Nation, Lauren Beverley (2021) How Non-traditional Students’ Boundary Flexibility and the Hours They Work Impact their Work-Study Outcomes. Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
Current university demographics show non-traditional students, those aged 25 and over, are becoming the new norm. This population is more likely to be employed and have larger financial responsibilities, therefore needing different types of support. The current study is part of a larger 3-year longitudinal research project that collected data at three time-points, jointly conducted by the University of Southern Queensland and Griffin University in Australia. This study looked at data from time-point one for non-traditional students, N = 495, and firstly aimed to explore how non-traditional students balance their boundary management by looking at their flexibility-willingness and flexibility-ability in the work and study domains. Secondly it aimed to explore if weekly work hours predicted flexibility, and was there a significant difference between mean scores for work-study conflict and work-study facilitation when participants were grouped based on their work hours. Work flexibility-ability, study flexibility-willingness, and study flexibility-ability all correlated with work-study conflict and facilitation. Work flexibility-ability was a predictor for both work-study conflict and work-study facilitation. Work hours predicted both flexibility-willingness and ability in the study domain. Participants working 16 hours and under had the lowest mean scores for work-study conflict and facilitation, while full-time workers had the highest mean scores. There were significant differences between groups for work-study conflict and work-study facilitation. Findings can help guide future policy pertaining to non-traditional students. Limitations of the study are identified, and future research is recommended.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Psychology and Counselling (1 Jan 2015 - 31 Dec 2021) |
| Supervisors: | Sonya Winterbotham |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) |
| Date Deposited: | 31 Jul 2025 01:45 |
| Last Modified: | 31 Jul 2025 01:45 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | non-traditional tertiary students ; work-study conflict ; work-study facilitation ; boundary management ; flexibility-willingness ; flexibility-ability ; work hours |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52610 |
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