I will never give up… Life stories of mature students in higher education

• Author(s): Gonçalves, Teresa ; Quintas, Helena ; Ribeiro, Carlos Miguel ; Monteiro, Rute ; Bago, Joana ; Fonseca, Henrique ; Santos, Lucilia ; Almeida, António Fragoso de
• Date: 2012
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/4960
• Origin: Sapientia - Universidade do Algarve
• Subject(s): Active aging; Mature students; Life stories; Higher Education
• Document Type: Conference Object
• Language: Portuguese
• Editor(s): Krasovec, Sabina Jelenc; Radovan, Marko

Description

The Portuguese law 64/2006 allows mature students, older than 23, (M23) to access university, widening the participation of adult population in higher education. This paper is part of a research project focused on the experiences of non-traditional students in higher education. In this paper we analyse the stories of four mature students, with the aim to identify their motives for entering higher education; to understand their relationships with younger students; and to identify the main obstacles they face in their academic life.