Title: Non-Traditional Entrants to Higher Education: They Talk about People like Me
Abstract: Non-Traditional Entrants To Higher Education: They Talk About People Like Me, by Marion Bowl. Sterling, VA: Trentham Books, 2003. 192 pp., $26.50, paperback. This book tells the personal and educational stories of thirty-two non-traditional students in the British higher education system. In the United Kingdom, non-traditional is defined as students who are older than the usual eighteen to twenty-five year old undergraduate demographic. The term non-traditional is also used to describe students of ethnic minority and/or disadvantaged backgrounds. As is the case in the United States, these students are most often underrepresented in postsecondary settings. The author, Marion Bowl, interviews these students and effectively narrates the triumphs and challenges of their educational journeys. Students interviewed for the book were of African, Caribbean, Asian, and Caucasian descent. All participants took part in Birmingham Reachout, a government-sponsored, community-based initiative designed to provide opportunities for working-class and minority citizens living in a disadvantaged section of Birmingham, England. The author served as the project's coordinator and its only full-time worker, thus enabling her to develop close working relationships with the participants. These relationships aided trust-building, resulting in revealing discussions that yielded rich, qualitative personal accounts. The research on which the book is based was conducted over a five-year period. The book is divided into two parts and is comprised of twelve reader-friendly chapters. In Part One, Talking About Education, readers are introduced to each participant through profiles that offer glimpses into their lives. In subsequent chapters, the participants' experiences are recounted through narratives that are interspersed with verbatim comments. Stories about past educational frustrations, getting into higher education, juggling time and money, and adjustment to college are shared. A highlight of the publication is the final chapter of Part One- The First Year: Learning from Experience. Participants provide nuggets of practical wisdom gleaned from their induction into academe. Many of these lessons are personal and reach far beyond the ivy-covered walls of the university. In Part Two, Paradoxes in Widening Participation, the author relates the findings of her research to current educational policies and practices of college admissions, curriculum, student advising, and financial aid. …
Publication Year: 2005
Publication Date: 2005-07-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 2
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