Mature students in higher education: II. An investigation of approaches to studying and academic performance

ABSTRACT Mature students are often said to be deficient in study skills, but a recent literature review by Richardson concluded that they tended to exhibit more desirable approaches to learning. Using a shortened form of the Approaches to Studying Inventory, a comparison between 38 mature and 60 non-mature students taking the same course found indeed that the mature students obtained significantly higher scores on meaning orientation, and that they also tended to produce lower scores on reproducing orientation. In addition, in terms of both their persistence and their attainment, the subsequent academic performance of the mature students on their degree courses was at least as good as that of the non-mature students.