Masculinity,subjectivity and neoliberalism in men’s accounts of migration and higher educational participation

In this article, I explore men’s educational experiences and aspirations in the context of UK policy discourses of widening participation and migration. Critiquing discourses that oversimplify gendered access to higher education, I develop an analysis of the impact of masculine subjectivities on processes of subjective construction in relation to be(com)ing a university student. Neoliberalism and self‐regulation emerge as significant themes by which the men make sense of their educational experiences and aspirations. Widening participation policy discursively constructs the subject as ‘disadvantaged’, ‘with potential’ and responsible for self‐improvement through participation in (alternative forms of) higher education (HE). The concept of diaspora illuminates the complex ways the men reconstruct their traumatic experiences in terms of hope and possibility, across different cultural spaces and expectations. A key question is how do the men construct and make sense of their masculine subjectivities in relation to diasporic experiences and aspirations to become HE students?     

The widening participation agenda: the marginal place of care

This paper is based upon two empirical studies, which identify care‐giving responsibilities as a key mediator of mature students’ – a target group within the widening participation strategy – experiences of higher education. Employing a feminist lens on care, we identify a disjuncture between how students experience the challenges of negotiating care and study, and the narrow and economistic way care is addressed within higher education policy. We point to the broader recognition of care emerging within New Labour’s policies on the reconciliation of paid work and family life and argue that in the context of increasing expectations that learning is for life, care needs to be recognised in a broader form at the interface of both education and employment. Drawing on the notion of a ‘political ethics of care’, we conclude by identifying elements that should be included in a higher‐education ‘care culture’.     

Widening the educational capabilities of socio‐economically disadvantaged students through a model of social and cultural capital development

Widening participation programmes aim to increase the progression of students from low socio‐economic status (SES) groups to higher education. This research proposes that the human capabilities approach is a good justice‐based framework within which to consider the social and cultural capital processes that impact upon the educational capabilities of young people from low SES groups. It presents a case study which examines the developing capability set of Irish students from a representative sample of schools participating in a university‐based widening participation outreach programme aimed at increasing social and cultural capital constructs. Qualitative analysis is presented from four schools; four student focus groups with 22 student participants, and 15 individual student interviews. Findings focus on the developing capabilities of autonomy, hope, voice and identity, as well as on the relationship between specific widening participation activities and the developing capability set. The findings highlight the development of college‐focused knowledge and how this impacts upon students’ aspiration to participate in higher education. The idea of ‘widening capability’ is discussed in relation to the potential of the capability approach to contribute an additional dimension to a mainly neoliberal policy rhetoric, which emphasises the market value of higher‐education participation. In doing so, it explores how widening participation activities can influence the widening capability set of low SES students, and its relationship with what the students deem to be ‘a life of value’.     

False Uniqueness: the Self‐Perception of New Entrants to Higher Education in the UK and Its Implications for Access – a Pilot Study1

A central tenet of contemporary education policy relates to the desire to extend higher education (HE) provision to less advantaged groups (‘widening participation’). Our paper contends that a key behavioural obstacle to widening participation lies in the erroneous belief that persists among potential entrants from disadvantaged backgrounds as to their capabilities of succeeding within the HE environment – a perception that serves to deflate application/recruitment rates from such groupings. We test this ‘false uniqueness’ thesis using a sample of 127 new UK undergraduates, finding that students drawn from lower social class backgrounds consistently underestimated their abilities vis‐à‐vis the overall cohort.     

‘Widening Access’ to higher education: the reproduction of university hierarchies through policy enactment

Patterns of participation in higher education (HE) in the UK, as elsewhere, have been marked by social inequalities for decades. UK Governments have responded with a plethora of policies and agendas aimed at addressing this broad social issue. However, little is known about how higher education institutions (HEIs) interpret and ‘enact’ these policies in relation to institution-specific contexts. Drawing on concepts from policy sociology this paper examines how HEIs in one nation state, Wales, enact its Government’s policy on ‘widening access’ to higher education. Interviews with a range of ‘policy actors’ along with analyses of institutional ‘widening access’ policy documents, reveal divergences between HEIs in how this policy agenda is interpreted and delivered. These differences reflect institution-specific contexts – not least their internal politics and assumptions about the type of students they admit, but also their interests and priorities in relation to their positions within a global, marketised, HE system. The implications of this for the reproduction of university hierarchies in the UK, as well as social inequalities more generally are brought to the fore.     

What's wrong with ‘the student experience’?

Speaking about ‘the student experience’ has become common-place in higher education and the phrase has acquired the aura of a sacred utterance in UK higher education policy over the last decade. A critical discourse analysis of selected higher education policy texts reveals what ‘the student experience’ has come to signify, and how it structures relations between students and academics, institutions and academics, and higher education institutions and government. ‘The student experience’ homogenises students and deprives them of agency at the same time as apparently giving them ‘voice’. This paper examines the dominance and sacralisation of the discourse of ‘the student experience’ and questions its positioning as a means of discriminating between the value of different experiences of education.     

Vocational lifelong learners?

The notion of lifelong learning has become a mantra within educational policies. However these have been strongly critiqued for reflecting an understanding of learning that privileges the economic benefits of participation in formal education. In UK contexts, the importance attached to widening participation in higher education is one manifestation of these policy discourses, which can be interrogated as a form of governmentality. This paper draws upon a recent small‐scale mixed‐method study of different vocational learners’ transition from Level 3 courses to consider how these policy discourses are being mediated by ‘learners’ who were qualified to enter higher education, but decided instead on alternative life courses. The analysis suggests that policy constructions of participation in higher education sit at a disjuncture with respondents’ longer‐term experiences of institutionalised education processes. In other ways, lifelong learning seemed to be willingly embraced in respondents’ different commitments to learning and self‐development, although higher education institutions were not often seen as a source of this learning. The article aims all the same to allow this interpretation of respondents’ voices to speak back and disrupt policy mantras.     

The Evolution of Government Policy on Widening Participation

This paper examines the evolution of government policy in England on widening participation. It traces government policy on widening participation in relation to social class from Robbins (1963 ) through Dearing (1997 ) to ‘The Future of Higher Education’ (2003 ) and the passing of the Higher Education Act (2004). The paper concludes that there is a lack of participation in policy formulation by certain key groups, particularly those directly affected by widening participation policy. In addition, although the government's widening participation policy has generally progressed, it has done so within an overly bureaucratic system of control that fails to give higher education institutions the autonomy they need. There are also occasions when aspects of policy seem to be taking backward steps. Moreover, while the government adopts a rhetoric of strategic rationality, policy on widening participation often appears to be ad hoc, piecemeal and lacking a cohesive, evidence‐based rationale. Finally, there are times when New Labour appears to lack the political will to implement radical policies.     

Labour market motivation and undergraduates' choice of degree subject

Labour market outcomes of undergraduates' choice of subject are important for public policy and for students. Policy interest is indicated by the prominence of ‘employability’ in public discourse and in proposals to concentrate government funding in England in supporting STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). As students in England face the prospect of bearing the full financial burden of undergraduate tuition, the large differences between wage premia for different subjects may become of increasing interest. We find that, even after taking account of differences in motivation towards the choice of undergraduate subject, males and members of certain non‐White ethnic groups are more likely to choose ‘high wage‐premium’ subjects. We also find some significant differences between the motivations of different minority ethnic groups. However, students from lower income households are less likely to choose high wage premium subjects, which is a concern for this aspect of policy towards participation in higher education and social mobility.     

Care in academia: an exploration of student parents’ experiences

While student parents now represent a significant proportion of the higher education population in England, this group has been given limited consideration in policy circles. Using a social constructivist and feminist theoretical framework, this paper draws on a research project investigating the role of higher education policies in supporting student parents in England. It focuses on findings from 40 interviews conducted with student parents enrolled on university programmes. It shows that, in the context of the default construction of the university student as carefree, student parents often describe their experience of navigating academia as a struggle, in which time-related, financial, health and emotional problems prevail. However, the stories they tell also emphasise the benefits associated with their dual status. By doing so, they resist the discourse of deficit typically applied to ‘non traditional’ students and produce a counter-discourse that disturbs the long-lived binary opposition between care and academia.     

Quality and equality: the mask of discursive conflation in education policy texts

Two key themes of recent UK education policy texts have been a focus on ‘quality’ in public sector performance, and on ‘equality’ in the form of New Labour’s stated commitment to equality of opportunity as a key policy objective. This twin approach can be seen at its most obvious in the concept of ‘excellence for all’. This paper contends that in recent policy texts the vocabularies of quality management discourse and egalitarian discourse have become conflated, serving to mask key issues relating to educational inequality, seen at its most stark in the attainment gap. The paper argues that this has led to a failure to distinguish between the goals of quality management and the ends of egalitarianism. Discursive conflation of this sort risks obscuring the significance of socio‐economic context and the limited impact of within‐school action. The paper also suggests that the focus on equality in terms of school provision paradoxically risks entrenching social inequalities despite the appearance of egalitarian commitment.     

Managing the expectations of non‐traditional students: a process of negotiation

In the past decade there has been a dramatic growth in UK student numbers. Widening participation policies are encouraging students from non‐traditional backgrounds to enter higher education. Southampton Institute has found that many non‐traditional students have had little preparation for academic life. These students often have unrealistic expectations of higher education, expectations that sometimes are at odds with a successful transition from secondary to higher education. In addition higher education institutions are often unaware of the way that higher education is perceived by non‐traditional students. This situation cannot remain unchecked and requires some form of discourse. In this paper, a framework used to model a reflective discourse between stakeholders (student, institution) is introduced, and a case study demonstrating the behaviour of an automated negotiation mechanism is presented.     

First- and second-generation design and engineering students: experience,attainment and factors influencing them to attend university

Challenges for students who are ‘first-in-family’ to attend university have been discussed within widening participation discourse. However, in the UK, ‘first-in-family’ or first-generation students have frequently been conflated with those experiencing poverty or from lower socio-economic groups. This research integrated survey data with assessment data from final-year design and engineering students in a UK university to examine students’ attainment, the influences on why students decide to attend university and students’ experiences during their degree programmes. Analysis of the data showed variations in the reasons for first- and second-generation students wanting to go to university, particularly a significant difference in the influence of parents. First-generation students described significantly less parental influence on the decision to attend university than second- or subsequent-generation students. Smaller differences in students’ experiences and attainment in university were also noted. Whilst first-generation students reported differences in study habits, their attainment was, on average, marginally higher than that of their peers. Building on others’ theoretical work, which suggests the importance of social capital within higher education (HE), this research highlights the difference in social influences on both university application and expectations of university for those with and without a family history of tertiary education. Further research is needed to explore, in larger samples, whether the social influences on individuals’ perception of HE are in turn shaped by whether or not their parents attended university, and further, what impact this may have, not only on degree outcomes but also on the broader benefits typically associated with graduate experience.     

Students and Universities in Italy in an Age of Reform

Recent developments of the Italian student body are marked by an increasing diversification of prevailing student profiles. The presence of ‘new’ student groups is surveyed next to the groups which are the ‘traditional’ target of national policies for higher education and student welfare. Examples of such traditional target groups are, amongst others: males or females; students from well‐off and well‐educated families or from lower social backgrounds; resident or non‐resident students; undergraduate, graduate or postgraduate students (first, second or third cycle of university studies); students from different fields of study. Working students are to be quoted in ‘new’ profiles. They may either work regularly or take occasional jobs during terms; in both cases they no longer seem to be full‐time students and should be considered as de facto part‐time students. Although student work is not a novelty, what has changed in recent times is its development: working students are reported to be a majority in the university student body. Their emerging needs and expectations as university customers point to inadequacies and delays in the prevailing academic attitudes and in higher education policy‐making. The Italian Euro Student Survey is a monitoring of students’ living and study conditions in Italian universities. It is carried out in the framework of the Euro Student Report project, which involves many EU countries. Euro Student attaches great importance to the analysis of the impact of the diversification issue on the students’ living and study conditions, on their personal experiences and on their relations with academic institutions. Some of the most relevant emerging trends will be dealt with in this article, e.g. the demand for support and interaction with teachers and students (the ‘solitude’ issue), the increasing demand for better conditions in the study environment (the ‘quality’ issue), the differences in average academic achievements of different student groups (the ‘performance’ issue). Based on the updated available data, some ideas and theories will be explained as a conclusion about the possible impacts of the most recent reforms in the higher education sector in Italy, i.e. the design of new courses according to the ‘Bologna process’ and the planning of a new student welfare system.     

Gender, equity and the discourse of the independent learner in higher education

The ‘independent learner’ is a key construct within discourses of educational policy and practice in the UK. Government policy statements stress the importance of developing learner independence, and higher education pedagogical practices tend to rest on the assumption that students are independent learners. This paper draws on research with undergraduate students in a post-1992 university to offer a critical appraisal of the discourse of the independent learner. The paper examines students’ perceptions of independence in both their first year of undergraduate study, and in the later years of their degree courses. Support for learning and issues related to asking for help are discussed. Whilst students tend to both expect and want to be independent, it is suggested that dominant constructions of the independent learner are gendered and culturally specific, and as such are inappropriate for the majority of students in a mass higher education system.     

Facilitating experiential learning of study skills in sports students

In recent years the student population in the UK has grown considerably, and students are entering higher education with a more diverse range of qualifications and skills. This is particularly the case in post‐1992 universities with a widening participation agenda, as these institutions have a larger share of students from non‐traditional backgrounds. Universities therefore need to consider ways in which they can encourage achievement and success amongst a diverse population of students, many of whom enter higher education without the skills needed to study effectively. Within this article the authors consider the use of experiential learning tasks to facilitate the development of study skills, as it has been suggested that such tasks aid student learning and the acquisition of skills.

The authors outline a Level 1 module, delivered to a large cohort of students at a post‐1992 university in the United Kingdom, and designed to facilitate the development of study skills in a way that is consistent with Kolb’s experiential learning cycle. Their small‐scale and provisional examination of the first iteration of this module suggests that they have produced an initiative that encourages student engagement and facilitates learning in each of the four stages of Kolb’s cycle. However, wider investigation is required to ascertain the effectiveness of the initiative in allowing student access to some of the key aims of higher education.     

Higher education experiences of elite student-para-athletes in the UK

This article presents the narrative accounts of six elite student-para-athletes attending higher education full time in the UK. Whilst literature concerning the student-athlete population in the UK is growing, there is no research at present that brings to the fore the voices of student-athletes who represent their country in Paralympic sports. In addition, research concerning the experiences of higher education students with disabilities in the UK is heavily concerned with the experience of learning as opposed to the more nuanced experiences of ‘being’ a university student. Accounts concerning the lived experience of higher education were gathered via semi-structured interviews and analysed through a process of interpretative phenomenological analysis producing an intricate, intimate and personal theme for each participant. Analysed and presented as individual case studies, the research demonstrates the uniqueness of experience despite the existence of common and shared life environments. The accounts explore three life-worlds – university, elite sport and disability – and expose the difference in meaning-making by each participant to the identities of ‘athlete’, ‘student’ and ‘disabled’, specifically within the context of higher education. The accounts are presented as three themes that illuminate the contrast in experience: (1) university as a normative and positive experience; (2) university as a disappointing and hindering experience; and (3) university as an experience of personal salvation and purpose. Findings are mapped to the social-relational model of disability to better understand the relationship between individual perception, impairment and environment.     

Middle attainers and 14–19 progression in England: half‐served by New Labour and now overlooked by the Coalition?

In the context of the international problem of ‘early school leaving’, this paper explores the issue of sustained participation in upper secondary education in England. It focuses in particular on the position of middle attainers, who constitute a large proportion of the cohort and whose progress will be vital in realising the government's goal of ‘Raising the Participation Age’ to 18 by 2015. The paper draws on evidence from national research undertaken as part of the Nuffield Review of 14–19 Education and Training in England and Wales and analysis of New Labour and Coalition policy between 2000–2012. It uses a three‐year local study of 2400 14‐ and 16‐year‐olds in an established school/college consortium to illustrate the effects of policy and practice on middle attainers. We argue that this important group of young people was ‘half‐served’ by New Labour, because of its incomplete and contradictory 14–19 reforms, and is now being ‘overlooked’ by Coalition policy because of its emphasis on high attainers. We conclude by suggesting a range of measures to support the 14+ participation, progression and transition of middle attainers in the English education and training system.     

Emotional journeys: young people and transitions to university

This paper offers an interpretation of the role of emotions in understanding the transitions that young people make to university. I draw on qualitative research with a group of non‐traditional students, entering elite universities, to argue that youth transitions are emotional as well instrumental affairs. I argue that choice‐making processes incorporate both trust in, and fear of, the transitions infrastructure, and that these emotions infuse more instrumental judgements about the economic benefits of higher education. I also demonstrate that emotional aspects of class – including feelings of entitlement to education and the rejection of normative student identities – constitute the experience of ‘being’ or ‘doing’ a student. A broader understanding of how young people become university students then depends not just on developing a new identity but on the complex interaction between emotion and infrastructure.     

Reflections on learning: widening capability and the student experience

This paper argues for a more nuanced perspective on learning that takes account of the real and situated contexts of student experience. It is presented against a backdrop of the agenda to widen participation in higher education (HE) in the UK, which has led to a rise in students from non-traditional backgrounds entering into HE. Responding to this, an argument is made in favour of widening ‘capability’ in learning, to produce a more socially just pedagogy. Drawing on examples of the student learning experience a series of reflections is produced from an undergraduate programme of education studies. Such reflections, linking personal knowledge with wider social and cultural practices, are used to produce notions of ‘cultural wealth’ across informal and formal learning contexts. It is argued that by creating choice and freedoms in student learning the exclusivity of university education may be challenged and a more socially just pedagogy usefully considered.