Thinking of fragments; self, method and imaginative empathy; on becoming a solicitor - the problem of stated reasons; telling stories - Brenda and Paul; men talking on the Medway; men talking - Thanet and the poetic object; partners in change; women in professional and personal fragments; border country; east and west; red pens and relationships - retrospect and prospects in higher education; beyond fragments?

Adults now constitute the majority of students in higher education; what they bring to it, want and need are important questions in the development of a more responsive higher education. The author discusses The Relationship Between Motives, Education, And Life History To Explore how culture and history shape people and their motives for learning, taking into account variations in gender, social background and ethnicity, challenging the orthodox view that non-traditional students enter higher educational for vocational/material reasons.