This article presents empirical research exploring adult returner students’ approaches to learning via qualitative analysis of a series of semi-structured interviews. Interviewees’ comments shed light on the relation between approaches to study on the one hand, and study skills, epistemological issues and attitudes to peer interaction on the other. The data suggest that this group of students adopt a reproductive approach to learning, which is coupled with rudimentary study skills and a dualist, right/wrong epistemology. This constellation leads to a certain scepticism regarding the usefulness of peer interaction, even although such student-centred types of teaching are held to promote ‘deep’ learning
This paper reports a qualitative investigation of the experiences of 18 students taking a year long, part-time pre-entry course designed to help participants choose a course of study and develop confidence in their ability to study at first year university standard. The particular focus for the research was information literacy, and the study sought to illuminate students’ reasoning underlying their information use. It was found that interviewees expressed greater confidence in the veracity of textbooks than websites, but that this contrast appeared to be based on a relatively unsophisticated epistemology. The interviews also suggested that students’ metacognitive awareness and control, particularly over the critical thinking processes by which candidate information is selected or rejected for study, were somewhat weak. The core characteristics of information literacy for this group are discussed and suggestions for follow-up studies and interventions to assist in improving matters are provided.
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