Once students get to university attendance is no longer mandatory as it was in their secondary classrooms. This leads to students being able to make their own decisions regarding attendance and it is important, as instructors, to understand the reasoning behind their decisions to attend or not attend their classes. In an informal survey of 33…

This paper presents evidence that women and men benefit from having a higher percentage of female peers in post-secondary vocational STEM programs. I use idiosyncratic variation in gender composition across cohorts within majors within branches (campuses) for identification. Having a higher percentage of female peers positively affects students in…

This research uses photo elicitation to examine the lived experience of the contemporary college student. Twenty-one participants took photographs of their college experience for a week, selected the five pictures that best represented their college experience, and then participated in a semi-structured interview to discuss the pictures.…

This study explores whether a range of socio-demographical factors predict adult learner self-directedness in the context of South African open and distance e-learning higher education (ODeLHE). We observe significant differences between socio-demographical groups in the sub-dimensions of the Adult Learner Self-Directedness Scale. The study…

Prior research has demonstrated that paid work experience while in school is a predictor of postschool employment outcomes for youth with disabilities. For youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), early paid work experience in high school can provide a place to learn occupational skills as well as develop communication, problem solving and…

The COVID-19 pandemic has produced many changes in the lives of our students and families. In this article, the responses of students in criminal justice classes at a Hispanic serving institution in south Texas were collected and synthesized. The 252 responses were divided into seven frequently observed and repeated themes: jobs and job related,…

The COVID-19 pandemic will forever be known as a disruptive dilemma that impacted many industries in Australia. For the university sector, sudden lockdown and social distancing rules resulted in an acceleration in the provision of learning and teaching via online platforms, creating new challenges for students and educators. This project explored…

This study was conducted with first-generation students (FGS) at a moderately selective, large public research university in the Midwest. At the time of this study, the participating campus enrolled about 43,700 undergraduates, approximately 11% of whom were FGS. To conduct this study, the authors administered a campus environments survey to all…

This article examines how the detention or deportation of a parent shapes the roles and responsibilities of young adults within the household and the consequences that these changes have on their educational experiences. Drawing from thirty-two in-depth interviews with young adults living in the United States whose parent was detained, author…

Universities globally are aspiring to grow through investing in the delivery of online learning programmes. However, the attrition rate for online learning is high. It has been noted that those students with a sense of belonging to their course experience increased enjoyment and reduced anxiety and are therefore less likely to withdraw. Yet too…

Adapting new learning and teaching practices during COVID-19 pandemic has impacted students' learning in higher education. Using a cross-sectional research methodology, the study attempted to understand the cross-cultural impacts of COVID-19 on higher education students in Cambodia, Nigeria, Oman and Spain to determine the changes that COVID-19…

Students registering for distance education degree-level study frequently cite flexibility as a factor influencing their choice for this mode of study, but little is known about how students manage simultaneous and/or potentially conflicting roles. This study used a self-report open-ended online survey, completed by 348 tertiary-level final-year…

Postsecondary attainment is widely recognized as key to accessing living-wage careers--in addition to fulfilling workforce demands and elevating the United States' standing on the world stage. While much of the work to increase attainment rates has recognized the role of reengaging adults who have some college credit, but no degree or certificate,…

Objective: To examine poor sleep quality as a potential mediator between college students' employment hours and depressive symptoms, and to examine if this mediation model might differ across students reporting different levels of financial strain. Participants: The sample was collected through a multi-site study during the Spring of 2019 and…

In this pedagogical proposal, we utilized Feminist Pedagogy and narratives to reveal women's skills that they had silenced in their cover letters for employment. Five females' narratives were analyzed using aspects of the grounded theory method to answer the question: "What do women's narratives reveal about their personal skills otherwise…