Title: Mature vs young working students : similarities, differences, and drivers of graduation and dropout
Source document: Studia paedagogica. 2020, vol. 25, iss. 4, pp. [73]-91
Extent
[73]-91
-
ISSN1803-7437 (print)2336-4521 (online)
Persistent identifier (DOI): https://doi.org/10.5817/SP2020-4-4
Stable URL (handle): https://hdl.handle.net/11222.digilib/143454
Type: Article
Language
License: Not specified license
Notice: These citations are automatically created and might not follow citation rules properly.
Abstract(s)
The high dropout rate among working students in higher education in Portugal, including both those who are older and at a mature stage in their professional careers and those who are young and recent workers, is one of the main concerns of educational policy. Identifying the drivers of the academic pathway for these students is essential to promote successful education and increase labour productivity and business competitiveness. Using an extensive longitudinal database of personal, course, and employment variables of 1,561 working students from a Portuguese higher education institution, we perform a duration analysis to determine and compare the factors that drive the dropout and graduation risks of mature and young working students in higher education. The results show that, in general, young working students are more positively influenced by financial aid, their motivation for the course, and the desire to find a new qualified professional career, while mature working students depend more on social and academic integration. The accumulation of knowledge/skills in the 'out of class' experience seems to contribute positively to academic performance.
Note
This article is financed by National Funds of the FCT – Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology within the project "UIDB/04928/2020".
References
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[26] Tinto, V. (1993). Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Attrition (2nd ed.). The University of Chicago Press
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[3] Becker, G. S. (1962). Investment in human capital: A theoretical analysis. Journal of Political Economy, 70(5, Part 2), 9–49. https://doi-org.ezproxy.muni.cz/10.1086/258724 | DOI 10.1086/258724
[4] Carreira, P., & Lopes, A. S. (2019). Drivers of academic pathways in higher education: Traditional vs. non-traditional students. Studies in Higher Education. Advance online publication. https://doi-org.ezproxy.muni.cz/10.1080/03075079.2019.1675621
[5] DesJardins, S., Ahlburg, D. A., & McCall, B. P. (1999). An event history model of student departure. Economics of Education Review, 18(3), 375–390. https://doi-org.ezproxy.muni.cz/10.1016/S0272-7757(98)00049-1 | DOI 10.1016/S0272-7757(98)00049-1
[6] Engrácia, P., & Baptista, J. O. (2018). Percursos no ensino superior: Situação após quatro anos dos alunos inscritos em licenciaturas de três anos. Direção-Geral de Estatísticas da Educação e Ciência (DGEEC). https://www.dgeec.mec.pt/np4/414/%7B$clientServletPath%7D/?newsId=902&fileName=DGEEC_SituacaoApos4AnosLicenciaturas.pdf
[7] Gilardi, S., & Guglielmetti, C. (2011). University life of non-traditional students: Engagement styles and impact on attrition. The Journal of Higher Education, 82(1), 33–53. https://doi-org.ezproxy.muni.cz/10.1080/00221546.2011.11779084 | DOI 10.1353/jhe.2011.0005
[8] Heitor, M., & Horta, H. (2014). Democratizing higher education and access to science: The Portuguese reform 2006–2010. Higher Education Policy, 27(2), 239–257. https://doi-org.ezproxy.muni.cz/10.1057/hep.2013.21
[9] Ishitani, T. T. (2003). A longitudinal approach to assessing attrition behavior among first-generation students: Time-varying effects of pre-college characteristics. Research in Higher Education, 44(4), 433–449. https://doi-org.ezproxy.muni.cz/10.1023/A:1024284932709 | DOI 10.1023/A:1024284932709
[10] Jinkens, R. C. (2009). Nontraditional students: Who are they? College Student Journal, 43(4), 979–987.
[11] Johnes, G., & McNabb, R. (2004). Never give up on the good times: Student attrition in the UK. Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 66(1), 23–47. https://doi-org.ezproxy.muni.cz/10.1111/j.1468-0084.2004.00068.x | DOI 10.1111/j.1468-0084.2004.00068.x
[12] Lopes, A. S., & Carreira, P. M. R. (2018). Adult workers in higher education: Enhancing social mobility. Education + Training, 62(9), 1101–1117. https://doi-org.ezproxy.muni.cz/10.1108/ET-03-2018-0056 | DOI 10.1108/ET-03-2018-0056
[13] Metzner, B. S., & Bean, J. P. (1987). The estimation of a conceptual model of nontraditional undergraduate student attrition. Research in Higher Education, 27(1), 15–38. https://doi-org.ezproxy.muni.cz/10.1007/BF00992303 | DOI 10.1007/BF00992303
[14] Murtaugh, P. A., Burns, L. D., & Schuster, J. (1999). Predicting the retention of university students. Research in Higher Education, 40(3), 355–371. https://doi-org.ezproxy.muni.cz/10.1023/A:1018755201899
[15] Park, J.-H., & Choi, H. J. (2009). Factor s influencing adult learners' decision to drop out or persist in online learning. Educational Technology and Society, 12(4), 207–217.
[16] Perna, L. (2005). The benefits of higher education: Sex, racial/ethnic, and socioeconomic group differences. The Review of Higher Education, 29(1), 23–52. http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.muni.cz/10.1353/rhe.2005.0073 | DOI 10.1353/rhe.2005.0073
[17] Santos, L., Bago, J., Baptista, A., Ambrósio, S., Fonseca, H., & Quintas, H. (2016). Academic success of mature students in higher education: A Portuguese case study. European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults, 7(1), 57–73. https://doi-org.ezproxy.muni.cz/10.3384/rela.2000-7426.rela9079
[18] Schuetze, H. (2014). From adults to non-traditional students to lifelong learners in higher education: Changing contexts and perspectives. Journal of Adult and Continuing Education, 20(2), 37–55. https://doi-org.ezproxy.muni.cz/10.7227/JACE.20.2.4 | DOI 10.7227/JACE.20.2.4
[19] Schuetze, H., & Slowey, M. (2002). Participation and exclusion: A comparative analysis of non-traditional students and lifelong learners in higher education. Higher Education, 44(3–4), 309–327. https://doi-org.ezproxy.muni.cz/10.1023/A:1019898114335 | DOI 10.1023/A:1019898114335
[20] Scott, M. A., & Kennedy, B. B. (2005). Pitfalls in pathways : Some perspectives on competing risks event history analysis in education research. Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, 30(4), 413–442. https://doi-org.ezproxy.muni.cz/10.3102/10769986030004413 | DOI 10.3102/10769986030004413
[21] Sorey, K. C., & Duggan, M. H. (2008). Differential predictors of persistence between community college adult and traditional-aged students. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 32(2), 75–100. https://doi-org.ezproxy.muni.cz/10.1080/10668920701380967 | DOI 10.1080/10668920701380967
[22] Souto-Otero, M., & Whitworth, A. (2017). Adult participation in higher education and the "knowledge economy": A cross-national analysis of patterns of delayed participation in higher education across 15 European countries. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 38(6), 763–781. http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.muni.cz/10.1080/01425692.2016.1158639 | DOI 10.1080/01425692.2016.1158639
[23] Stratton, L. S., O'Toole, D. M., & Wetzel, J. N. (2008). A multinomial logit model of college stopout and dropout behavior. Economics of Education Review, 27(3), 319–331. https://doi-org.ezproxy.muni.cz/10.1016/j.econedurev.2007.04.003 | DOI 10.1016/j.econedurev.2007.04.003
[24] Tinto, V. (1975). Dropout from higher education: A theoretical synthesis of recent research. Review of Educational Research, 45(1), 89–125. https://doi-org.ezproxy.muni.cz/10.3102/00346543045001089 | DOI 10.3102/00346543045001089
[25] Tinto, V. (1988). Stages of student departure: Reflections on the longitudinal character of student leaving. The Journal of Higher Education, 59(4), 438–455. https://doi-org.ezproxy.muni.cz/10.1080/00221546.1988.11780199 | DOI 10.2307/1981920
[26] Tinto, V. (1993). Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Attrition (2nd ed.). The University of Chicago Press
[27] Venegas-Muggli, J. I. (2020). Higher education dropout of non-traditional mature freshmen: The role of sociodemographic characteristics. Studies in Continuing Education, 42(3), 316–332. https://doi-org.ezproxy.muni.cz/10.1080/0158037X.2019.1652157 | DOI 10.1080/0158037X.2019.1652157
[28] Vickers, M., Lamb, S., & Hinkley, J. (2003). Student workers in high school and beyond: The effects of part-time employment on participation in education, training and work (Research Report LSAY-30). Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). https://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1033&context=lsay_research