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The methodological discourse of mixed-methods research offers general procedures to combine quantitative and qualitative methods for investigating complex fields of research such as higher education. However, integrating different methods still poses considerable challenges. To move beyond general recommendations for mixed-methods research, this chapter proposes to discuss methodological issues with respect to a particular research domain. Taking current studies on the transition to higher education as an example, the authors first provide an overview of the potentials and limitations of quantitative and qualitative methods in the research domain. Second, they show the need for a conceptual framework grounded in the theory of the research object to guide the integration of different methods and findings. Finally, an example study that investigates transition with regard to the interplay of the individual student and the institutional context serves to illustrate the guiding role of theory. The framework integrates different theoretical perspectives on transition, informs the selection of the research methods, and defines the nexus of the two strands that constitute the mixed-methods design. As the interplay of individual and context is of concern for teaching and learning in general, the example presented may be fruitful for the wider field of higher education research.

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.

Indian higher education system is supposed to be the source of equal opportunities to all students irrespective of their life circumstances. Does it succeed in realizing this ideal? In fact, the system of higher education inadvertently plays a critical role in constructing and recreating the inequalities between groups. The prime victims of inequality are first-generation students, whose disadvantages are unseen, their voices ignored. In India, first-generation students are typically confronted with the dynamics of caste-based inequality in addition to their deficiency in cultural and social capital. In this context, the purpose of this study was to examine the difference between who goes and who stops for higher education across generational status. Field survey data of 930 senior secondary students was employed as the basis for analysis. Findings of this study highlight that the gap between realization and planning is more in first-generation students as compared to their counterparts. Results of logistic regression indicate location, category, family income, academic achievement, stream of education, and social and cultural capital are pertinent factors that influence educational attainment of first-generation students.

The transition from school to higher education is a complex process. Peer mentoring is often used by institutions to facilitate this process. The purpose of this research, which was conducted at a South African university, was to determine whether a peer mentoring programme, which involved a large number of students and a limited number of mentors, could successfully assist students to adapt to the academic and psychosocial demands of university life.

A sequential explanatory mixed method design was implemented. In the first phase, a questionnaire was used to collect data to establish participants' experience of the programme. The findings from the questionnaire were used to inform the qualitative phase, in which the participants' perceptions of the benefits of the mentor programme were further explored by means of group interviews. The qualitative data were analysed using inductive qualitative content analysis.

The results indicate that a structured peer mentoring programme, in which a mentor works with up to 70 mentees in a group setting, can be a useful tool to assist with students' transition to university. The research found that the peer mentoring programme contributed to the students' academic, social and personal integration into the higher education environment.

The perspectives of mentors and faculty were not included. No comparative study with students who did not participate in the programme was conducted.

This research illustrates that it is possible to mentor large groups of disadvantaged and vulnerable students notwithstanding limited resources.

In contrast to the existing literature on peer mentoring in higher education, which focuses on one-on-one or small-group mentoring, this research suggests that peer mentoring of larger groups can also play an important role in assisting students to transition to higher education. The description of the programme and the benefits students derived from it offer other institutions with limited resources some ideas about how a peer mentoring programme can be implemented.

Through exploration of the Addressing Higher Education Access Disadvantage (AHEAD) Program, this chapter will outline how outreach programs contribute to national equity targets, university social responsibility practices, and university recruitment targets. The chapter explores innovations in tertiary outreach and its relationship to the student recruitment chain. Presenting insights and considerations to higher education (HE) leaders regarding approaches to equity outreach at an institutional level and the benefits of authentic university-based outreach initiatives. The chapter will draw on the experience of the AHEAD program since inception in 2014, and the data relating to student impact and university first preference scores from the Tertiary Institute Service Centre database, to demonstrate the Program’s effectiveness in developing student aspirations for HE. Additionally, the available data suggest that the creation of place-specific aspiration and learning experiences within the program has resulted in a recruitment advantage for the host institution, despite the program presenting information and pathways for all universities in Western Australia. The chapter presents the position that institution-specific affinity and natural transition pathways are cultivated through programs that seek to engage with low socioeconomic communities with a focus on co-solving-specific demographic challenges.

This empirical study provides a phenomenological analysis of student veteran perceptions and experiences regarding student support programs in higher education and the accommodations provided for student with hidden wounds, specifically posttraumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries. Qualitative data were collected through semistructured interviews to answer the research question: What are the traits of student support programs in US higher education institutions that assist in the successful degree completion of student veterans coping with hidden wounds? Participants were military veterans who recently attended undergraduate degree programs at US-based higher education institutions. Data analysis through in vivo and thematic coding showed dominant themes related to student expectations of student support programs. These themes included acknowledging specific needs of student veterans as nontraditional students, communication between students and institutions, awareness of the stigma around disabilities, standardization of services offered, social groups to connect veterans to other veterans, and need for proactive assessment of students unwilling to initiate accommodation requests. Practical implications for higher education leaders to improve current student support programs and future research recommendations are provided to expand upon the need for improving student support programs in America and abroad.

There is limited discussion in the teacher education literature about the experiences of pre-service black male teachers generally and the ethnic diversity among black male pre-service teachers specifically. Thus, this paper aims to explore the experiences of Frank, a black male refugee health education major attending an historically black college and university (HBCU).

This research study is theoretically guided by selected tenets of Bush and Bush’s (2013) African American male theory and Goodman et al.’s (2006) transition framework and uses a qualitative approach to explore Frank’s transition experiences when coming to America, attending college and engaging in his student teaching experience.

Frank experienced some difficulty transitioning to America, as a result of not having a strong financial foundation. During his college transition, Frank believed that the HBCU environment was nurturing; however, he encountered numerous ethnocentrically charged hostile confrontations from US-born black students at his university because of his accent. While he had some disagreements with the US education system in terms of discipline, Frank believed that his accent served as an asset during student teaching.

This study adds to the burgeoning research that explores the intersectional identities among pre-service black male teachers. As we argue in this paper, researchers, policymakers and practitioners cannot treat black male teachers as a monolithic group and must contemplate the unique supports needed that can attend to the racial and ethnic needs of black male teachers.

This article aims to describe the role universities should play in student to work transition.

An objective bibliometric analysis is conducted and supported by qualitative assessments based on authors’ study of relevant papers.

Two themes emerge from the analysis: the first on the university's role in students' learning, skills and fits, in the transition process; the second on the university's role in engagement, motivation and support students in university-to-work transition.

From the analysis, no indications emerge on how universities could contribute to student-to-work transition in the context of Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development objectives. Furthermore, training students for the future is not an easy assignment in a fast-changing ecosystem. How can higher education prepare students to face future challenges if we only have partial and incomplete perceptions about possible futures? This vexes many policymakers, organisational leaders and educators. Finally, it could be an interesting next step to repeat the Bibliometrix research using subfield keywords to analyse revealed gaps.

The study shows that the topic analysed is complex from the managerial, political and social points of view. The issues addressed by studies in UWT so far, concern various aspects: development of student identity, student engagement, fit between higher education and labour market, student motivation, student emotions and learning approaches. The university-to-work transition theme has become a work in progress effort and will most likely continue for the foreseeable future.

Since research into university-to-work transition is fragmented, a comprehensive view of this theme seems necessary. Given the importance of the subject, this study will endeavour to fill this gap with an overall and organic perspective of the issue. This is one of the first attempts to grasp this research stream, which, over time, has paved the way to the intersection between “university-to-work transition” in business, management and educational fields.