Integrating Mature Male Students in English Universities: A Phenomenographic Exploration of their Experiences within a Sociological Paradigm

This thesis explored the experiences of mature male students in access, progress and success in higher education (HE) viz a viz their motivations and aspirations for returning to education. The study in employing a phenomenographic research methodology situated in a sociological paradigm and through a longitudinal timeframe, explored the educational trajectories of fifteen mature male students at three Russell group universities in England. These students, through creative research methods of Lego modelling (Dalton 2020; Shipway et al., 2025) and visual timelines (Glaw et al., 2017) mapped their past, present and future amid disruptions of age, masculinity, mental health, social class and ethnicity (Gore et al., 2021; Mannay, 2021). In focusing on widening participation (WP) strategies, previous studies have focused either on the participation rate of all students from underrepresented groups (Banerjee, 2018) or on male and female mature students together (Reay, 2002; Stone, 2008) with a further gender bias towards females (Brooks, 2012a; 2012b; Lyonette et al., 2015), marginalising mature male students. This research foregrounds these students’ disadvantages in specific socio-spatio-temporal contexts vis-à-vis structural constraints and raises meaningful debates on the notion of hegemonic masculinities, where certain groups of men (the working-class, ethnic minorities, the colonized, the non-heterosexual, the disabled) do not enjoy the universal privilege of patriarchal power (Connell, 2020; Hutchings & Bloniarz, 2025). I consolidate theoretical approaches from existential phenomenology, gender and Bourdieu's theories to examine the interplay of individual agency, institutional processes and structural constraints.

Where my research highlights under recognised forms of male gender disparities in English universities, further exacerbated by educational disruption and mental health issues arising from adverse childhood experiences and deteriorating working conditions, it also recognises these students’ resilient sense of self and the transformative dimension of university education. I conclude by affirming HE’s emancipatory potential, while challenging the one-size-fits-all WP strategies and the universal phenomenon of male privilege. I push for gender-disaggregated data and integrated well-being frameworks for males, which would help direct institutional strategies effectively, informing Office for Students metrics providing evidence-based funding allocations under the Access and Participation Plans as well as public discourse on men’s mental health.