Keep Learning While Feeling Stressed: An Analysis of The Stress Experiences of Non-Traditional Students In Online Learning

The online education of non-traditional students (NTSs) has become of increasing research, policy and commercial interest. Attracted by the need to develop their careers and credentials whilst maintaining an income, mature postgraduate students frequently elect to study part-time and at a distance. However, the burden of combining work with study is likely to impose additional stressors on these students that traditional students do not share. This study explores the stress-related experiences of students who combine full-time study with part-time online postgraduate education. In particular, we investigated how stressors related to the study were appraised. Transcripts from 24 semi-structured interviews were analysed thematically. Characteristics of positive and negative appraisals with associated stressors and stress response (eustress or distress) were developed. This qualitative study discloses how appraisals and stress responses are interrelated, identifying different types of appraisals to enrich the Transactional Theory of Stress (TTS) with important practical implications.