Not quite the ideal student: mature students’ experiences of higher education

ABSTRACT Although more students have formally gained access to higher education, universities continue to present students with norms and ideals that can function as invisible barriers to them. This paper investigates how norms and expectations in Danish higher education pose certain challenges to mature students, who, due to their age and often different life situations, do not fit the characteristics of the ideal student. Based on qualitative data, the paper shows that living up to the ideal includes engaging in social and extracurricular activities, as well as dedicating oneself to being a student. Moreover, the ideal relates to dominant ideas about the normal biography of university students. The paper contributes to the understanding of mature students’ experiences and provides a framework for unpacking how norms and ideals pose barriers to some students. Our findings underline higher education institutions’ responsibilities in challenging existing norms and ideals.