Abstract
Veterans face many challenges when transitioning from military service to civilian life, including unemployment, physical and mental health rehabilitation, and a changing social context (Albertson, 2019). Higher education provides a valuable pathway to support this transition through further skills development, flexible study arrangements, and an environment that emphasises personal, social, and professional growth (Andrewartha & Harvey, 2018). While several Australian universities are beginning to address the needs of student veterans through local recognition of prior learning frameworks, referral to support services, and financial assistance opportunities (Wadham, et al., 2021), there are few entry pathway programs designed and implemented to support veterans as prospective university learners.
In this presentation, we describe our approach to supporting veteran transition through a university entry pathway program that is accessible to all veterans. Our program is designed to prompt recognition of the many skills that veterans bring to a higher education context; to encourage a developing sense of capability and belonging to university culture; and to empower veterans to make informed decisions about university study and its suitability as a transition pathway for them. We argue that veteran students have a distinct set of barriers to engagement with higher education opportunities, which can be addressed through developing veteranspecific approaches to enabling pedagogy. Further, our approach to veteran support is contrasted with that of our broader enabling program to emphasise how the veteran context is similar yet critically different to other enabling student populations.
In this presentation, we describe our approach to supporting veteran transition through a university entry pathway program that is accessible to all veterans. Our program is designed to prompt recognition of the many skills that veterans bring to a higher education context; to encourage a developing sense of capability and belonging to university culture; and to empower veterans to make informed decisions about university study and its suitability as a transition pathway for them. We argue that veteran students have a distinct set of barriers to engagement with higher education opportunities, which can be addressed through developing veteranspecific approaches to enabling pedagogy. Further, our approach to veteran support is contrasted with that of our broader enabling program to emphasise how the veteran context is similar yet critically different to other enabling student populations.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages | 72-72 |
| Number of pages | 1 |
| Publication status | Published - Dec 2022 |
| Event | NAEEA 2022 Conference: Reimagining Enabling in Higher Education - University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia Duration: 5 Dec 2022 → 6 Dec 2022 Conference number: 5th https://enablingeducators.org/conferences/ |
Conference
| Conference | NAEEA 2022 Conference |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | Australia |
| City | Adelaide |
| Period | 5/12/22 → 6/12/22 |
| Internet address |
Keywords
- Veterans
- Higher education
- Pathways to further study
- Student veteran
