Australian and international mature students: the daily challenges

TLDR

The study investigates the learning climate and obstacles faced by mature students in Australian universities, charting their daily activities to identify factors that facilitate or hinder their studies. Using Csikszentmihalyi’s Experience Sampling Method, the authors collected data from mature students—primarily science majors who had taken first‑year mathematics—through multiple data‑gathering techniques to map their daily routines. The resulting synopses revealed patterns in activities, lifestyles, motivations, and study attitudes, enabling analysis of both individual and group experiences.

Abstract

In this paper, we explore the learning climate and possible obstacles faced by mature students enrolled in Australian universities. More specifically, using the Experience Sampling Method devised by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, we chart the daily activities of Australian and international students and examine these for factors which may facilitate or detract from their studies. Our sample comprised students who had taken mathematics as part of their first‐year load. Most were thus enrolled in science and related courses. Multiple data gathering methods were used. These provided coherent synopses of the participants' activities, lifestyles, motivations, and attitudes to study that allowed us to focus on individual as well as group experiences.