Non-traditional entry routes to higher education: a cross-national study of inclusion in access for adults in New York State and Scotland

Nathaniel, Brittney (2025) Non-traditional entry routes to higher education: a cross-national study of inclusion in access for adults in New York State and Scotland. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

The lifelong learning topics of 'widening access' and 'widening participation', particularly for 'mature learners', have been of discerning interest to academics, educators, and policymakers for decades (Gallacher, 2010). In both the UK and U.S., initiatives have aimed to recruit and retain students from more intersectionally diverse and historically excluded backgrounds, particularly those above the traditional school transition age (e.g. Espinosa et al., 2019; Gallacher, 2010; Riddell, 2015). Such 'widening recruitment' initiatives have seen significant growth in each country (e.g. Calahan et al., 2022; Espinosa et al., 2019; Boliver, Gorard, Siddiqui, 2021). Scotland and New York State, in particular, both have a longstanding history of lifelong learning programmes and initiatives to address urgent skill shortages, enhance social and economic mobility, and support workforce development (Boeren, 2016; Reder, 2007; Roumell, Salajan, &Todoran, 2020; White & Lee, 2020). Despite this, most recent widening access policy still primarily benefit young, full-time, first-degree undergraduates, (e.g. Commission on Widening Access [CoWA] in Scotland; Excelsior Scholarship, 2017 & José Peralta New York State Dream Act, 2019). In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, mature student enrolment in higher education (HE) continues to decline in both regions (HESA, 2023; Kamssu & Kouam, 2021), highlighting the urgent need for the present multilevel, exploratory and experiential research in adult learning inclusive policy and practice. Using an ecological lens, it examines how individual, institutional, and policy factors interact to impact participation in higher education, guided by Boeren’s (2016) Integrative Model of Lifelong Learning Participation as the core conceptual framework for this analysis.

Situated within their respective policy contexts, this cross-national, multilevel qualitative study examines the impact of non-traditional trajectories into HE and the strategies employed by university stakeholders to facilitate access in the face of dwindling government funding in both regions. It explores the experiences of 24 adult learners (Scotland n=14, New York n=10) and the perspectives of 7 university stakeholders (Scotland n=4, New York n=3), to gain triangulated insights into current and future inclusivity of widening access and participation programmes for mature learners in a post-COVID world.

These triangulated findings highlight the significant impact of institutional habitus, learners' identity/belonging, as well as university 'reputation' and perceived elite status, on both learners’ experiences and stakeholders’ approaches to widening access. It further highlights the shared, and differential, institutional and learner experiences of bureaucratic/policyrelated barriers to both mature student access and HEI facilitation of access, into retention, achievement, and ideally satisfaction and shared belonging.

Ultimately, this study contributes to our understanding of how institutional and national policies affect mature learners’ trajectories, as well as how organisational identity and regional policies affect university stakeholders’ facilitation practices. It calls for strengthened, ongoing collaboration among researchers, HEIs/practitioners, and policymakers to develop sustainable strategies for mitigating challenges to mature student access and participation in higher education in a post-COVID world.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Subjects: L Education > L Education (General); L Education > LC Special aspects of education > LC5201 Education extension. Adult education. Continuing education
• Colleges/Schools: College of Social Sciences
• Supervisor's Name: Lido, Professor Catherine, Boeren, Professor Ellen and Osborne, Professor Michael
• Date of Award: 2025
• Depositing User: Theses Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2025-85628
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 01 Dec 2025 10:57
• Last Modified: 01 Dec 2025 10:58
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.85628
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/85628