Investigating the perceptions and experiences of ageism in mature students

Millie Bolt (Faculty of Medicine & Health)

Project overview

The topic of my fellowship is investigating whether, and to what extent, mature undergraduate students experience or perceive ageism during their studies.

The Access and Student Success (ASS) strategy aims to reduce the awarding gap (from 10% to 6.8%) and non-continuation gap (from 7.1% from to 4.4%) faced by mature students by 2025 and eliminated by 2030. However, little research has considered barriers for this group despite learners aged 21+ making up 35% of all students (n=12,920) at the University of Leeds.

While there are many barriers to mature students’ attainment and continuation, such as often being from a lower socio-economic background, working during study, and having caring responsibilities, it is unknown if ageism plays a role in these gaps.

The research approach

I will be using an electronic survey and listening rooms during this research.

If you would like to find out more about the project contact Millie Bolt

Each fellowship has a project sponsor that helps the fellows achieve impact across the institution. The sponsor for this fellowship is Louise Banahene

Project start date: September 2024