The purpose of this study was to determine the motivations and characteristics of returning female students ages 23-50 and to investigate the implications for the community college. Participants in the study were 30 female students ages 23-50, selected from required classes in math and English in a community college in Northeast Tennessee. The participants volunteered to participate in this study. Responses were grouped in three major categories: motivation, characteristics, and implications for the community college. The responses were then analyzed and compared with the information from the literature review. Findings suggested that job-related reasons motivated students to return to college, and these reasons were those that were most acceptable to family and peers. Self-improvement, however, was also a strong motivation. Job satisfaction seemed more important than high salaries. Many single parents wanted more for their children and further education was the only way they could get a better-paying job. These students were highly motivated, determined to reach their goals. Almost all of them had experienced some academic successes in their past, but most of them had families who were indifferent to higher education, and often, in the same family, attitudes toward the student’s attempt to obtain more education were ambivalent. Students did not express many problems in the areas of scheduling, transportation, or child care, even though the community college could be classified as a "commuter college." Their attitudes were positive toward the school, and toward their educational experiences. Most of them were enrolled in a business or medical curriculum. Students viewed general education courses positively. They saw such courses as expanding their outlook on life and opening up new worlds for them. All of the students said they would recommend returning to school to other women in their age group.

Adult women enter or reenter college for a variety of reasons, one of which is because of the loss of a job and the need to retrain for reentry into the workforce. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to investigate the actual experiences of female displaced workers entering community college, as compared with their initial expectations as adult learners. Data were collected through interviews with 23 displaced workers age 25 or older who were either enrolled in or had graduated from an associate of applied science degree program at Northeast State Technical Community. Interview transcripts were analyzed using Glaser and Strauss’s (1967) constant comparative method. Achieving particular grades, obtaining a degree, and being able to get a job were the primary ways in which the participants initially defined success. In addition, they attributed the success they achieved to the encouragement and support of their teachers, their families, and their peers as well as to their faith and personal dedication and determination. The barriers they encountered included dispositional, situational, and institutional barriers. Furthermore, they found their initial fears of not "fitting in" and of being too old to learn to be without merit. While they had underestimated the amount and level of difficulty of the work that would be involved, they had also underestimated their own abilities. Recommendations for future practice included conducting annual orientation sessions for faculty; semester reviews of course offerings and instructional delivery formats; and a series of 10, one-hour workshops, provided at the beginning of each semester, to help alleviate the fears that were consistently expressed. Additional qualitative and quantitative research was also recommended.

This qualitative study used phenomenological research methods to explore the lived experiences of single parents attending community college. The phenomenological research design was used to better understand participant experiences by examining the participant’s view of their situation. Thirteen single-parent students in community colleges in the United States were selected using purposeful sampling techniques. The participants included ten female participants and three male participants. Of these participants, nine students attended full-time, and four attended part-time. Each student participated in one-on-one interviews using Zoom technology. The participants provided their perceptions of their experiences as single parents attending community college. These participants described themselves and their experiences through the lenses of motivation, challenges, needs, and support. In these interviews, key themes emerged. These themes included the recognition that single parents struggle emotionally and feel disconnected, the acknowledgment of single-parent strengths such as time management, organization, and hard work, and the need for single-parent aid such as financial, childcare, and academic assistance. Additional themes included the challenge for single parents to juggle conflicting roles, the fundamental role of internal motivation and drive, and the importance of communication, mentorship, and support. The findings of my study can be used to further institutional practice and provide insight into guidance and support for single-parent students.

Transgender and nonbinary (TNB) people identify with a gender identity that differs from cultural expectations based on sex assigned at birth. Many TNB people pursue social and/or medical transition with the intent of affirming their gender identity to themselves and the world around them. Medical transition describes the process of utilizing one or more forms of gender-affirming medical care (e.g., hormone therapy, gender confirmation surgery, hair removal, breast augmentation, mastectomy) in order to change the physical body such that it is more congruent with an individual’s affirmed gender identity. Researchers suggest that many TNB individuals currently use or desire to use gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT), and that some TNB individuals desire or use nontraditional or non-standardized (e.g., low dose) hormone therapy regimens. Unfortunately, many TNB people encounter barriers in the process of accessing gender-affirming healthcare, especially individuals who are nonbinary and/or desire gender transition steps that are nontraditional or non-standardized (e.g., low-dose hormone therapy). In current research literature, little is currently known about the experiences and healthcare needs of TNB people who currently or desire to take nontraditional GAHT. To address this gap in the research literature, the present study was a qualitative study involving semi-structured interviews with 10 TNB people to explore their experiences connected to nontraditional GAHT. The grounded theory analysis revealed a core category: Nontraditional Gender Affirmation Model. The core category is comprised of five axial level categories: Social Processes, Medical Processes, Barriers to Accessing Medical Transition Care, Facilitators to Accessing Medical Transition Care, and Coping with Distress and Barriers. The five axial level categories are comprised of 30 open-coding level categories and 33 open-coding level subcategories. The grounded theory model developed depicts a framework of various phenomena involved in the process of gender affirmation for transgender and nonbinary individuals with nontraditional gender transition needs, including nontraditional approaches to GAHT. Implications for healthcare providers, psychological practice, and future research are discussed.

As of 2007, approximately 73% of the 18 million college students in this country could be identified as nontraditional (Ross-Gordon, 2011). A key characteristic distinguishing this group from the traditional college student is the influence of multiple roles of the adult learner on the learning and engagement process (Keith, Byerly, Floerchinger, Pence, & Thornberg, 2006). Ross-Gordon remarks on some roles that may provide life experience, an asset to understanding theoretical constructs otherwise immaterial to younger, traditional learners. However, it is important to recognize the complex dynamic of conflicting roles as challenges to the academic competence of nontraditional college students. This research examined the vague definition of the nontraditional student and the factors that influence the learning and engagement processes. Through the lens of Hermans and Gieser's (2012) dialogical self-theory and higher education discourse, a novel examination of group role identity salience is proposed as a useful model for improving the educational and social realities of the adult learner.

This study was an exploration of the relationship of the resilience of nontraditional, African American, commuter undergraduates and their academic and social involvement at a historically Black university. The researcher used the Personal Resiliency Questionnaire (PRQ), and a Student Demographic Questionnaire (SDQ.) The PRQ that contained 75 items and measured seven characteristics linked to resilience. The seven characteristics were (a) ?Positive: The World,? (b) ?Positive: Yourself,? (c) ?Focused,? (d) ?Flexible: Thoughts,? (e) ?Flexible: Social,? and (e) ?Proactive.? The SDQ included ten academic involvement indicators and ten social involvement indicators. The researcher defined nontraditional students as those who had indicated three of the following characteristics: (a) was single or married with children; (b) married; (c) was a commuter student; (d) worked full-time; and (e) would have been 24 years of age or older at the time of graduation. Based on the responses provided by the students that completed the survey the researcher identified which students were classified as nontraditional. The researcher reported that using a computer or word processor to prepare reports or papers, asking an instructor for information related to a course you are taking, using a computer lab or center to improve study or academic skills, and taking detailed notes in class significantly predicted several academic involvement indicators. The researcher further indicated, living in an apartment or dormitory if the university provided on-campus housing, supporting classmates? fundraisers, and visiting the university center significantly predicted several social resiliency indicators. The results of this study contributed to the field of higher education as they informed faculty, student affairs administrators, and other university professionals about the impact of academic and social involvement on the resiliency of nontraditional, African American, commuter, students. The researcher recommended that historically Black universities provided resiliency training to faculty and staff, who work with nontraditional students. Administrators should have a clear understanding of their personal resiliency and be willing to share their resiliency stories with others. A universal understanding of resilience and a desire to support the development of resiliency in others would be the first step in creating a resiliency community.

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