Angela is a 32-year old woman, at level 200 studying on B.Ed Mathematics (Primary) programme. After a disrupted secondary education, she managed to achieve good enough grades to receive a government allowance and enter a teacher training college. After three years at the college she was appointed to teach at a primary school. Her ambition, however, was to become a graduate teacher. Over several years, and with the help of family and friends, she has managed to obtain a university place at a public university.

She finds that some of her lecturers assume that all students have been through a particular secondary school curriculum. Many of the topics that they are covering are completely new to her whereas many of her class-mates have some prior knowledge. She is keen to do well and is willing to work hard to catch up but feels there are gaps in her knowledge that prevent her from fully understanding lectures.

When she has approached lecturers to explain anything she feels those assumptions about prior knowledge continue to prevail. Here is her account of the situation:

If a mature student has a problem and approaches them I think they should consider the person and also when they are teaching they should not assume that we all know. They shouldn't because that thing is causing a lot of harm to our results, because if, let's say you are teaching me and you don't assume that I know and you give me all that I have to get, when you ask me to give you or to reproduce what you have taught me, I think I can give you the best.

Angela explains how mature students can often feel silenced and excluded in class:

At lectures, most of the elderly ones...we feel shy to answer questions...You know these young ones do not give respect to the elderly ones these days. Meanwhile we could have also given meaningful contribution in class but ... we also only keep quiet.

There is also a practical issue, as the timetable is often geared towards childfree students who live on campus. Angela has a family and finds it hard to get to lectures early enough:

I stay in town, I come to lectures, sometimes we have lectures as early as 5:00 am, very early, last semester for instance we had a course that we were having that lecture at 5:00 am and it's very bad. You see the lecture theatre is so small and we are many, we can't get into the room, so sometimes lectures will be going on and you will be standing outside. You do not hear anything.

The kind of assessment that is used on her course is always in a 'quiz' format even in non-Mathematics modules. The quiz questions make it hard for her to show what knowledge she does have, and they make it hard for lecturers to spot what kinds of problems students may have in understanding the course material.

Another worry that Angela has relates to her fluency in the English language and of having:

To compete with the students who have already studied seminaries, international schools and other schools which [they] have learned in… have used English language as their [language of instruction]. It took a lot of effort… to mix with these more… these other students and a lot of time to study… up to now I am housewife. Somehow this make me feel shame somehow because according to my basic education, I trying to speak English at the… maybe... secondary level but because it was the interior secondary we are using our mothers' language… more… many times. Here at the university, the same issue, sometimes I feel shame to speak with others because I say can I manage… can I arrange my grammar?

Another student, Beatrice, also comments on the normative assumptions held by her peers and lecturers:

So it was like they were all asking; 'which secondary school did you attend?' but I've up till now, I've never told them I never attended a secondary school, ...So it's like I compete with them alright too and so it makes me happy that even though I did not attend any secondary school I'm competing with those who attended secondary school. Sometimes I even make better grades than them.

The Equity Scorecards below show that mature students are at risk of withdrawing from their programmes.

1. What structures and practices present barriers and challenges for these students?
2. What do lecturers and other staff members need to do differently?
3. What strategic action needs to be taken to support mature students and ensure their retention?

Overview of Withdrawal on 4 Programmes according to Age, Gender and Socio Economic Status for the cohort of students completing in 2007/2008 at a Tanzanian Public University

Overview of Withdrawal on 4 Programmes according to Age, Gender and Socio-Economic Status for the cohort of students completing in 2007/2008 at a Ghanaian Public University

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