Abstract

Widening participation and lifelong learning have emerged as areas of keen debate in Higher Education. The rapid expansion of international students in UK HEIs has led
universities across the UK to turn their attention towards ensuring that students have the necessary foundations to succeed. However, quite often students with multiple
characteristics (‘intersectionality’) are marginalised. An example of such a group is mature international students, who may be overlooked and under-supported. Current
literature indicates that both mature and international students do not fit into the traditional university culture with additional family, work, and financial pressures, often
exacerbating their feelings of alienation and a weaker sense of belonging to the university community. Whilst student belonging has become the focus of research in
HEIs, limited research exists around supporting mature international students. Drawing upon primary and secondary data from across 44 UK HEIs, this study synthesizes the current levels of support offered h to mature international students
and gaps in provision, highlighted by researchers and practitioners. Our results show that whilst a wide range of support exists to foster the belonging of mature or
international students, this largely fails to cater for mature international students. The study highlights the importance of moving away from a deficit model and ensuring that
HEIs focus on facilitating cultural inclusivity.