviewed for four research projects. The authentic voices identify policy solutions to the seemingly intractable problem of part-time decline. The report by the Independent Panel to the Review of Post-18 Education and Funding, known as the Augar review, argues for flexible learning, bridging courses and greater financial support for lifelong learning. Politicians of all major parties recognise the importance of the need to support access to part-time learning. At the 2019 General Election, the Labour Party pledged to offer every adult the right to six years of free study, the Liberal Democrats proposed a ‘Skills Wallet’ of £10,000 to spend on education and training over a period of 30 years and the Conservatives pledged a ‘new National Skills Fund’ of £600million annually, with an ambition to establish a ‘Right to Retrain’. So all the major political parties recognised a need to stimulate more flexible approaches to lifelong learning, and through that to inspire new developments in part-time higher education. In this spirit, this paper responds with a series of recommendations for universities and policymakers to arrest the part-time decline.

John Butcher

Papers

Unheard: The Voices of Part-Time Adult Learners. HEPI Report 124.