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"Nontraditional Students"
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What Makes Adult Learners Persist in College? An Analysis Using the Nontraditional Undergraduate Student Attrition Model
This research examines the factors influencing drop out among adult college students. As the traditional-age student population (ages 19–24) declines, the older, part-time, adult learners have emerged as a critical enrollment demographic for higher education institutions. These learners often pursue higher education for career advancement, re-skilling, or re-employment. However, many encounter difficulties in sustaining their academic engagement due to low motivation, limited basic learning skills, or external constraints. Despite the growing presence of adult learners in Korean universities, limited research has analyzed drop-out factors within this specific context. To address this gap, this study applies Bean and Metzner’s nontraditional undergraduate student attrition model, using data from the Korean Educational Longitudinal Study (KELS). It investigates how background characteristics, academic variables, environmental factors, and academic and psychological outcomes influence the drop out of adult learners. The findings reveal that academic variables significantly impact drop-out intentions, while student engagement and social integration show minimal effects. These results offer valuable theoretical insights and practical implications for enhancing adult learner retention in higher education.
Journal Article
The Influence of Students’ Self-Determination and Personal Achievement Goals in Learning and Engagement: A Mediation Model for Traditional and Nontraditional Students
Self-determination theory (SDT) and achievement goal theory (AGT) assume that students’ level of self-determination and the goals they pursue in class are important factors in engagement and learning. The aims of this study were to: (1) investigate the links between the students’ types of motivation and personal achievement goals; (2) explore how these two sets of variables relate to learning, engagement, and exploring mediation effects; and (3) understand the specificities of nontraditional students vs. traditional students, regarding the way these variables relate to each other. The study used a sample of 361 Portuguese adult students, 138 traditional (younger than 25 years old), and 223 nontraditional (active adults returning to education, 25 or older). The instruments used were: Self-regulation Questionnaire—Learning, Personal Achievement Goal Orientations Scale, Adult Learning Strategies Evaluation Scale and Behavioral Engagement Questionnaire. Path analysis for the total sample revealed that mastery goals mediated the relationship between autonomous motivation and all educational outcomes, and performance-avoidance goals mediated the relationship between introjected regulation, external regulation, and behavioral and emotional engagement. Multiple-group path analysis revealed a much stronger pattern of relationships for nontraditional students, especially between the SDT and AGT variables. The theoretical and practical implications of the study are discussed.
Journal Article
By Chance or by Plan?: The Academic Success of Nontraditional Students in Higher Education
In the United Kingdom, a “good” undergraduate degree is understood to be a “first class” or an “upper second class,” which is achieved by three-quarters of students. The need to distinguish oneself from others is ever more important in an increasingly crowded graduate market, although a first-class degree is most likely achieved by privileged students. Informed by Bourdieu’s theory of habitus and capital, this study explores the educational experiences and trajectories of 30 final-year high-achieving nontraditional (HANT) students through in-depth interviews. These include working-class, minority ethnic, and/or mature students at university. We found that prior development in academic study skills and the desire to prove oneself, often in response to previous negative experiences, are key ingredients in academic success. Our HANT students also seem to find inspiration or support from significant others, an educational capital, although these resources are often by chance rather than by plan. Implications for policy and practice are suggested.
Journal Article
Inquiry-Based Teaching in the College Classroom: The Nontraditional Student
Science departments in higher education have been adjusting their curricula to include more inquiry-based instruction, and research on inquiry-based teaching at the collegiate level has been increasing. However, more data are needed regarding the effectiveness of inquiry-based pedagogy in improving students' conceptual understanding and attitudes toward science. The investigation described here was focused on nontraditional students taking non-science-major science courses. The goal was to compare students' attitudes toward science before and after taking an inquiry-based or a traditional science course. The hypothesis that the inquiry-based course would significantly generate a more positive attitude toward science was supported. Nontraditional students' perceptions of an effective science curriculum were also explored. Students' perceptions were very positive regarding inquiry-based learning; however, those who had not been previously taught through inquiry-based methods had reserved perceptions of this teaching approach. Regardless of the course they were enrolled in, students agreed overall that an effective science curriculum includes three common themes: connection, interaction, and application.
Journal Article
Neoliberalism Across Borders: A Comparative Case Study of Community Colleges' Capacity to Serve Student-Parents
Community colleges in the United States and Canada operate within postsecondary environments that are being reshaped by neoliberal policymaking. As community colleges in both countries respond to the pressures of neoliberalism, their capacity to serve students already marginalized by their \"nontraditional\" status may be affected in contradictory ways that benefit some students while further disadvantaging others. This article drew on data from a comparative case study of two urban community colleges, one in the United States and one in Canada, to explore how the increasing marketization of postsecondary education in both countries is affecting each college's position within its particular postsecondary environment and, in turn, is shaping its capacity at the organizational level to support its student population. As a means of highlighting the consequences of neoliberal processes on marginalized students, we focused our attention at the organizational level on resources and supports targeted at students with dependent children, a group of students who are often rendered invisible-both by neoliberal discourses and traditional postsecondary policies and practices.
Journal Article
Health-Promotion Behaviors of Undergraduate Nursing Students: A Survey Analysis
To examine health promotion behaviors and barriers to health promotion in traditional and nontraditional nursing students in an associate degree nursing program in the northeastern United States.
Nursing students are exposed to concepts of health promotion in the nursing curriculum, but do not necessarily apply them to their own lives. Examining the variables affecting the health behaviors of nursing students may provide the information required to motivate lifestyle changes in this population.
A cross-sectional descriptive design was used to examine the relationship between study variables.
Nontraditional nursing students participate in health promoting behaviors less often than traditional nursing students and experience more barriers to health promotion.
Implementation of health promotion programs targeting nontraditional students may lead to improved health among these individuals, which may result in increased success in nursing programs.
Journal Article
Comparison of Mental Health Characteristics and Stress Between Baccalaureate Nursing Students and Non-Nursing Students
Background:
Nurses consistently report the highest levels of job stress among all health professionals. To best prepare students for such a high-stress profession, insights into the onset of stress is warranted, especially with the literature supporting that nursing students experience significant stress during their education.
Method:
This study sought to explore the sources of stress among nursing students and to compare stress levels and selected mental health indicators between nursing students and the general student body using the paper-and-pencil version of the National College Health Assessment II.
Results:
Nursing students were found to have significantly more stress, anxiety, sleep disturbances, and stress-related illnesses than the general student body.
Conclusion:
The findings highlight the importance of self-care and stress management skills education in nurse preparatory programs for use in both academic preparation and in future careers. [The findings highlight the importance of self-care and stress management skills education in nurse preparatory programs for use in both academic preparation and in future careers. [
J Nurs Educ.
2016;55(2):87–90.]
Journal Article
Toward an invitational andragogy: Articulating a teaching philosophy for the andragogic classroom
Students older than 25 years are a growing population on our campuses. However, separating these students and labeling them as \"non-traditional\" further isolates them from campuses that are already geared toward younger learners. This reflective essay explains the need for a philosophy of invitational andragogy - a classroom approach rooted in invitational rhetoric (S. Foss and Griffin, 1995) and Knowles's assumptions about older learners (1980, 1984). While inviting transformation is important in all classrooms, it is especially important for older learners who often feel separated from the campus at large. To explain how an invitational approach to the andragogic classroom can be achieved, we identify opportunities to apply the strategic prongs of invitational rhetoric: (a) offering perspectives and (b) creating external conditions that promote safety, value, and freedom.
Journal Article