A ZJER article on the comparison between mature students and youthful students.The degree results of Business Studies and Law students who had entered the University of Zimbabwe through ‘mature entry' between 1990 and 1999 were compared with those of students who had entered university through the traditional A-level entry route. These students were matched for sex and the subjects studied. No significant differences were found for age or sex. The conclusion drawn from these results is that since there was no interaction between the two variables of mature entry and traditional entry there is no difference in performance between mature entry students and (traditional) A-level entry students at the University of Zimbabwe

Zindi, Fred

Central African Journal of Medicine

English

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ZIMBABWE JOURNAL OF EDU6AH0NAL RESEARCH
Strategies for Teaching Large Classes at Un 
Experiences from the Communication S
L. Chipunza
Volume 15 Number 1 March 2
ISSN 1013- 3445 
CONTENTS
Advanced Level Students' Perceptions of the Causes and Effects 
of HIV/AIDS:A Case Study of Masvingo Urban High Schools, 
Zimbabwe
Excellent Chireshe and Regis Chireshe
Pupils' Drawings of what is Inside Themselves: A Case Study in 
Zimbabwe
Viola Manokore and Michael J. Reiss
A Comparison in Performance Between Mature Entry Students and 
Traditional (A-Ievel) Entry Students at the University of Zimbabwe
Fred Zindi
Globalisation: A Menace To African Values And Education? 
Oni A. Adesoji
University Business Education in S
Nessan J
A COMPARISON IN PERFORMANCE BETWEEN 
MATURE ENTRY STUDENTS AND TRADITIONAL (A- 
LEVEL) ENTRY STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF
ZIMBABWE
Fred Zindi
Human Resources Resource Centre 
Faculty o f  Education 
University o f Zimbabwe
Abstract
The degree results o f  Business Studies and Law students who had entered the 
University o f  Zimbabwe through ‘mature entry ‘ between 1990 and 1999 were 
compared with those o f  students who had entered university through the 
traditional A-level entry route. These students were matched for sex and the 
subjects studied. No significant differences were found for age or sex. The 
conclusion drawn from these results is that since there was no interaction 
between the two variables o f  mature entry and 'traditional entry there is no 
difference in performance between mature entry students and (traditional) 
A-level entry students at the University o f  Zimbabwe.
Introduction
Since independence in April 1980, changes in educational policy at the Univer­
sity of Zimbabwe encouraged the increase in the number of students who 
enrolled into various programmes without the pre-requisite traditional qualifi­
cations, which are often three A-level passes. The policy of mature entry 
encouraged those people who had had at least five years experience in the field 
related to the degree programme in which they wished to be enrolled to enter 
university without the three A-levels and were aged at least 30 years, if male 
and 25 years, if female. However, before being accepted for study they had to 
sit an examination, which determined whether or not they would cope with the 
programmes being offered.
The mature entry examination consisted of:
(0 Problem-solving tasks e.g. mathematics tests;
4 4 -
Fred Zindi
(ii) English comprehension and grammar tests;
(iii) General knowledge tests;
(iv) Memory tests, and
(v) Essay writing.
Once satisfied that the students would cope well in the programmes, which 
they intended to pursue, the mature students (after passing the entry examina­
tions) would then be granted the opportunity to register for their respective 
degree programmes.
Studies conducted in Britain by Lovell (1980), Bromley (1988), and Salthouse 
(1989) suggest that older (mature) people do not perform as well as those of 
traditional student-age on measures such as problem-solving tasks, memorising, 
and I.Q. performance.
However, while the above tasks may be important at school level, they need 
not necessarily be of great importance at university level since tertiary educa­
tion is not just about memorising details but also involves exercising judge­
ment and using analytical, critical, and independent thought. According to 
Coleman (1990) the latter qualities increase with age. In addition, mature stu­
dents have their own experiences of the real world acquired from their respec- 
. tive places of work.
As the demand for higher A-level entry qualifications at the University of 
Zimbabwe increased in the mid-1980s (such as 10 A-Level points or above), 
due to limited number of places on the degree programmes on offer, mature 
students who had completed one or two A-levels but could not make the 
required points became disadvantaged. It was in view of this that a decision 
was reached that people with previous educational experience or who had 
participated in some form of study prior to entry to university should, there­
fore, not necessarily be at a disadvantage. According to Hartley (1986), previ­
ous educational experience can influence the effectiveness of new learning 
and the greater the relevant prior learning, the more easily new information is 
integrated.
Other studies carried out in the 1970s and 1980s on the performance of mature 
entry students in higher education have provided positive results. For in­
stance, Hopper and Osborn (1975) found that mature students at Birkbeck 
College (University of London) did almost as well as traditional students.
45
Woodley (1984) looked at the performance of mature students and traditional 
students in all British universities and found that mature students wdiagradu- 
ated were just as likely to gain a good degree, as were traditional students 
although there was a slightly higher dropout rate for the mature students.
More dramatic findings were reported by Lucas and Ward (1985) who found 
that at Lancaster University mature students were twice as likely as younger 
students to gain a first or upper second class degree and were only lialf as 
likely to gain a third class pass.
There is, however, evidence showing that the performance of mature students 
declines as they get older. Lucas and Ward (1985); Smithers and Griffin (1986); 
Walker (1975); Woodley (1984) all found the best results in the 25 to 30 age 
group but differences began to appear between mature and younger students 
as the mature students increased in age. They also found that things become 
a little more difficult for students in their late 60s and 70s.
This study assessed the performance of mature entry students compared with 
that of the traditional entry ones studying in two areas: Business Studies and 
Law at the University of Zimbabwe by examining archival data collected by the 
University’s Student Admissions Office over a 10-year period from 1990 until 
the end of 1999.
Method
According to the University o f Zimbabwe, a mature student should be some­
one aged at least 30 years, if male, and at least 25 years, if female.. The lower 
entry age for females is in line with the affirmative action policy, which was 
adopted by the University in 1996. To be a mature entry student one must also 
have at least five O-level passes which include English Language and Math­
ematics in addition to at least five years’ working experience.
Sample
The departmental records of students who entered the university between 
1990 and 1999 were obtained from the University Admissions Office. From the 
list of mature entry students in two Faculties, Commerce and Law, 51 students 
were taken from each faculty. These were then matched with traditional entry 
students who entered university in the same year as the mature students. 
They were also matched in terms of sex and the subjects studied. In the 
Faculty of Commerce 28 male students and 23 female students were used as the
Zimbabwe Journal o f Educational Research
46
Fred Zindi
mature entry sample while 32 male students and 19 female students were from 
the Faculty of Law.
Procedure
From the departmental records, each of fee targeted student’s final degree 
classification in each degree programme (Bachelor of Business Studies and 
Bachelor o f Laws Honours) was recorded. In order to facilitate fee data analy­
ses each degree class was converted into a score e.g. first class = 5, upper 
second = 4, lower second = 3, third - 2, pass = 1, and fail = 0.
Results
The distribution of the degree classes for fee mature and the traditional entry 
students for each degree programme were averaged to give fee overall mean 
scores as shown in Tables 1 and 2 below:
Table 1
Mean Scores Obtained by Mature Versus Traditional-entry 
Students in the Faculty of Commerce
Mature Students Traditional Students
Male (N=28) 3.38
1
3.50
Female (N=23) " 3.42 3.56
Table 2
Mean Scores Obtained by Mature Versus Traditional-entry 
Students in the Faculty of Law
Mature Students Traditional Students
Male (N=32) 3.47 3.51
Female (N=19) 3.39 3.57
Tables 1 and 2 'summarise the data obtained. This data indicates very small 
non-significant differences between fee subgroups.
47
Zimbabwe Journal o f Educational Research
An analysis o f variance was conducted to determine and confirm these differ­
ences and the following results obtained:
Table 3
Analysis of Variance to Compare Traditional and Mature Entry 
Results
Source D.F. S.S. M.S. F.
Mature Entry 1.98 49,59 49,59 0,42
Traditional Entry 1,98 57,53 54,31 1,21
Mature vs. Traditional 3,92 49,27 16,74 0,01
Error 33,20 64,86 8,37 -
Total 41,08,. 222,25 - -
*F is not significantp<0,01
The above analysis supports the findings of previous research by Woodley 
(1984) and Hartley (1986) that mature students perform as well as traditional A- 
level students at degree level.
Table 4
Degree Classes As A Function of Age of Mature and Traditional 
Students in Both Faculties of Commerce and Law
Degree Class as a Function of Age
N 1st 2.1 2.2 ^3rd Pass Fail Mean
Score
Mature
Students
102 2 42 54 4 0 0 3.42
Age Cohort
25-30 52 2 22 26 4 0 0 3.08
31-35 30 0 18 12 0 0 0 3.60
36-40 18 0 4 14 0 0 0 , 3.22
41-50 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 —
51+ 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 3.00
Traditional 102 0 62 34 6 0 0 3.56
Students
48
Discussion
There was no evidence to show that traditional students perform better than 
mature entry ones in both the Faculties o f Law and Commerce.
However, as seen from Table 4 above, there was a serious restriction in the 
range of degree classes awarded. There were only two (2) first class degree 
classes awarded and ten (10) third class degrees among 204 students. Thus 
the differences reported depend almost entirely on the 2.1 and 2.2-degree clas­
sification categories. The poor differentiation in the criterion measure could 
have contributed to the non-significant findings. It seems that the lecturers in 
these two faculties are resistant to give first class degree awards and third 
class passes or, alternatively the students are neither very bright nor very dull 
respectively.
Another issue to consider is the fact that, although the mature and the tradi­
tional students were matched each year, there may have been changes over 
time. Some o f the changes noted during die compilation of data from depart­
mental records, showed that before 1996, only applicants aged 30 years of age 
or more were eligible for consideration as mature entry students. This policy 
changed for females in 1996 through the Affirmative Action policy, which 
reduced the age for female mature entrants to 25 years. However, caution was 
exercised when matching the female mature entry students with their tradi­
tional entry counterparts as it was made certain that the age difference be­
tween the two categories was at least five years.
In a ten-year period, it is also possible that die students in both faculties 
between 1990 and say 1995 could have been studying slighdy different courses 
from those who enrolled after 1995. Regrettably, no information on change o f 
syllabuses was available. However, this consideration, while to some extent 
important, does not seriously affect the outcome of this exercise since the 
assessment and degree classifications in both faculties have remained con­
stant over the 10-year period.
While inspecting the data in the first five years and then in the second five 
years, it was not possible to detect any changes over time in the overall pattern 
of results.
Regrettably although the above findings are encouraging from the point o f  
view of mature students they do not seem to assist university administration
49
and lecturers to understand the differences between mature and traditional 
students as it is no,t known whether students with vastly different experiences 
use the same routes to arrive at the same degree class.
Conclusion
There is .no doubt that further research into this area is needed in order to 
identify the different groupings of mature students and their particular needs. 
There is need to know whether a 30 year old mature student should be treated 
the same as a 60 year old student. One fact though, emanating from this study 
is that it does not really matter how the student gets into university. What 
really matters is how he or she gets out. Careful selection at entry point is all 
that is required, j
References
Bromley, D.B. (1988). Human ageing. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Coleman, P. (1990). Psychological ageing. Social gerontology. London: Sage.
Hopper, E. & Osbom, M. (1975). Adult students: Education, selection and 
social control. London: Sage.
Lovell, R.B. (198^). Adult learning. London: CroomHelm.
Lucas, J. and Ward, P. (1985). Mattire Students at Lancaster University. Adult 
Education, 58 (3), 241-245.
Salthouse, A. & Griffin, A. (1986). The progress ofmature students. Manches­
ter: Joint Matriculation Board.
Walker, P. (1975).The university performance of mature students. Research in 
Education. 14 ,1-13.
Woodley, A. (1984). The older the better? A study of mature students’ perfor­
mance in British universities. Research in Education, 3 5 ,35-50.
Zimbabwe Journal o f Educational Research
50
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A Comparison In Performance Between Mature Entry Students And Traditional (A-Level) Entry Students At The University Of Zimbabwe

The degree results of Business Studies and Law students who had entered the University of Zimbabwe through â€˜mature entry' between 1990 and 1999 were compared with those of students who had entered university through the traditional A-level entry route. These students were matched for sex and the subjects studied. No significant differences were found for age or sex. The conclusion drawn from these results is that since there was no interaction between the two variables of mature entry and traditional entry there is no difference in performance between mature entry students and (traditional) A-level entry students at the University of Zimbabwe

Zindi,  Fred

National Research Database of Zimbabwe

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A Comparison In Performance Between Mature Entry Students And Traditional (A-Level) Entry Students At The University Of Zimbabwe

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