Journal of Academic Development and Education JADE Issue 8 | Page 60
HIGHLIGHT #3 | 60
HIGHLIGHT #3
Title
“A bone of contention”:
reflections on the
experiences of mature
learners in social work
education
Authors
Helen E. Machin
DOI
http://dx.doi.org/10.21252/
KEELE-0000013
Contact
[email protected]
School
School of Social Science and Public
Policy
Faculty
Faculty of Humanities and Social
Science
Abstract
Research has found that mature, female
social work learners often face barriers
to achievement in higher education
due to the demands of managing
practice placements and classroom
learning around caring responsibilities
(Lister, 2003). This paper, originally
submitted as part of an MA programme
in Teaching and Learning in Higher
Education, reflects on a critical incident
that occurred during my teaching
practice with a group of social work
undergraduate students. By reflecting
on the incident and Knowles’ (1968)
theory of andragogy which informed
my response, this article explores the
experiences of mature female learners
in social work education. A discussion
of the extent to which I addressed the
needs of the learners and an exploration
of my failings form the basis of a
reflection on how to meet the needs
of mature female learners with caring
responsibilities in social work education.
Keywords
Mature learners, care, social work,
education
Introduction
Social work degree programs
in the UK have historically
attracted
mainly
mature 1 ,
female learners. In 2014/15,
59% of enrolments on UK
social work programs were
aged 24 or over, and the
majority
of
enrolments
were female (Skills for Care,
2016).
Although
statistics
that describe the caring
responsibilities of social work
students are not available, I
have noticed anecdotally in my
role as a Graduate Teaching
Assistant at Keele University
that many mature female
social work students have
caring responsibilities and,
often, financial considerations
that impact on their learning
experiences 2 . Studies have
indicated that mature female
social work learners face
a number of barriers to
success in higher education,
including lack of information
about services and support,
difficulties managing academic
and personal responsibilities
and financial concerns (Lister,
2003). Additionally, mature
social work students begin
their degree program with
diverse personal, professional
and
learning
experiences
and they may have roles
as carers, employees or
employers and community
leaders. Social work educators
need
to
consider
how
these experiences and roles
interact with the academic
environment which is largely
organised
around
the
traditional young learner in
higher education (Kasworm,
1990).
Universities in the UK have
a legal duty to promote
equality
of
educational
opportunity for all learners
with particular regard to a set
of protected characteristics:
age,
disability,
gender
reassignment,
pregnancy
and maternity, race, religion
and belief, sex, marriage and
civil partnership, and sexual
orientation
(Equality
Act,
2010). This national duty has
been translated into Keele
University
policy
which
emphasises the duty placed
on staff members to value
difference and to promote a
learning environment defined
by respect and responsibility
(University
Strategic
Plan
2015-2020).
This
paper
explores my attempt to fulfil
this duty and my failings with
respect to mature female
social work learners with
caring responsibilities.
Critical incident
The critical incident that forms
the basis of reflection in this
paper occurred prior to an
1. In this paper, “mature” refers to learners aged 24 and above. “Young”
refers to learners under the age of 24.
2. There are, of course, young adults who also have caring and financial
responsibilities that may affect their learning and mature learners who
do not. Socioeconomic status, gender and ethnicity also intersect with
age and impact on social work students’ experiences of learning in higher
education. However, a detailed analysis of the intersectional identity
issues that affect learners is beyond the scope of this paper.
HIGHLIGHT #3 | 61
“A BONE OF CONTENTION”: REFLECTIONS ON THE EXPERIENCES
OF MATURE LEARNERS IN SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION
undergraduate social work seminar with an all-female group of social
work learners. The seminar was focused on dissertation writing. In
preparation for the session, I asked learners to bring a paragraph of
their written work to the session to use during an activity designed
to support learners to practice editing writing. Prior to the seminar, I
received an email from one learner about the preparatory task. The
learner expressed concerns about the task, stating “a few of the class
are not at this point as yet for one reason or another and feel this may
be a bone of contention, as when others who are ahead discuss this
[their written work], it can lead to an atmosphere and induces stress
and panic”. A follow-up discussion with the learner revealed that
several mature learners in the group felt that the “younger” students
were making progress with their dissertation projects at a faster rate
due to having fewer personal and professional responsibilities to
manage alongside their studies. This contributed to a competitive
and tense classroom atmosphere for several mature female learners
in the group.
The concerns raised by the learners’ comments appeared to reveal
four issues:
1. Learners were concerned about the progress they were expected
to have made on their dissertation projects. Indeed, studies have
found a considerable gap between the academic expectations of
social work educators and student social workers’ views about
their own progress in relation to assessments and the type of
support required (Worsley et al., 2009).
2. Learners felt anxious about completing their dissertation project.
This experience supports the findings of social work education
literature in the US where social work students were found to
be extremely anxious about conducting research and engaging
with research methods modules (Harder, 2010, Macke and Tapp,
2012).
3. Mature learners’ anxieties were increased by comparisons
with younger students in the group who were perceived to be
progressing their dissertation projects at a faster rate. Although
the aim of the dissertation module within the undergraduate social
work programme is to develop learners’ research-mindedness
in preparation for practice, assessment has been found to lead
to competition within groups in social work education (Singh,
2001).
My response to this critical incident was implicitly guided by the
principles associated with adult learning in Knowles’ (1968) theory
of andragogy. According to Knowles, andragogy, separate from
pedagogy, is “the art and science of helping adults learn” (1980,
p.43). The theory of andragogy assumes that adult learners: 1) have