‘University opened up so many doors for me’: the personal and professional development of graduates from non-traditional backgrounds

Abstract

There is a substantial body of quantitative evidence about the benefits of higher education. However there is little qualitative evidence about the extent to which these benefits accrue to graduates from non-traditional backgrounds. This paper contributes to this gap in knowledge by exploring the experiences of a group of 15 graduates ten years after they had started at university. The cohort was unusual because they had all completed a collegelevel qualification before going on to study at an elite university. We draw attention to the impact of higher education on their positions in the labour market, as well as to their development of learning identities that supported them to make changes in their personal and professional lives. Although higher education brought real benefits to the cohort, including better employment prospects and the development of confidence in themselves, we show that they were clustered in various caring and public sector professions at the lower end of the graduate labour market.

Peer mentors' experiences and perceptions of mentoring in undergraduate health and sports science programmes

“…In response to the call to increase the enrolments of students between 18-30 years of age, the UK Parliament passed legislation that converted most polytechnics in England and Wales to what are known as "modern" or "post-1992" universities (Archer, 2007). The idea was towidenparticipation to populations of students who were more likely to attend a local polytechnic earning work-related qualifications than spend their limited resourcesstudying for the A-Levels (Archer, 2007;Christie, Cree, Mullins, & Tett, 2018). Although, higher education experiences are considered to transform lives and improve society by developing engaged citizens who make a valuable contribution to a nation's wellbeing, Brabon (2017) explains that the uneven nature of access to higher education is a primary inhibitor.…”

The ‘civic premium’ of university graduates: the impact of massification on associational membership

“…Jongbloed, Enders, and Salerno 2008) or their broader social responsibility (Ayala-Rodríguez et al 2019), and the impact of individual graduates within society. The latter has tended to focus on the general or personal development of graduates (Locke 2008), such as on their self-confidence and happiness (Bellfield, Bullock, and Fielding 1999), or on the transformative nature of higher education on an individual's life prospects or outlook (Christie et al 2018). There have been plenty of programmatic statements about what higher education ought to do, but a dearth of empirical analyses identifying the contribution of graduates on citizenship and civic engagementessential ingredients to Brennan's 'just and stable' and 'critical' society.…”

Mobilidade social e melhoria de vida de egressos cotistas das universidades federais brasileiras

“…Esse intento se baseia nos pressupostos de Hout (1984de Hout ( , 1988, Karlson (2019) e Torche (2011), que destacam que a vida de egressos de famílias de baixa renda melhora consideravelmente após o ensino superior, principalmente em relação à vida dos seus ascendentes imediatos. Seguindo Arrigoni (2018), Christie et al (2018), Barros (2019), Long (2007), Lyrio e Guimarães (2014) e , vamos também além ao tentar identificar que os benefícios não se restringem apenas a aspectos econômicos, mas que contemplam também benefícios não econômicos, igualmente importantes para os egressos, e que podem ser espraiados para pessoas ao seu redor, como familiares e amigos.…”

“…Nossos resultados sugerem que os benefícios do ensino superior para os egressos cotistas parecem ir além do aspecto econômico (BOWEN;BOK, 1998), contemplando também benefícios não econômicos como mudança de personalidade e aumento da autoestima (CHRISTIE et al, 2018). Os resultados amplamente convergem com a literatura brasileira que também encontrou evidências de benefícios não econômicos significativos de mudança de vida para melhor dos egressos cotistas do ensino superior (ALBANAES et al, 2020;ARRIGONI, 2018;BARROS, 2019;FERREIRA, 2018;LIMA, 2014;LYRIO;NASCIMENTO, 2018;REIS, 2020;SOTERO, 2009).…”

“…Além dessas limitações, a literatura internacional foca em analisar somente os benefícios econômicos obtidos com o diploma universitário e se esquece de realizar análises que procurem identificar também os benefícios não econômicos para os egressos, como seu desenvolvimento pessoal e intelectual, e possíveis benefícios para pessoas do seu meio social, como familiares e amigos, benefícios esses que representam verdadeiras melhorias de vida e são igualmente importantes aos benefícios econômicos (CHRISTIE et al, 2018). A presença na universidade, por exemplo, pode aumentar a motivação dos estudantes (ANELLI, 2020) e esse ambiente pode ser propício para a formação de um capital acadêmico, representado pela participação em atividades acadêmicas e extracurriculares na universidade, que promovem significativas mudanças de vida pessoal e inclusão social, especialmente para estudantes de baixa renda (WINKLER; SRIRAM, 2015).…”