Education Commons^™

Experiences Of Mature Age Female Students Studying Psychology: A Phenomenological Account, Ruth Ayres, Andrew Guilfoyle

EDU-COM International Conference

Australian Government policies have increased accessibility of under-represented groups into Universities, and one significant group in this shift is mature aged women (Department of Education, Science and Training 2004). University policy related to provision of support for nontraditional groups of students, through improved academic and support services is beneficial in improving student retention rates among non-traditional student groups (Krause et al. 2005). The present paper reports a phenomenological approach (Moustakas 1994; Smith & Osborn 2003) to understanding how expectations of higher education impacts on adjustment to study within lived experiences of 12 women aged between 40-49 years studying Psychology. Each …