A systematic review of research on nontraditional students reveals inconsistent definitions and a need for clarity: focus on U.S. based studies
BackgroundThe term “nontraditional students” (NTS) is widely used in higher education research, but its definition varies across studies.ObjectivesThis systematic literature review aims to examine how researchers define NTS in U.S.-based studies and identify potential definitional issues.MethodsWe c...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Education |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2024.1434494/full |
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| author | Cory Brozina Aditya Johri Alanis Chew |
| author_facet | Cory Brozina Aditya Johri Alanis Chew |
| author_sort | Cory Brozina |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | BackgroundThe term “nontraditional students” (NTS) is widely used in higher education research, but its definition varies across studies.ObjectivesThis systematic literature review aims to examine how researchers define NTS in U.S.-based studies and identify potential definitional issues.MethodsWe conducted a systematic review following PRISMA guidelines, searching EBSCO databases (Education Research Complete, Education Full Text, and ERIC) for peer-reviewed articles published between 2018 and 2022. We analyzed 65 papers that met our inclusion criteria to assess the definitions used for NTS. In this systematic literature review we focus on the definitional issues related to how researchers use the term nontraditional students in US-based studies. We review 65 papers from search results containing 432 papers to understand how researchers define nontraditional students. Of the 65 papers reviewed fully, 33 papers included a specific definition of nontraditional students, 15 included an unspecified definition of nontraditional students, and 17 papers did not include a clear definition at all. Our work suggests that researchers use a clearer definition, such as from the NCES, to define nontraditional students and focus their attention on the seven categories given by NCES. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-130811c7ccbe4fab965459013b310ad3 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2504-284X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Education |
| spelling | doaj-art-130811c7ccbe4fab965459013b310ad32025-08-20T02:39:08ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Education2504-284X2024-12-01910.3389/feduc.2024.14344941434494A systematic review of research on nontraditional students reveals inconsistent definitions and a need for clarity: focus on U.S. based studiesCory Brozina0Aditya Johri1Alanis Chew2Rayen School of Engineering, Youngstown State University, Youngstown, OH, United StatesDepartment of Information Sciences and Technology, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, United StatesRayen School of Engineering, Youngstown State University, Youngstown, OH, United StatesBackgroundThe term “nontraditional students” (NTS) is widely used in higher education research, but its definition varies across studies.ObjectivesThis systematic literature review aims to examine how researchers define NTS in U.S.-based studies and identify potential definitional issues.MethodsWe conducted a systematic review following PRISMA guidelines, searching EBSCO databases (Education Research Complete, Education Full Text, and ERIC) for peer-reviewed articles published between 2018 and 2022. We analyzed 65 papers that met our inclusion criteria to assess the definitions used for NTS. In this systematic literature review we focus on the definitional issues related to how researchers use the term nontraditional students in US-based studies. We review 65 papers from search results containing 432 papers to understand how researchers define nontraditional students. Of the 65 papers reviewed fully, 33 papers included a specific definition of nontraditional students, 15 included an unspecified definition of nontraditional students, and 17 papers did not include a clear definition at all. Our work suggests that researchers use a clearer definition, such as from the NCES, to define nontraditional students and focus their attention on the seven categories given by NCES.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2024.1434494/fullnontraditional studentssystematic literature reviewUS-baseddefinitional issuesresearch |
| spellingShingle | Cory Brozina Aditya Johri Alanis Chew A systematic review of research on nontraditional students reveals inconsistent definitions and a need for clarity: focus on U.S. based studies Frontiers in Education nontraditional students systematic literature review US-based definitional issues research |
| title | A systematic review of research on nontraditional students reveals inconsistent definitions and a need for clarity: focus on U.S. based studies |
| title_full | A systematic review of research on nontraditional students reveals inconsistent definitions and a need for clarity: focus on U.S. based studies |
| title_fullStr | A systematic review of research on nontraditional students reveals inconsistent definitions and a need for clarity: focus on U.S. based studies |
| title_full_unstemmed | A systematic review of research on nontraditional students reveals inconsistent definitions and a need for clarity: focus on U.S. based studies |
| title_short | A systematic review of research on nontraditional students reveals inconsistent definitions and a need for clarity: focus on U.S. based studies |
| title_sort | systematic review of research on nontraditional students reveals inconsistent definitions and a need for clarity focus on u s based studies |
| topic | nontraditional students systematic literature review US-based definitional issues research |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2024.1434494/full |
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