ABSTRACT

Most important, it seemed that there were two clearly identifiable groups of mature students – those taking a brief break between school and university, and those making a significant life and career change a long time after leaving school. These mature students also appeared to socialise more with others of similar background – again a feature which appears to be common to a number of student sub-groups. It clearly required further work to examine the question of whether mature students coped better with the complicated and often conflicting demands of university life. A major emphasis in this section of the report, though, recognises "the stronger motivation of the mature student". The report opens, in fact, with the general comment "that the strength of motivation felt by most mature students reconciles them to the difficulties they clearly encounter over learning techniques."