“Everybody gets one or two chances in life, this is my second!”: Risk and the construction of (mature) students’ biographies

Waller, Richard

Abstract

This article presents preliminary findings from a PhD study that began in September 2001. It seeks to outline provisional thoughts as to how the notion of risk influences the construction of biographies for mature students on an Access course at a Further Education college in the South West of England. Extracts from interviews undertaken with students are used in an effort to ground the theory in personal experience. The fear of failing the course thus reinforcing previous negative experiences of the education system and further damaging an already low self esteem are paramount for some of the cohort. Others meanwhile express worries over how non academic issues including family or monetary pressures and uncertainty about the future may jeopardise their chances of success.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 2, 2002
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2002
• Deposit Date: Feb 23, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 23, 2016
• Journal: Auto/Biography
• Print ISSN: 0967-5507
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 10
• Issue: 1&2
• Pages: 77-83
• Keywords: mature students, identity, risk, narrative research, non-traditional students, further education, higher education
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1084204
• Contract Date: Feb 23, 2016