Funding education in mid- and later life: a case study from Victoria University of Wellington.

• Author: Davey, Judith

Abstract

Economic, social and demographic change is highlighting a need for lifelong education and training. However, older people face different challenges compared to students straight from school. The "Education in Mid and Later Life" study at Victoria University shows how students aged 40 and over managed to finance their studies, illustrating differences by gender, ethnicity and work status. It demonstrates the importance of work-related motives for study and outlines implications for policy.

INTRODUCTION

Major economic changes, pushed along by technological innovation, globalisation and market liberalisation, have destabilised labour markets in recent decades, resulting in unemployment and more volatile careers. At the same time, populations all around the world are ageing. Half the New Zealand population are now over 33 years of age and by 2051 half will be over 45. The mid-life bulge brings with it competition for jobs, especially more-senior positions. A third trend, deriving from the other two, is "credentialism", the increasing demand for more and higher formal qualifications, governing access to many areas of paid work. The combined effect of these trends suggests the need for further education and training in mid- and later life. To progress in a career and even to retain paid work may require retraining, further education and the acquisition of new skills and qualifications. Peter Jarvis summed up the implications of all these changes for education and underlined the necessity of lifelong learning if we are to cope with them successfully:

Today, no one can hope to amass during his or her youth an initial fund of knowledge which will serve for a lifetime. The swift changes taking place in the world call for knowledge to be continuously updated. (Jarvis 1997:99) This paper adopts the assumption that education can assist in adaptation to change, especially change in the labour market, and that government has a role to play in encouraging educational involvement by adults. However, returning to education in mid- and later life is very different from the situation faced by "traditional" students straight from school. Older people frequently have work and family responsibilities which make it difficult for them to commit to periods of intensive study. Time is a major barrier, but so is finance--especially where people have families to support and mortgages to repay. The paper further assumes that greater understanding of the issues surrounding educational participation for older adults will throw light on how government policy, and that of educational institutions, may help people to use educational opportunities as they plan and manage their futures in an ageing and rapidly changing society. As a contribution to this understanding, the paper presents a case study, taken from the "Education in Mid and Later Life" research project, of how students aged 40 and over at one tertiary institution in New Zealand have managed to finance their studies.

THE EDUCATION IN MID AND LATER LIFE PROJECT

Little information is available on the subject of how older students manage their education from the international literature, and in New Zealand there is no comparable study to the "Education in Mid and Later Life" research project. In general, the adult education literature, and that specific to New Zealand, is concerned mainly with participation and non-participation (Boshier 1970, 1971, Benseman 1992, Tobias 1991, Taylor 1995) and issues related to history, policy and the supply of services (Harre Hindmarsh and Davies 1995, Methven and Hansen 1996, Benseman et al. 1996, Tobias 1998). There are several small-scale studies of adults (frequently defined as ages 21 or 25 plus) at universities, some looking especially at women's experiences (Knight and Hitchman 1988, Miller 1993, Morrison 1995, Reeder 1997, Ash 1999). These say little about financial matters, and frequently the authors comment on the dearth of research in the area.

Methods

The "Education in Mid and Later Life" research project looked at the situation of people aged 40 and over who were taking up educational opportunities at Victoria University of Wellington. A postal questionnaire was sent out in early 2000 to everyone in the age group who was enrolled as a student in late 1999. This covered the circumstances leading to university education, current study experience, and educational, family and work backgrounds. There were open-ended questions on the incentives and barriers to achievement at university, leading to a pre-coded question on sources of finance during the period of study and another open-ended question on any funding difficulties that arose. Information was also collected on household and personal incomes as well as current participation in paid work. The data from 959 respondents (response rate 60%) was coded and analysed using SPSS, and verbatim comments were also recorded to assist with interpretation and presentation. A full report on the postal survey findings was published in May 2001 (Davey 2001). Nine follow-up studies, involving in-depth interviews, are being conducted on selected groups of older students.

Victoria University Students Aged 40-Plus--Sample Demographics

People aged 40 and over represented 10.4% of the total Victoria University student body in 1999 and 13% in 2000, according to university records. A comparison can be made with other New Zealand universities using recent information from the New Zealand Vice-Chancellors' Committee (NZVCC) University Graduate Destinations Surveys. The total population for these surveys is all those who have completed university qualifications in the relevant year. This is compiled from data provided by the universities themselves and can be used as a proxy for participation in education at this level. The universities vary in the proportions of graduates aged 40 and over. Massey had the highest figures (25%) in 1998 (related to the provision of distance education), followed by Waikato (15%), Auckland, Victoria and Otago Universities (all around 10%), with lower figures for Canterbury and Lincoln (NZVCC...