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This research project was an inquiry into the experiences of Aboriginal women who have undertaken higher education degrees as mature-age students. The main focus of this research was to gain an insight as to why mature-age Aboriginal women enrolled in a higher education degrees and why they did not undertake this study straight from school or at a younger age.

This chapter is based around the method of narrative inquiry of auto-ethnographical and autobiographical methods.

This research has found that although there were many differences in the lives of these women. They had different educations, family lives and financial situations. There was, however, one key component and that was their communities and families as well as their responsibilities to those communities and future generations.

The implications of this review suggest that the future benefits of this research will be that the participants will be able to assist their communities to ensure that all women who wish to attend higher education have the support they need. The participants are now in a position due to their education to develop a further network of mature-age Aboriginal women who they can call on for assistance in their communities by way of information sessions and contacts within the university setting.

The more we, as Aboriginal women, are involved in education, the better our families and communities will be in regards to health. It is my belief that, if we as Aboriginal women can gain a good education we can provide a much better environment for our families and communities. In providing educational opportunities we then provide better employment prospects leading to the advancement of health and wellbeing for our families and communities.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship of undergraduate university students’ course experience (learning community (LC), clear goals and standards, student support, study-family affect (SF affect) and autonomy) to their well-being, as measured by psychological engagement (dedication, absorption and vigour) and burnout (exhaustion and disengagement/cynicism).

First-year psychology students (n=128) were surveyed using previously validated measures of their well-being and experiences at university.

Belonging to a LC (where students were encouraged to develop fluidity with the subject matter and share insights) was positively related to students’ psychological engagement. By contrast, the provision of ready access to course materials did not predict student engagement. Knowledge of goals and standards predicted that students would find course work energising (vigour). Respondents reported that SF affect (where participation at university enhances family life) was related to their engagement at university. In addition, mature age students (over the age of 25 years) reported higher levels of engagement in their study than did younger students.

The dominant predictor of student well-being (LC) was redolent of two important psychological human needs (affiliation and mastery). The central nature of this variable to student well-being is therefore currently undifferentiated and calls for the application of more finely tuned instruments to predict student well-being.

The current research applied measures from the widely validated Course Experience Questionnaire (Ramsden, 1991) as predictors of students’ psychological engagement and burnout. It highlights the value of personal relationships and community in university students’ mastery of difficult course material.

The purpose of this paper, informed by an action research framework, was to evaluate how a collaborative approach between unit facilitators and learning advisors in a first-year core business unit contributes to an environment where students are actively engaged in their learning. Student engagement in their learning is a key priority for university faculties, particularly in first year, as it is a key factor in student performance and persistence in their studies.

Using the Australasian Survey of Student Engagement as a benchmark, a mixed-methods approach was adopted using an online survey (n = 171) and focus groups (n = 17).

Findings indicate that specific cohorts of students benefit from this collaborative learning model, as it encourages students to actively engage in their learning, provides them with early feedback on their performance, encourages self-reflection and provides transferable skills that form the foundation of their future learning.

The current study contributes to student engagement literature pertaining to the factors affecting student engagement in higher education.

The key lesson learnt is that the future success of embedded learning support relies heavily on building strong relationships between academic and professional staff.

This paper aims to make a contribution to the current lack of literature in the Australian context by reviewing qualitative feedback collected from students in five private higher education institutions. In particular, the paper seeks to examine factors influencing student choice to study at private higher education institutions and student perceptions of such institutions. Previous studies on this topic are mostly focussed on universities with lack of research with the booming private higher education sector.

This study draws data from five different private for-profit higher education institutions in Australia. It involved feedback from 120 students undertaking higher education courses in different discipline areas at different stages of study. The study involved 15 focus group interviews with eight students in a group. The selection of students was based on the representation of different characteristics of student such as: male/female, domestic/international, and discipline areas.

An analysis of the data collected from the students across these five institutions indicated that the main factors influencing student choice can be grouped in six domains. These are: student perception; access and opportunity; learning environments; quality of teachers; course design; and graduate success. This study reinforces that student perception of the private for-profit higher education institutions is an important factor in influencing student choice to study at the institution.

The limitation of the study was the ability to interview more students from larger colleges, across all discipline areas. However, the time and length of the focus group interviews was largely managed by the five institutions.

The private higher education sector has experienced consistent growth in the last few years in Australia. Currently, there is no qualitative research done in Australian private higher education on factors influencing student choice to study with private institutions. The rise of such providers require research on insights about student choice, student expectation and their experience.

The history of Australian education is outlined. Then the pattern of present access to higher education of persons of different social classes is examined by analysis of data from the National Social Science Survey 1984–5. Trends identified include a worsening of the labour market for school leavers, deferring entry to higher education, an increasing population of mature students, and a decrease in the price of non‐government education.

Mature student numbers across England’s Higher Education (HE) sector have been declining since the rise in tuition fees in 2012. Leading up to Brexit, there is a need to upskill the national workforce to provide services and skills currently sourced from the EU. Mature students play a key role in this process, as HE study can add to existing industry experiences, knowledge, and skills. Hence, the HE sector in England is beginning to evaluate and change the way in which universities and colleges can provide support to mature students from recruitment to the completion of their course.

Institutions can encourage a sense of belonging in mature students through the use of mature student mentors and ambassadors at open days, and as points of contact throughout any course. It is important to create a mature student community to provide an appropriate support network, but equally academic staff should encourage the engagement of mature students with their younger peers.

This chapter provides an insight into relevant research literature and uses examples from a case study based in a small HE provider setting to make practical recommendations for academic staff, support staff, and areas of institutional practice.

This paper is based on a pilot study undertaken at an Australian university that has successfully recruited students from Mongolia. The study examined the factors that attracted Mongolian students to study in Australia and at the subject university, as well as students' expectations before arrival, barriers to learning and the university's key areas and services that support learning. The study also examined areas in which the learning experience could be improved, as well as personal, social and cultural gains apart from academic achievement, and the role of education agents in helping students to choose the subject university.

The student cohort consisted of all graduate students. The qualitative survey included eight questions, which primarily aimed to examine the reasons behind Mongolian students' decision to study in Australia. The online survey was pilot-tested with a focus group consisting of academic staff to ensure that the survey was working properly and to ensure that the questions were worded appropriately and easily understood. Based on the responses of the focus group, some questions were reworded to solicit effective responses.

The study found that Mongolian students were attracted to an English-speaking country and high quality of education. Their expectation prior to arrival was a university campus as portrayed in marketing material, including expansive open spaces. The study also highlighted the need to diversify student profiles at metropolitan locations. It found Mongolian students made friends, learnt a new culture but faced learning difficulties too.

Many studies have examined the factors influencing students' decision to study in certain countries. While previous studies have focussed on large countries such as China and India, emerging sources of international students such as Mongolia are ignored. The focus on Mongolian students is original in Australia and overseas.

The purpose of this study is to describe university students’ motivations for using Facebook as an informal learning tool and explore the key barriers that may inhibit learning on the social media platform.

A case study approach was adopted in this study. Participants were 82 university students who participated in “e-Tutor” – an informal learning activity, conducted through Facebook. Focus group interviews were conducted, and students’ interactions on Facebook were also analysed to understand their motives for using the social media platform for learning. The uses and gratifications theory was used to explore student motivations for participating in the learning activity.

Results suggest that students perceived Facebook as a potential tool for learning and identified multiple motivating factors for their participation that included information seeking, convenience, connectedness, entertainment and reward seeking. Results also show that time constraints, social anxiety and cultural issues may inhibit learners’ active participation on social media platforms such as Facebook.

This study outlines an approach to use readily available and low-cost technological tools in learning design and provides some insights for teachers to design ubiquitous and personalised learning environments for students using such technologies, particularly social media. Specifically, Facebook offered a way to engage students in informal learning which can supplement students’ formal learning trajectories at university. While the uses and gratifications students sought through Facebook had an overall positive effect on their participation in e-Tutor activity, certain barriers can impede student active participation in learning environments on social media sites such as Facebook.