Navigating Higher Education "Nontraditionally": Opportunities and Obstacles in Post-Traditional College Pathways to the Baccalaureate.
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| Title: | Navigating Higher Education "Nontraditionally": Opportunities and Obstacles in Post-Traditional College Pathways to the Baccalaureate. |
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| Authors: | Spencer, George1 (AUTHOR) gcs8@nyu.edu, Case, Collin (AUTHOR) collincase@uga.edu, Chen-Bendle, Emily C.2 (AUTHOR) emily.chenbendle@uga.edu |
| Source: | AERA Open. 5/24/2025, Vol. 11, p1-16. 16p. |
| Abstract: | A growing number of students initially enroll at four-year institutions as "traditional" but encounter discontinuous college trajectories and an extended time-to-degree. Much is unknown, however, about these students, whom we define as post-traditional. Using Bourdieu's conception of capital as a framework, our qualitative study examines what stands in the way of these students completing a bachelor's degree on time and what helps them to finish. Using data from 40 post-traditional college graduates, we found that social isolation was a common barrier to persistence, compounding other difficulties with help-seeking and limited financial support. Post-traditional graduates were able to persist and overcome their obstacles by activating capital in the form of economic resources, acquiring bureaucratic know-how, and finding communities of support. By elucidating the complexities of post-traditional student experiences, we argue for higher education to embrace new policies and practices that improve how we serve the students often discussed as "nontraditional." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of AERA Open is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 190434664 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Navigating Higher Education "Nontraditionally": Opportunities and Obstacles in Post-Traditional College Pathways to the Baccalaureate. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Spencer%2C+George%22">Spencer, George</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> gcs8@nyu.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Case%2C+Collin%22">Case, Collin</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<i> collincase@uga.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Chen-Bendle%2C+Emily+C%2E%22">Chen-Bendle, Emily C.</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> emily.chenbendle@uga.edu</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22AERA+Open%22">AERA Open</searchLink>. 5/24/2025, Vol. 11, p1-16. 16p. – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: A growing number of students initially enroll at four-year institutions as "traditional" but encounter discontinuous college trajectories and an extended time-to-degree. Much is unknown, however, about these students, whom we define as post-traditional. Using Bourdieu's conception of capital as a framework, our qualitative study examines what stands in the way of these students completing a bachelor's degree on time and what helps them to finish. Using data from 40 post-traditional college graduates, we found that social isolation was a common barrier to persistence, compounding other difficulties with help-seeking and limited financial support. Post-traditional graduates were able to persist and overcome their obstacles by activating capital in the form of economic resources, acquiring bureaucratic know-how, and finding communities of support. By elucidating the complexities of post-traditional student experiences, we argue for higher education to embrace new policies and practices that improve how we serve the students often discussed as "nontraditional." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of AERA Open is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=190434664 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1177/23328584251343847 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 16 StartPage: 1 Titles: – TitleFull: Navigating Higher Education "Nontraditionally": Opportunities and Obstacles in Post-Traditional College Pathways to the Baccalaureate. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Spencer, George – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Case, Collin – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Chen-Bendle, Emily C. IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 24 M: 05 Text: 5/24/2025 Type: published Y: 2025 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 23328584 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 11 Titles: – TitleFull: AERA Open Type: main |
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