The representation of mature students in governing bodies of a Portuguese university

With this text, we try to understand if – and if so, how – mature students are represented by and in the governing bodies of higher education institutions. With a theoretical framework that values above all the institutional dimension, we carried out thirteen semi-structured interviews with students...

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Main Authors: José Pedro Amorim, Felismina Viterbo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Linköping University Electronic Press 2024-02-01
Series:European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults
Subjects:
Online Access:https://rela.ep.liu.se/article/view/4862
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author José Pedro Amorim
Felismina Viterbo
author_facet José Pedro Amorim
Felismina Viterbo
author_sort José Pedro Amorim
collection DOAJ
description With this text, we try to understand if – and if so, how – mature students are represented by and in the governing bodies of higher education institutions. With a theoretical framework that values above all the institutional dimension, we carried out thirteen semi-structured interviews with students and faculty members who are part of the various governing bodies with student representation of a Portuguese higher education institution. The data show that (i) the functioning of these bodies tends to be known only by the students who participate in them, (ii) the bodies usually react to, rather than prevent, the problems that arise, (iii) mature students are perceived as a source of ‘difficulties’ and ‘needs’, and (iv) student representation in governing bodies does not seem to fairly and equitably represent all students, and some specificities of mature students (among other underrepresented groups) seem to be made invisible.
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series European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults
spelling doaj-art-4f70c2df535549aa994e9e2a13d593e62025-08-20T03:01:08ZengLinköping University Electronic PressEuropean Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults2000-74262024-02-0115110.3384/rela.2000-7426.4862The representation of mature students in governing bodies of a Portuguese universityJosé Pedro Amorim0Felismina Viterbo1CIIE/FPCE-University of Porto and Paulo Freire Institute of PortugalFPCE-University of PortoWith this text, we try to understand if – and if so, how – mature students are represented by and in the governing bodies of higher education institutions. With a theoretical framework that values above all the institutional dimension, we carried out thirteen semi-structured interviews with students and faculty members who are part of the various governing bodies with student representation of a Portuguese higher education institution. The data show that (i) the functioning of these bodies tends to be known only by the students who participate in them, (ii) the bodies usually react to, rather than prevent, the problems that arise, (iii) mature students are perceived as a source of ‘difficulties’ and ‘needs’, and (iv) student representation in governing bodies does not seem to fairly and equitably represent all students, and some specificities of mature students (among other underrepresented groups) seem to be made invisible. https://rela.ep.liu.se/article/view/4862mature studentsstudent representationstudent participationhigher educationjustice
spellingShingle José Pedro Amorim
Felismina Viterbo
The representation of mature students in governing bodies of a Portuguese university
European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults
mature students
student representation
student participation
higher education
justice
title The representation of mature students in governing bodies of a Portuguese university
title_full The representation of mature students in governing bodies of a Portuguese university
title_fullStr The representation of mature students in governing bodies of a Portuguese university
title_full_unstemmed The representation of mature students in governing bodies of a Portuguese university
title_short The representation of mature students in governing bodies of a Portuguese university
title_sort representation of mature students in governing bodies of a portuguese university
topic mature students
student representation
student participation
higher education
justice
url https://rela.ep.liu.se/article/view/4862
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