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A Critical Journey Towards Lifelong Learning: Including Non-Traditional Students in University

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Higher Education in Ireland

Abstract

While a great deal of progress has been made towards increasing non-traditional students in Irish higher education (HE), this achievement is tempered by the very low base from which this task commenced. A once elite system of third-level education has evolved into an increasingly diver- sified and flexible network of institutions of mass education. The overall rate of admission has risen from 20% of school leavers in 1980 to 46% in 1998, to 55% in 2004 and to over 60% in 2007 (Byrne et al, 2008, p.33). The gov- ernment (HEA, 2008a) is committed to further increasing participation up to 2015 and in this way address a range of social issues and disadvantage (DES, 2000, 2001; NOEA, 2005, 2007, 2008; Skilbeck and O’Connell, 2000), and the HEA in 2008 set a key national target of 72% entry to higher education by 2020.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Adult and Community Education, National University of Ireland Maynooth (NUIM), Ireland

    Ted Fleming (Senior Lecturer) & Fergal Finnegan (Lecturer in Adult and Community Education)

Authors
  1. Ted Fleming
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  2. Fergal Finnegan
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

    Andrew Loxley , Aidan Seery (Director of Research) & John Walsh (Ussher Lecturer in Higher Education),  (Director of Research) &  (Ussher Lecturer in Higher Education)

Copyright information

© 2014 Ted Fleming and Fergal Finnegan

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Fleming, T., Finnegan, F. (2014). A Critical Journey Towards Lifelong Learning: Including Non-Traditional Students in University. In: Loxley, A., Seery, A., Walsh, J. (eds) Higher Education in Ireland. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137289889_9

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