Through a gerontological lens, using grounded theory methods and both qualitative and quantitative data, we investigated the "off-time" enrollment of mid- and later-life (MLL) community college students (age 40+) to explore how their enrollment decisions and academic goals are situated in the timing and intersection of life events and…

Mid-career men and women professionals describe their pervasive sense of 'lateness' retraining in law. Against industry patterns of lawyers wishing to leave the profession, these individuals had chosen to assert or reassert a desire to become lawyers partway through existing careers. What cultural narratives mediate the process of making this…

Adult professionals enroll in online graduate programs and rely on social support and on their ability to self-regulate to be successful. The literature on academic self-regulation among emerging adults (traditional college age) is ample, but we do not know how social support interacts with academic self-regulation among adult graduate students at…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the benefits of higher education in mid-life from the perspective of life course agency. Studies concerning the benefits of degree-oriented higher education have been mainly conducted using survey questionnaires and quantitative methods. In order to gain a more comprehensive picture, this qualitative…