Abstract
Mature age students comprise a significant portion of the first year engineering in-take at the University of Western Sydney (UWS). More than 30% of the undergraduate engineering students in UWS are classified as mature age students. Some lecturers in first-year teaching units have an impression that mature age students are committed, resilient and perform better in their studies while tutors in some first year units observed that mature age students tend to struggle in areas such as programming, mathematics and basic sciences. Also as mentioned in a number of different studies, mature age students tend to have many challenges that typical school leavers do not face; having to support themselves and their families through part-time or full-time work and lack of continuity in their formal studies are two of the key factors (De Silva et al. 2012; Tones et. al. 2009).
| Original language | English |
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| Title of host publication | Proceedings of the 16th International First Year in Higher Education (FYHE) Conference, 7-10 July 2013, Te Papa Tongarewa, Museum of New Zealand, Wellington |
| Publisher | First Year in Higher Education Centre |
| Number of pages | 1 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9780646906157 |
| Publication status | Published - 2013 |
| Event | International First Year in Higher Education Conference - Duration: 6 Jul 2014 → … |
Conference
| Conference | International First Year in Higher Education Conference |
|---|---|
| Period | 6/07/14 → … |