Abstract
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This paper is based upon research with Australian students who were
the first in their family to come to university. The studies sought to explore how
attending university impacted upon both the learners and their families,
particularly the intergenerational implications of this attendance. Drawing on indepth
interviews conducted with older university students enrolled in a medium
sized regional university, this paper will focus on how this mature cohort
articulated the ways in which they drew upon life and work experiences during
their transition to university. Applying the Community Cultural Framework
(Yosso, 2005) this article proposes that these learners brought a range of
capitals to the higher education environment including what has been termed
‘experiential capital’. In exploring the characteristics and sources of these
capitals, the paper will include suggestions about how higher education
institutions might seek to both recognise and nurture such resources within the
tertiary sector.