Adult Learning

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What Makes a Successful Mature Student?

Mary Gammon
Adult Learning 1997 8: 30
DOI: 10.1177/104515959700800414
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Official Journal of the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education

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What Makes A Successful

Mature Student?

A
lwuy Gurnmon recajvdu
dflloma inl~ublicrehfiomin
1996from Durhum College of
AppliedArLv and j'iCb?iolog~1.
She uwksfor 1niwfor.s Group
Firmciul Smiicu. ,She reshks
in Mi!by, Otiturio.

30 A

Mary Gammon

twenty-eight-year old single mother

starts academic upgrading in a community college. Her previous level
of education is grade nine, but she
realizes that in order to be self-sufficient, she will
need a job with potential for advancement. In short,
she needs to acquire the skills to ensure her future.
Of the approximately twenty-three mature students
that start at the same time as she does, a large percentage fail to complete the course. What is there about
this particular woman that sets her apart from the
others in her group?
The woman, who for our story we will call kin, had
many obstacles to overcome, beginning with finding
suitable daycare for her children. Lack of school-aged
daycare programs forced Ann to uproot her eldest
child, placing him in a new daycare and school; all of
this required formal request., letters of approval, and a
lot of patience. Still, k i n had constant concerns about
rumours of government budget cutting and the possibilities of the subsidy not being available for the full
duration of her program. However, daycare worries
were not the only problems. She also faced other barriers including the added costs of going to school:
clothes, major car repairs, fuel, extra fees for daycare
events, supplies, and a list that kept growing.
Ann's academic abilities were shaky; in fact, she
experienced increasing difficulty with her assignments. On top of this, she lacked a clear sense of a
career direction. A. she came closer to finishing her
upgrading, panic prompted her to enroll in a career
planning c o u ~ .
After exploration and research, Ann discovered a
career that she felt she would be happy with; her
excitement was at an all-time high. She had worked

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hard and felt that she had made ;i good choice. Her
hopes were dampened when a teacher made it quite
clear that he did not feel she could be succes.fii1 in
such a career. Ikvastated, Anti's first instinct W;LS to
quit. Hut natural stubbornness prevailed!
Ikciding to prove the teacher wrong, k i n finished
her upgrading with honors and applied for another
post secondary education program. She was happy
and confident when once again her hopes were d a s m
when she was placed on a long waiting list for the
program she had chosen.
k i n contacted the college and arranged a meeting
with the admissions staff to prove her determination.
Again, persistence paid off and Ann was to start college
in the fall.
Once accepted into college, kin's next hurdle
was financial. A bankruptcy claim from a previous
marriage made receiving assistance from The Ontario
Student Assistant Program (OSAP) seem hopeles.;
however, after and exorbitant amount of papetwork,
meeting, and verifications, approval was granted.
During her first semester, additional obstacles arose.
A. a mature student she found some of the youthful
antics of her classmates distracting, and her academics
were again causing some concern. It was suggested
that she be tested for a learning disability,the results
of which confirnied that indeed there was a learning
deficit. She rea~i7xdthat in order to keep up she would
have to work three times harder than others in her
class. Her stubbornness again took over, and she decided that she would work as many hours as necessary
request a peer tutor, and take advantage of the marlservices offered at the college to ensure her success.
k i n completed her second semester with honors,
and continued 011 to the second of a three-year

program. Nonetheless, her constant struggle

to keep up was evident to her peers and
friends, and there were many times when
she felt that she could not make it to the
end of the semester.
In addition to problematic academics,
Ann also had to overcome such impediments as harassment from her ex-husband,
low self-esteem, medical and emotional
problems of her children, and coming to
terms with a history of abuse.
To this da): Ann continues working
toward her goals, but while she persists,
she notices that so many others do not.
Research shows that the main reasons that
mature students drop out of school are lack
of money, lack of time, family responsibilities, stress caused by work loads, and failure
to adjust to the school setting as a whole. As
we have seen, Ann faced all OF these battles.
So what makes her different?
For Ann the answer is easy, mature
students who quit school do not want an
education badly enough. The key to being
a successful mature student, is defining a
goal that is strong enough to pull on
through the rough spots. The goal must
be realistic and obtainable; otherwise, it
is very easy to simply say, I quit!
Instead of quitting, enroll in a stress
management workshop, ask for a tutor,
seek budget counseling, practice good time
management, decide if personal counseling
is required, extend the program length to
lessen the work load, make use of the gym,
and find a trustworthy confidante.
Ann had a lot of help with her plight she took advantage of the help that is available to every student, just for the asking.
Ann learned how to ask.
I am Ann! I have experienced the struggles of a mature student!
For me, one of the most difficult aspects
of returning to an educational setting was
to accept opinions that differed from mine,
I had to learn that the teacher is there to
instruct not to destroy ones opinions and
notions, and that hearing something contrary to my beliefs made me examine my
own beliefs and in so doing, grow.
Also For me, it is a source of great satisfaction knowing that my choice of returning

to school was the right decision -the

choice that will shape my future and that of
my children. Im moving foreword and feel
that nothing -not finances, not learning
difficulties, not previous negative school
experiences, not childhood experiences nothing can stop my accomplishing the
goal that I have set for myself -success in
my chosen field! A
Job Pmljdw, mnlinuerlfiwnpage 27

Work Document Resume, references,

identification, attendance and punctuality
certificates, educational credentials, Program
completion certificate
Job Search Guides Occupational vocabulary, Self descriptors
*Interview tips and
checklist, sample cover
and follow-up letters,
employer contact
sheets, job research
guide, application data
sheet
*Daei t m are to be
used only in refertllce
portfolios
Help the Trainee Take Charge

A presentation job portfolio is a collaboration of program participants and staff. But

by its nature it is learner-centered since
trainees will only use the portfolio if they
feel that it represents them.
Staff help trainees take ownership by
putting production in trainees hands,
being flexible about organization and content, and ensuring a variety of materials for
trainees to choose from. With experience,
instructors begin to plan class activities with
an eye to the portfolio so that completed
class assignments reflect individuality, display various facets of job-related knowledge,
and fit into one portfolio sheet (single or
double-sided).
Notice Signs of Success

Job portfolios are rewarding to the trainees

and program staff. In our program, trainees

prepare portfolios at the start of job search

(about the fourth month of the six-month
program), Deciding what to put into the
portfolios, organizing them, and talking
about them helps trainees realize all that
they have accomplished and turns the stress
of seeking employment into excitement.
Some students who have not worked up
to capacity are energized to complete
assignments so they can use them in their
portfolios.
In the first year, we asked trainees to
complete a questionnaire about their
experience with job portfolios. They were
enthusiastic.
When the employer asked me questions,
I referred to the portfolio.
I showed the interviewer the outline of

the program. That got things going.

It captures all my experience in one
easy going book.
It helped me get everything organized
so I could get a job.
I liked putting my art work in it.
It helped me get ready by reviewing
some of the thing I had done and forgotten.
This has helped me a lot. Everything
in it I got on my own.
I show it to my friends.

Job portfolios are prepared with intensity

and are valued by trainees. In the two years
we have been using job portfolios, all participants have completed portfolios. Without
being reminded, students take them to job
interviews. No trainee has ever left a portfolio behind at the end of the program.
For program staff, planning for the portfolio is undying. It is our vehicle for integrated curriculum planning over the length
of the program. Does the use of job portfolios increase trainees employment rate?
In our program, trainees who are available
for work have gotten jobs. After the pilot
project, portfolios became an ongoing facet
of the program. We do not have a quantifiable measure of the influence of job portfolios on the program, but we do know
what portfolios cost. At $3.00per trainee
for report covers and sheet protectors, job
portfolios are worth it. A
March/April 1997

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