Keywords

Introduction

Entering formal university study as the first person in one’s immediate family to do so is inevitably a major challenge. The focus of this chapter is on key factors influencing the decision to undertake university study from FiF students who participated in Study B (as discussed in Chap. 1). Once they had made the decision to study, there were other factors to contend with, such as their own and others’ reactions, expectations and initial adjustments, as well as the support within and outside their universities, which helped to sustain them through this transition. This chapter examines this process of transition and adjustment, and the ways in which these students and others around them responded. The intent of this chapter is to provide an overview of collective findings, which will be unpacked more deeply in Part II of this book. The themes that follow provide a ‘big picture’ perspective on this research, which is defined in a more nuanced way in the subsequent chapters. In the process of becoming a university student and identifying themselves as such, there were significant personal transformations that emerged for these students. These adjustments and transformations are explored within this chapter, as well as the significant part that the institution itself can play in helping the student to transition into this new environment and in continuing to support the student’s journey.

Reasons for Coming

Why do FiF students decide to come to university at a particular point in time? For many students in our study, there was a catalyst for action—an event that had occurred which led, directly or indirectly, to the decision to study. This is consistent with other research into the experiences of those coming to university as FiF students (O’Shea, 2014, 2016), particularly those who are mature-age (May et al., 2016; Stone & O’Shea, 2012, 2019). McGivney (2006) talks about catalysts such as ‘others in their circle are doing it’ or a need ‘to deal with an immediate situation in their life (life transitions, illness, redundancy, bereavement, divorce)’ (p. 85). Jack Mezirow (1991) famously termed these catalysts ‘disorienting dilemmas’ (Debenham & May, 2005; Fleming, 2022). Various factors such as these were certainly present for many of the students in our research. The birth of a child, for example, was a major catalyst for Erin who said, ‘When I had her [daughter] I just wanted a change of career and it seemed like a good idea’ (29, single parent, one child, Information Technology, online). Also for Vicki, who reflected on possible trajectories for her future following the birth of her third child:

When [youngest child] came along—and she came when I was 39—I kind of had this moment of going “What am I going to do? Do I want to go back to what I was doing prior to her arrival or do I want to do something that is a little bit different?” (Vicki, 40s, three children, Enabling Program)

Most commonly, a change at home or at work had led them to review their life and to decide that they wanted to achieve something ‘better’.

Seeking a Better Future

I wanted to get a better job and have better prospects long-term. (Stuart, 24, Arts, online)

Seeking a better future, as Stuart was doing, is a common sentiment expressed by FiF students, particularly if this leads to a better quality of life than experienced by their parents (Lehmann, 2009; O’Shea & Delahunty, 2018). A key precipitating factor for many in our study was the realisation that they needed qualifications to advance at work, pursue their career goals and improve their income, as the following quotes illustrate:

I think it really came to a head when I applied for a promotion at work and was knocked back because I didn’t qualify … It was my boss’s job that I applied for and got knocked back. (Gemma, 42, partnered, 3 teenage children, Arts, online)

Probably the biggest thing was career progression. My degree is directly related to the job that I’m in currently and jobs that I wish to pursue in the future. (Barbara, 62, single, 2 adult children, Nursing, on-campus)

The theme of ‘betterment’—seeking a better future, financial security, a more meaningful existence, self-sufficiency—was present across all of the students’ stories in our research, as expressed by Tracey, ‘I need to find a career path, you know, learn something, get some more skills under my belt’ (35, partnered, two children, Enabling Program). The idea of needing to provide oneself with a challenge, which by implication would lead to betterment, comes across strongly in the words of Daniel:

Before I came to university I did a trade as a motor mechanic. I started out real young at 14 and by the time I was 24, I’d been there for 10 years in the same workshop and I needed more of a challenge. (30, partnered, no children, Engineering, on-campus)

Seeking betterment through improving income and employability was clearly articulated by Emma:

My husband and I have always been on low incomes together, combined incomes, so I think everybody knows that will ease a lot of stress and just to be able to live and pay the bills. I think everybody knows that university is a great thing for jobs. (Emma, 32, partnered, 1 child, Nursing, on-campus)

The emphasis on education as a path to improving employability and income is consistent with a shift that has been taking place over the past couple of decades. This has arisen from changes in understandings about the purpose of higher education (HE) ‘driven largely by the forces of global neoliberalism’ (Burke & Crozier, 2014, p. 53) in which the value of HE is seen less in terms of its contribution to society as a whole, and more in terms of its value to the individual’s earning capacity and employability (Danvers & Hinton-Smith, 2021). HE has become conflated with a ‘relentless promotion of employability’ (Williams, 2013, p. 89).

Tied up with the promise of improved employability through HE was a strong desire for financial self-sufficiency, particularly for some of the women in our study. Elle sought a university education:

So I can be self-sufficient. I don’t want to be on government payments forever. I want to be able to earn my own way and not rely on a man ever again, so yes, that’s pretty much it—rely on myself. (Elle, 33, single parent, three children, Arts, on-campus)

For many, entering university studies was a fulfilment of a long-term dream or ambition. While better employment may also have been a goal, it was the realisation of personal potential that was the driving force. In Ally’s words, ‘It was something that I always wanted to do. It’s not something that anybody in my family has ever done’ (39, single parent, two children, Psychology, on-campus). These themes of betterment and opportunity are explored in more depth in the analysis of specific student cohorts featured in the next part of the book. The repetitive nature of this theme indicates the deeply personal and embodied nature of the HE journey.

Prior Barriers

So what had stopped the mature-age students in this cohort from coming to university before now? In their research in Australian rural communities, Chapman et al. (2006) identify certain barriers that impede participation in education for adults. These include personal and societal barriers, financial barriers, geographic barriers, management barriers, and vision, mission and identity barriers. Many stories of participants in this study and in more recent research (Crawford, 2021; Delahunty, 2022) have indicated the presence of societal and identity barriers, particularly in the form of a lack of expectations or encouragement to go to university, and having no-one else in their family with university experience. These students may not have previously viewed university as a possibility for themselves, nor saw themselves as being suitable for university. This perception is summed up in this research by the words of one survey participant, who said that she ‘felt as though I was not smart enough to attend University’ (18–21, single, no children, Arts, on campus), whilst another explained that he:

was very hesitant at the start and I think it was partly why I put if off for so many years, because I was worried about not being smart enough and not knowing what to do. (30–40, single, no children, Criminology, online)

Circumstances while growing up also contributed to considering university study as an impossibility, as described by Rochelle:

I come from a broken family and there was child abuse in the family … I passed Year 10 and then I left and I had to find a job. The story at home was I was just unable to … complete the study so I went to work and now I’m trying to give myself what I wasn’t able to give myself when I was young. (Rochelle, 45, single, Arts, online)

A similar sentiment was expressed by a female participant who wrote:

The reason I didn’t attend university straight out of high school was because my father didn’t believe in educating a daughter and refused to assist in any way. (40–50, single, three children, Early Childhood Education, online)

Such experiences echo the findings of McLaren (1985) in her research with female mature-age students at a small adult education college in the UK more than four decades ago in the 1970s. At that time, McLaren found that most of the women she interviewed had left school by 16 as a result of parental and societal attitudes about education not being important for girls, where ‘most parents expected their daughters to marry young and to find a conventional job’ (p. 46). While times have changed significantly since then, many women entering university now in their 40s and beyond, as young women have experienced the type of societal restrictions on their education that McLaren describes (see, e.g., Stone & O’Shea, 2021).

Experiences of school can also make it difficult for some to consider further study in later years. A number of male FiF participants indicated the effect of negative school experiences:

[I] basically dropped out of school. I wasn’t actually disciplined or driven to go anywhere, didn’t really know my sense of direction … I had a fair few difficult and tumultuous years at school. (Nick, 39, partnered, four children, Education, on-campus)

I was asked to leave … I had sort of a violent past but that wasn’t the reason I was asked to leave; it was because I wasn’t participating in the work properly. I think they were very nit-picky about it but I chose to agree with them and leave. (Rick, 21, single, no children, Computer Science, on-campus)

There is evidence that women and men face different, gendered challenges within education (McNamara, 2022; Stone, 2013). Indeed, from research with male adult learners, Golding (2006) concludes that ‘it is men who have had the least positive formal learning experiences—particularly at school—who are most at risk and are less likely to … embrace any form of institutional, adult and community or formal learning’ (p. 176). Tett (2000) in her study of male and female mature-age working-class students at a small university in Scotland, also found interesting gender differences between the male and female descriptions of their school experiences. The men in her study tended to attribute their negative experiences to the teachers’ dislike of them for being too rebellious or argumentative, while the women were more likely to attribute their negative school experiences to pressure at home, through family responsibilities and expectations. Fran, for example, found that pressure from home impacted on her experience of school:

I wasn’t allowed to do art at school … when I spoke to dad about it more recently he said that it was possibly more about the fees at the time but, in my head, … nobody grows up to be an artist. That’s the statement I remember someone saying to me. (Fran, 53, single, one child, Fine Arts, online)

The impact of gender on the experiences of both women and men as students is discussed in more depth later in this book. Chapter 8 examines the impact of gender on the experiences of mothers within this student cohort, while Chap. 9 explores the role that gender played in the experiences of the male participants.

Sources of Inspiration and Influence

Our research provided insight into ways in which others were often a source of inspiration for FiF students, implicitly or explicitly influencing them to pursue university study and enabling them to forge different educational trajectories from their family ‘norm’. McGivney (2006) describes these ‘others’ as ‘influencers, catalysts or change agents [who] are hugely important in leading others into learning’ (p. 87). Within our study, participants named parents, friends, partners, children, teachers, work colleagues and managers as sources of influence and inspiration. Our research affirms the role that people such as these have in constituting the social context within which individuals seek to form and then fulfill their personal academic goals and objectives.

Inspiration from Home

Inspiration from those closest to the students, family members within their own homes, provided invaluable support. For example, partners were rated highly as encouragers:

I have a very supportive partner and he said “Just quit work. We don’t need you to work. This is what you really want to do so let’s focus on doing that”. (Marilyn, 31, Enabling Program)

Within their own families of origin, mothers in particular were frequently named as inspirers, such as by Misti who said, ‘My mum was always influential in my life in terms of wanting to progress to the next level and she was always extremely proud’ (30, single, Business, online). Also Samir, a 21-year-old in an Enabling Program, said that he was inspired, ‘Pretty much [by] my mum because she didn’t know much English as well, and all the time she’s been going to TAFE and doing TAFE courses and now she’s got a diploma in business.’ Not surprisingly, the role of inspirational others within the household was a recurrent theme that was highlighted across various cohorts of learners and will be returned to in Part II.

Inspiration from Work or School

Inspirational workplace colleagues such as managers were also a significant source of encouragement. Nicole reported that, ‘My old boss, she did [inspire me]… that’s pretty much whose direction I followed in’ (21, single, no children, Commerce, on-campus). Similar comments were also evident in the surveys such as, ‘My manager at the time was studying and working full time and she suggested I do the same’ (Female survey participant, 25–30, partnered, no children, Arts, online). Other colleagues at work provided inspiration through mentoring and encouragement, such as in Mandy’s experience:

There was actually a lady at work—when I had told her I wanted to be a teacher and that I eventually wanted to go back to uni and I told her that I was going to and I thought I’d have the time then to do it. She was a bit older, she was about 37 and she just went out of her way; she actually was the one who went and found all the online universities available at the time and she just said to me “You’re so young, get it done while you’re young”. (25, partnered, no children, Business, online)

The influence of certain teachers from school days persisted, at times for many years beyond school. Natalia, for example, said, ‘My music teachers in high school were always very encouraging and it kind of just inspired me to keep doing what I wanted to do’ (27, single, no children, Medicine, on-campus), while Gail reported that she ‘had a number of teachers in high school that were really encouraging and supportive and made me feel like university would be a really great pathway’ (23, partnered, no children, Midwifery, online).

Some participants had recent experiences of other formal study, which had further developed their interest and confidence in study and/or in a particular subject area, helping them to think about going on to university. For example, Emma commented that because her workplace ‘put me in a team leading role, put me through my Certificate IV’, this helped her make the decision to begin a degree in Nursing: ‘I finally thought, no, I should do this’.

These findings are similar again to those of Tett (2000) who found that all participants in her study were ‘able to give positive examples of learning which had taken place at a later point in their lives’ (p. 187).

Inspiration from Within

But inspiration also came from within themselves, such as for Ahmad, who described how ‘my views started changing and I really wanted to be successful … I was just tired of being the kid that never really cared about school’ (19, single, Financial Services, on-campus). At times ‘epiphanies’ came in the form of questioning long-held beliefs. This was the case with Paul who described a spiritual experience in which he:

started listening to a lot of podcasts and particularly I had a religious faith that was questioning, that so I was listening to a lot of commentators and philosophers on that and eventually left the faith but through that, really started to [become interested in] scientific method and things like that and that kind of really got me interested in further learning. (Paul, 47, partnered, four children, part-time Business, online)

For certain cohorts of learners, such as the female parenting students or those who were disrupting perceived life course, such internal inspiration was vital and will be explored further in following chapters.

Inspired to Make a Difference

Frequently, accompanying such personal epiphanies was a desire to make a difference more broadly (May et al., 2016). For example, a female survey participant describes how her own experiences and personal discoveries led to a desire to help others:

I’d gone through a rather difficult time personally suffering from depression and anxiety … In order to combat this I began exercising and became a personal trainer. This led me to want to be able to help others with these issues, especially in a world where obesity and unhappiness are becoming very common. All of these factors contributed to my decision to firstly commence study, but this program in particular. (40–50, partnered, two adult children, Psychology, online)

Altruistic intentions emerged time and again from the narratives, such as the following examples from the survey:

I want to make a difference in peoples’ lives, and I believe that I will. (Female, 40–50, Enabling Program)

I decided to pursue my dreams and gain a career where I could support my children and help other children. (Female, 30–40, Primary Education, online)

I felt that I could do so much more in my life that “meant” something. (Female, 40–50, Nursing, on-campus)

Perhaps understandably, those who had chosen degrees that would lead to work in the ‘helping’ professions, such as teaching or nursing, were also more likely to be the ones expressing altruistic views. Such degrees also tend to have an over-representation of women, consistent with gendered views about women being well suited to ‘caring’ roles, but it was not exclusively women who expressed these ideals. For example, a male survey participant commented: ‘I have always been determined to become an educator who could make a difference to children’s lives’, (18–21, Primary Education, on-campus). Another example was Roger, aged 46, majoring in Community Development (online Bachelor of Arts) who had ‘long been interested in psychology and in how the mind works and then helping people’. Roger’s full-time job was as a parole officer in prisons, and he wanted to ‘pursue something … even when I retire, where I can do a little bit of community work for free … voluntary work then I can give back to the community’. Nor were these altruistic intentions solely confined to the traditional helping professions, with one example being Georgia, 32, majoring in International Aid and Development online, ‘In my adult life I’ve done a lot of travel to developing countries so I wanted to make a difference.’

The desire for FiF students to be positive role models to their children was mentioned by many of the mothers in particular. Voices of student-mothers from the survey included:

I wanted to show my girls that they can do anything they want if they try and that it doesn’t matter when you do it. (30–40, partnered, three children, Arts)

I want to inspire my son. (25–30, partnered, one child, Enabling Program)

To set an example for my children regarding lifelong learning. (25–30, two children, partnered, Enabling Program)

Previous research has found that female mature-age students in particular are ‘keenly aware of the positive influence that their studies are having upon their children and the likelihood that their children will consider university as an option for their own future’ (Stone & O’Shea, 2012, p. 94). Similarly, Reay et al.’s early research (2002) found that women undertaking enabling courses in the UK ‘saw themselves as role models for their children’ (p. 11). Interestingly, this motivation was also present in a number of the men’s stories, as discussed in more detail in Chap. 9.

Making the Transition

The issue of attrition amongst the FiF cohort is a matter of concern (Crozier & Reay, 2008; Henderson et al., 2019; Patfield et al., 2021) particularly as provision of appropriate integrated support alongside the opportunity to study is the responsibility of institutions (Tinto & Engstrom, 2008). In our research with FiF students it was clear for the younger and older students alike, that there were significant challenges in developing a student identity, understanding university expectations and learning to meet the demands of university. Devlin (2013) makes the point that this is particularly difficult for students ‘who may not have the relevant cultural capital or familial experience with universities on which to rely to help them decode discourses and respond to implicit expectations within them’ (p. 941). Unless students are able to develop a sense of ‘fitting in’ and feeling that they ‘belong’ within the institution, engagement with their learning is much more problematic (Kift & Nelson, 2005).

Previous research tells us that support from others, both on and off campus, plays a major role in student persistence and retention (Devlin et al., 2012; Gibbons & Woodside, 2014; Krause, 2005). For example, Skilbeck’s (2006b) ‘superior conditions of learning’ (p. 52) include the importance of learners feeling supported ‘by colleagues, family, employers’ (p. 52). Also, Coffman and Gilligan’s (2002) research found that a high level of satisfaction with supportive networks enabled students to experience ‘higher levels of life satisfaction’ than those students who were less satisfied with their support networks (p. 152). In fact, according to Skahill (2002/2003) the social support network is ‘the most important criterion for staying in college’ (p. 39). More recently, Picton and Kahu’s research (2021) has uncovered ways in which ‘student support services potentially influence belonging, self-efficacy, wellbeing, and emotions as pathways to student engagement, and therefore student success’ particularly when there is ‘an individualised and integrated approach in partnership with academic staff, support professionals, and students’ (p. 11).

So how were these students feeling supported and validated? Their stories revealed a number of sources of assistance: fellow students, lecturers, university support services, and most particularly, family and friends off campus. The extent to which FiF students in this study relied upon support from friends, family and community is the subject of later chapters, while the following section outlines the value of internal support, both formal and informal, within their institutions.

Lecturers and Tutors

The importance of supportive teaching staff in the success of adult learners has been previously identified. For example, an Australian research project (Chapman et al., 2006) identified exemplars of good practice amongst adult education programs in a rural setting. These researchers found one important and noticeable element that contributed to the success of the programmes was the ‘dedication of the teachers and the care they extend to participants’ (p. 158). Also important for these adult learners was that they were ‘treated with respect and given a voice, which increase[d] their sense of belonging and being a valued member of the group’ (p. 158). Similarly, in a major survey into factors influencing student engagement across 25 Australian and New Zealand HE institutions, Coates (2008) found that student engagement with the institution is strongly linked ‘to perceptions of academic support’ (p. ix). Devlin et al.’s study (2012) involving 17 Australian universities points to the link between ‘inclusive learning environments and strategies’ and student success, for students from low socio-economic backgrounds, many of whom are FiF students.

Such research findings are borne out by the student stories in our research. The care and support that each had experienced from lecturers or tutors—some to a very significant degree—appear to have been extremely important factors in their persistence and successful progression through their studies. Mandy’s experience highlights the type of support and understanding that was so important to these students:

The tutors, they’re really good as well with getting back to you with responses… when my grandfather passed away … I emailed my tutor straight away … I just told her the story basically and they were really flexible and really understanding … they were fine for me to just submit my unedited version up front and then I had … five days to send them my edited copy. That was great, that really put my mind at ease. (25, partnered, no children, Business, online)

For Marlee, 19 and studying Nursing, the atmosphere of the campus she attended was important to her as it felt ‘more community and family-like’, due to the fact that ‘you run into each other and, you know, I see one of my tutors all the time and I say “hi” to her’. The friendliness and approachability of her tutor outside of class meant that ‘even if you just had a question, you feel a bit more open to ask about it.’

Support Services

In addition to the assistance received from academic staff, many of the students had found support services provided by their institution very helpful. Other research stresses the vital role of institutional support services in the success and progression of mature-age students. Skilbeck (2006b), for example, identifies ‘a range of support services’ as one of the key factors which contribute towards ‘good practice’ in adult learning (p. 63), Devlin et al. (2012) mention the importance of ‘making support services explicit’ (p. 49), while Coates (2014) finds that within Australian universities, ‘institutions placing a higher priority on provision of student support services have lower levels of attrition’ (p. 21).

Amongst the students in our research, specific support services such as personal counselling, disability support and learning support were mentioned as being particularly significant sources of help. Counselling assisted with confidence-building for students who were doubting their abilities, such as Tash, who sought help from the counsellor when distressed that she was falling behind:

So I thought “Okay, I’ll try the counsellor” and he was great. He just said, you know, “These things can happen and you can still do this in this time. Don’t even think about the last unit. Just make this one better”. That’s what I did and this last unit I’ve done I got a HD for it. (Tash, 24, Nursing, online)

Monique, another online student studying Education:

was going through a rough patch, I wasn’t sure about my academic writing. He [counsellor] said I needn’t worry about my academic writing. He could see from my record that I was getting better and not worse. So it was a period of insecurity I was going through. (49, single parent with two children)

Learning support services provided assistance with improving skills and as well as confidence, as described by Yvonne, a 38-year-old studying an Arts degree on-campus ‘really struggled’ but when she went to learning development:

[it] just helped me wrap my head around what being a good student was and how to get there, in a less stressful way. Teaching me not to be my own worst enemy really.

Abbey had sought help from both counselling and learning support:

I used to see a counsellor. She was helpful. Well people just tell me I can do and I’ve got to do it and like, yes, so learning support was always good for getting essays done correctly. (22, Arts, on-campus)

Generic ‘first port of call’ support services when offered, such as student advisors or student coaches, were also able to help students through some of the early difficulties as they made the transition into the unfamiliar environment of academe. Sharnie, an online Arts student, aged 59, said, ‘It would have been the [student] coach that really kept me going. … Having access to that sort of help really is crucial’, while Naomi, quoted below, found that speaking with a student advisor helped her access a range of institutional supports:

I came across a student support advisor … she helped me … transfer into a psychology degree and … then I wanted to do some learning development so she helped me. (Naomi, 19, Psychology, on-campus)

Naomi also talked about the importance of being ‘steered in the right direction’ through being linked up with the right people and services. ‘You know, they link you, everyone links you. Even your lecturers or your tutors, you just ask them a question and they will steer you in the right direction.’ Having these linkages provided by all staff with whom she came into contact clearly made a significant and positive difference to Naomi’s experience of university.

Disability services were another important source of support. Bethany was experiencing ‘severe depression since the passing of my partner’ and found ‘the help was really good when I needed it … I could email them and tell them and they would be very encouraging’ (57, Legal Studies, online). Nicole, suffering from severe repetitive strain injury in her wrists, reported, ‘My DLO [Disability Liaison Officer], took the time to get to know me, “Oh what do you do on the weekends? How was your weekend? Oh fab”. She took the time to get to know me as a person’ (21, Commerce, on-campus).

For online students in particular, proactive support by staff who reached out to them was highly valued as it helped them to feel less isolated and ‘alone’. For example, one survey participant wrote that staff were ‘sending emails to remind you things and it’s just a feeling, know[ing] that someone else has your back’ (Female, 18–21). A similar sense of connection was experienced by Donna as a result of proactive, outreach support:

You know, you get that random phone call just to check in. That’s very helpful because sometimes it’s nice to hear another human being’s voice in the same situation, just to let you know how you’re going and you just think, “Wow, how did you know today was the day that I really needed to have someone check in and just say ‘Hey is your study like this? Are you coping like that’” and you go “Yes”. The reality from that is again, you’re not alone. (Donna, 36, partnered, two children, Psychology, online)

Friends

Friends within the institution were frequently mentioned as key sources of support and encouragement. Some friendships developed directly as a result of institutional activities and teaching practices. For Allyssa, it was attending weekly peer-to-peer mentoring sessions. At first:

I was like, “Why do we have to do this for”, but I found it really beneficial and it was a good way to meet people as well because you were just chucked in with randoms and yes, all talking and … Some of my really good friends are from peer-to-peer now. (Allyssa, 29, single, no children, Arts, on-campus)

The way in which classes are structured, particularly in first year subjects, can impact on the extent to which friendships can be formed. As reported by one participant, Aria, within her faculty students were placed in groups (called ‘pods’) and remained in these for the entire first year. This allowed friendships to be fostered and sustained, ‘It’s definitely been easier to make friends especially I think with the way the law faculty does the pods’ (Aria, 18, single, no children, Law, on-campus).

The importance of ‘in-class’ mechanisms for building social interaction has been demonstrated in previous studies such as that by Coffman and Gilligan (2002) in which they found that ‘in the classroom, faculty may further promote social interactions and support among students by designing assignments and class activities that encourage communication, interaction and cooperative learning among students’ (p. 63). Quinn’s (2005) research with second year female students at two higher educational institutions in the UK revealed that, for these women, connection with other students was of enormous importance to their sense of identity as university students; ‘a re-imagining of the self with and through others’ (p. 13). Mann (2001) likens the experience of non-traditional students to that of being ‘a stranger in a foreign land’ (p. 11), while May et al. (2016) tell us that ‘the imaginary of the ivory tower can be forbidding: its practices and languages alien and demanding, and its surfaces stone-like’ (p. 11). For FiF students, the forging of connections with others on campus is an important part of navigating ‘the new land of the academy’ (Mann, 2001, p. 12) and establishing their identity as university students is key through, for example, the creation of a community of practice with peers (Groves & O’Shea, 2019). In-class activities are one mechanism which provide social as well as learning opportunities. In a relatively ‘safe’ environment students are able to collectively navigate the expectations of university study. Indeed, sharing in-class activities may help cement important relationships, as described in the following:

My best friend at uni, we’re both doing environmental engineering and we’ve basically done the whole course together. We met on campus in the bridging course so before we even started and became good friends and then realised that we were doing the same course and we’ve done everything together and we’re pretty similar like we’re both not geniuses sort of thing but we both work pretty hard and have similar learning methods and I don’t think I would have been able to get through without a person like that supporting me. (Amy, 22, single, no children, Environmental Science, on-campus)

However, for online students, making friends within the university space was considerably more of a challenge, or indeed perhaps considered non-essential to the experience (Delahunty et al., 2014). Very few of the online students in our study mentioned making friends within university, while the majority talked about receiving support from ‘friends outside of university’ (multiple survey participants). There were occasional exceptions such as one survey participant who said, ‘My friends at University, whether they are in the same city/state or not, they encourage me to keep working hard, to keep looking at my goals’ (Survey participant, female, 18–21, online). Generally, forming friendships with others appeared to depend on the extent to which they were engaging with online forums and chats. The use of technology to help students connect with each other and their tutors is undoubtedly particularly important for online students. Devlin and McKay (2016) found in their research with students and staff at Australian universities that: ‘The capacity of technology to personalise the learning experience was seen by both staff and students alike as potentially beneficial to student success’ (p. 99). More recent studies (Hopwood et al., 2021; Muir et al., 2019) have pointed to the importance of the quality of communication between online tutor and students, along with appropriately interactive learning design, in encouraging students to be “more willing to communicate meaningfully with each other, hence furthering their sense of engagement with the online class as a whole” (Stone, 2021, p. 175). Online communications, however, can be problematic (Stone & Springer, 2019). For example, lack of reciprocity may be disappointing for those desiring, but not receiving, the active participation of their peers, and this in turn may diminish their own learning experience, as expressed in the following quote from a survey participant:

The only negative of doing the course online has been the lack of personal interaction with others. Many choose to use social media rather than the online posts provided as discussion forums which minimizes the opportunities to share and learn from one another. The restrictions of netiquette also tend to dampen fulsome debate and development of ideas as students tend to be very conscious of what they put online in the open forums—which sometimes may spill over into personal criticisms rather than objective critiques. (Female, 40–50, Modern History, online)

For online students in particular, family and friends were often key to the success of their educational endeavours, the experiences of this online student cohort discussed in more depth in Chap. 6.

Transformations

Research evidence points to a clear link between academic achievement and an increase in confidence, particularly amongst mature-age and FiF learners (McGivney, 2006; O’Shea & Stone, 2014). Chapman et al. (2006) identify the ways in which education amongst mature-age learners ‘assists in promoting deeper levels of personal wellbeing [and] social connectedness’ (p. 163). The development of confidence and social skills is not limited to mature-age students however, but applies to adult learning in general, from school-leavers upwards. The concept of ‘well-being’ and the effect of education on the well-being of students is mentioned in much of the literature on adult education. For example, Schuller (2006) reflects on how ‘education can act to enable people to sustain their wellbeing, to maintain it … in the face of the strains and stresses of everyday life’ (p. 16), while Skilbeck (2006a) also mentions the ‘personal wellbeing’ (p. 126) that results from adult education. The process of learning, is clearly one that is a significant catalyst for personal growth and change (O’Shea & Delahunty, 2018).

For many in this study, a process of self-discovery was taking place, a sense of finding out who they really were and of what they were capable. Many were beginning to define themselves differently as they discovered their own intelligence and competence. With this came a new confidence in themselves, as expressed by Tamara, an Enabling Program student in her 30s with two young children, when she says, ‘I’ve found that coming, it’s really good. Like I feel like I’ve blossomed as a person if that makes any sense … I feel like, I can do this. I have the ability. I’m not an idiot’.

Another aspect of this shift in identity was the development of a greater sense of personal agency, independent achievement and the possibilities this opened up for further independence. For Rochelle, ‘It’s a completely new experience for me. New and beautiful. It’s a fresh start for my life really. That’s the way I feel. It’s really encouraging. It’s good’ (45, single parent, one child, Arts, online).

Tash said, ‘I can see this bigger picture like, “Wow, once I’m a nurse, I’m going to be doing this and it’s going to be fun. I’m going to like going to work every day”’ (24, partnered, no children, Nursing, online). Abbey, at 22, single with no children and studying Arts on campus, felt ‘more confident about being challenged … and since then, it’s made me want to go overseas’. Corey felt as if she were ‘travelling to a foreign country, and I’m just able to experience a whole new world’ (30, single, no children, Education, online).

Quinn’s (2005) research with women from low socio-economic backgrounds at university talks of ‘women carving spaces in order to resist and rebel’ (p. 12). For the women in Quinn’s study, university represented a place of resistance to the life from which they had come; a life typified by poorly paid and unsatisfying jobs and economic insecurity. For them, university was ‘a hard won freedom’ and a means of ‘resistance to a destiny shaped only by supermarkets, call centres and lonely train stations’ (p. 12). Certainly this applied to some of the women in our research, for whom, as outlined earlier in this chapter, study represented the opportunity to gain financial independence, potentially to be liberated from unfulfilling jobs, and to be perceived as having more to offer. Amongst the male participants there were also transformations that related to personal changes within themselves, such as Graeme, who said, ‘I’m more acceptable to outside ideas, heaps smarter now, I’m more tolerant’ (31, single, no children, Science, on-campus).

Family transformations were also occurring, as Evelyn noticed in her family:

I think that the respect and the understanding for further education has increased to the point where my husband says to my daughter, “You can do anything you want after finishing Year 12 as long as it’s university” [laughing], a little bit going too much the other way but I think it’s good that my daughter sees me studying. (52, partnered, one child, Librarianship, online)

Hence not only individual transformation but also transformation into the next generation was taking place, with the real possibility of ‘lasting change that has an impact, not only on the individual but also on communities in an ongoing basis’ (Beck, 2006, p. 107). In the words of one of the male participants:

You want to instill knowledge and instill the best wisdom into your kids so they’ve got the best tools to survive through life … I guess it’s going to be a chain reaction of events I think where hopefully it will benefit them. (Nick, 39, partnered, 4 children, Primary Education, on-campus)

Conclusion

This chapter has outlined the key motivations and inspirations for undertaking study that emerged from the stories of the FiF students interviewed and surveyed for Study B, described in Chap. 1. It has also explored aspects of their transition into university studies and the support systems at university that were helpful to them. For FiF students, such systems can be particularly important, as they struggle to understand an environment that is totally unfamiliar to them, without any family members who are able to help them interpret and navigate this foreign landscape. The role of family, of friends outside of university, of workplaces and communities, is also highly significant, as these can all be powerful allies in supporting FiF students. While this chapter has not discussed these other important sources of support, both Chaps. 8 and 9 provide in-depth discussion of the role that these significant others play in the lives of FiF students.

Finally, this chapter has highlighted the ways in which becoming a university student led to personal transformations, which are likely to have ramifications not only for the students’ own futures but also for the future trajectory of others around them, particularly children. In the next part of the book, the focus shifts from a ‘wide angle’ view to deeper analysis of the experiences of specific student cohorts and those surrounding them. We acknowledge that to a degree these learners experience overlap but our objective is to both highlight the congruity across this cohort whilst simultaneously foregrounding the particular biographical and contextual factors that impacted upon them.