Continuing education and the universities in Britain: The political context

The starting point for this paper is the current ambition in Norway and other countries to increase the rate of entry into higher education of mature students. Intransigency amongst suppliers of higher education on entry standards means that any such increase must involve a greater preparedness amongst adults to pursue access to higher education via participation in higher secondary education. The purpose of this paper is to improve our understanding of the preparedness of adults, or lack of it, to pursue access to higher education through participation in the examination‐based higher secondary education (HSE) for adults. In doing so we must confront the general underutilization of theory in research into participation in adult education coupled to the failure by researcher and theoretician alike to acknowledge the heterogeneity of the field. The article develops a conceptual framework of perspectives on participation in HSE for adults within which the core perspectives are derived from the prevailing theoretical approach to understanding participation in adult education, viz. the motivation‐barriers paradigm. We argue, however, that these perspectives are ultimately only of intermediary status, and that a conceptual framework that does not include their major causal antecedents would be overly reductionist. The framework contains therefore perspectives of a sociological character that not only shed light on the development of the necessary motivation for participation in HSE for adults, but that also seek to account for the structural forces that hinder participation.     

Revisiting major determinants of participation in adult education with a direct measure of literacy skills

The purpose of this article is to investigate major determinants of participation in adult education. Specifically, a direct measure of literacy skills available in the International Adult Literacy Survey is included. Interpreted as a measure of human capital, it is expected that literacy skills are at least as important a predictor of participation in adult education and training as educational attainment. The findings however do not support this expectation. Instead educational attainment remains the most important factor predicting participation in adult education and training. The models in this article are based on the idea that readiness to learn is formed early in life and further developed through educational and work experiences. Factors that are hypothesised to influence participation in adult education and training are separated into factors associated with the long arm of the family and the long arm of the job. The findings indicate the long arm of the family plays an important role, which supports early intervention, especially during the formal schooling years. The results also highlight the strong link between the use of literacy skills at work and participation in adult education and training.     

Improvements in equity in the participation of young people in higher education in Australia during the 1980s

This paper addresses the question of the extent to which there were improvements in equity in the patterns of participation of young people in higher education in Australia during the 1980s. Data from theYouth in Transition longitudinal surveys of Australian youth are used to assess the effectiveness of the Labor Government's equity initiatives since 1983 in this area. The conclusion is that participation by young people in higher education in Australia did generally become more equitable under Labor during the 1980s, though differences in higher education participation rates persisted between certain sub-groups of the population.     

Translating norms from Europe to Turkey: Turkey in the Bologna Process

This article focuses on the structural changes Turkish higher education is going through as a result of Turkey’s integration into the European educational space. The focus of the article is the process of policy transfer. For this purpose, the article outlines the changes in Turkish higher education comprehensively to explain the dynamics of the policy transfer. Creation of a national qualifications system and establishment of a quality assurance system are given as examples of policy transfer. The article concludes that while the system is becoming more student-centred, change in higher education is happening in a very top-down fashion, where participation of relevant stakeholders is not ensured.     

Disruptions and bridges in rural Australia: higher education aspiration to expectation of participation

ABSTRACT

Widening higher education participation can deliver benefits to individuals, societies and economies but rural populations experience factors which inhibit their aspiration for and participation in higher education. When designing outreach programs, universities need to consider this landscape of factors, many of which are socio-cultural. This article reports evaluation results from a project that trialled three university outreach programs designed to align with rural contexts with the aim of identifying aspects which were effective in addressing factors of rurality, revealing obscured future options and showing higher education pathways as attainable. Universities can work effectively with rural communities to inform people’s higher education aspirations through ‘disruptions’, interventions that inform educational aspiration, and ‘bridges’ which support higher education participation through facilitating access to information, physical, financial, academic and social resources. A model including both ‘disruptions’ and ‘bridges’, jointly resourced and drawing on social capital resources of communities and higher education institutions is presented.     

Widening Access or Differentiation and Stratification in Higher Education in Scotland

Widening access to higher education (HE) has been an important policy objective in Scotland over the last twenty years. While there is evidence that high levels of participation have been achieved, and some evidence of reduction in inequalities in participation rates among young people entering higher education, there is also evidence of persisting inequalities, and of patterns of differentiation and stratification. As a result there is evidence that, with the development of mass higher education in Scotland, a stratified system of higher education has emerged. Furthermore there is evidence that these patterns of stratification are being maintained over time, despite the policies which are designed to widen access. This paper will review the evidence regarding the nature and extent of these patterns of stratification, and briefly consider the policies which are designed to tackle this issue.     

Participation and exclusion: A comparative analysis of non-traditional students and lifelong learners in higher education

The dramatic growth in student numbersassociated with the shift from elite to masssystems across virtually all developedcountries is central to current transformationsin terms of structure, purpose, social andeconomic role of higher education. As a part ofthis process of expansion and heterogenization,new groups of students who, for a complex rangeof social, economic and cultural reasons weretraditionally excluded from orunder-represented in higher education, mightbe expected to participate in increasingnumbers. The paper develops the concept ofnon-traditional learners and demonstrateshow an examination of ways in which highereducation systems respond to such learners canprovide a fruitful basis for a comparativeanalysis of change in higher education acrossten countries – Austria, Australia, Canada,Germany, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Sweden,United Kingdom, and the United States. Theprimary emphasis in the study was on theinstitutional and policy issues which appearedto either inhibit or support participation bynon-traditional learners. On this basis sixfactors were identified which seemed to beparticularly influential with regard to theparticipation of non-traditional students andthe associated moves towards a lifelonglearning mode of higher education.The evidence suggests that, while progress canbe reported on a number of dimensions incomparison with a similar analysis ofparticipation by adults students in the samecountries undertaken just over a decadeearlier, high participation rates do notautomatically imply that the functions ofhigher education in social selection andreproduction are obsolete, or that issues ofaccess and equity can be regarded as featuresof the past.     

Higher Education in Wales: The (Re-)emergence of a National System?

This paper explores historical patterns of change in participation in higher education in Wales, using as an organising framework Halsey's (1992) distinction between higher education as an administrative and as a social system. The nineteenth-century development of Welsh higher education was both part of a distinctive national political project and reflected the specificities of wider Welsh society. Expansion through the early and middle decades of the present century eroded this distinctiveness, as both the governance of Welsh higher education and patterns of student recruitment and participation became increasingly integrated into an 'England and Wales' system. The more recent expansion of higher education institutions in Wales, as well as the participation of Welsh students in higher education overall, has further accentuated this social integration into an 'England and Wales' system. Currently, Wales exhibits a pattern of participation which is unique amongst the home countries, whereby the Welsh higher education institutions serve very substantial numbers of students from England (and to a much lesser extent elsewhere), whilst a large proportion of Welsh students register at institutions in England. This indicates that there is now a significant disjuncture between an increasingly distinct pattern of governance of Welsh higher education and a pattern of participation which is massively integrated in the 'England and Wales' system.     

美国的高等教育游说活动及其启示

游说业在美国是一个成熟的行业门类,目的是争取政策、资金和人才以及社会的认可和支持。高等教育游说活动在本质上是游说需求者和游说对象"双赢"的一种正常社会行为。我国高等教育存在对资金和政策的大量诉求、民办高校的生存环境需要第三方介入、高等教育的民主化进程扩大了决策参与机会,这些为高等教育游说活动提供了空间。目前,我国高等教育游说可以先从各级各类课题与项目中发现议题,有所作为。     

"全程就业教育"的理念及其功能的实现

文章通过对高职就业指导工作重要意义的分析，提出了以“全员参与、全程教育、全程指导、全程管理”为内涵的“全程就业教育”理念，着重研究了“全程就业教育”的工作机制，探讨了如何实施过程管理，加强跟踪服务，实现并拓展“全程就业教育”功能，切实提高学生的就业竞争力和就业率。     

Participation in non-formal learning in EU-15 and EU-8 countries: demand and supply side factors

The main purpose of this paper is to provide an in-depth analysis of participation in non-formal learning in different European Union member states. The paper also seeks to extend analysis of the training gap by pursuing the distinction between the supply and the demand for skills. We use aggregate data from the Adult Education Survey (Eurostat) carried out in different European countries between 2005 and 2008. Analysis indicated that inequality in participation reflects the distribution of occupations (or workplaces with different requirements) more than the available qualifications of the workforce. The analysis infers that in market-centred societies, the market’s impact on participation in non-formal learning and inequality in participation is more important than the output of the education system. Our result confirms previous findings that innovation has a stronger impact on the non-formal learning participation of lower skilled workers, because workers with higher education levels have sufficient skills and do not need to be trained or re-trained to be able to manage innovations.     

Stratification in Higher Education, Choice and Social Inequalities in Greece

Higher education has expanded to a remarkable extent in many countries in recent decades. Although this has led to high levels of participation, inequalities not only persist but are also strengthened. The persistence of inequalities is partly the result of policies for the widening of participation having been accompanied by institutional stratification with educational choices being unequal and socially defined. There is evidence that with the development of new university departments and the increase in the number of university entrants in Greece, a stratified system of higher education has emerged. This study draws on quantitative data that provides evidence that choice has been driven largely by the students' social class: the close relationship between social class and educational opportunities has remained intact. Furthermore, social inequalities in access and distribution in higher education persist, despite the substantial increase in participation in higher education. Social class is a key factor in the interpretation of choice of study, which, along with the performance in the national level examinations that determines entrance into universities, has also led to the increase in the stratification of higher education institutions.     

An exploration of the utility of digital badging in higher education settings

The use of digital badges is a trend in today’s education and professional settings. We conducted an exploration to see how badges are being used in higher education. Digital badges and more specifically, open badges, are used in a multitude of learning contexts and serve many purposes. This study conducted interviews with individuals leading digital badge initiatives in higher education institutions. Our findings suggest that badges awarded for participation are valued less meaningful than skill-based badges. For skill-based badges, evidence of mastery must be associated with the badge along with the evaluation criteria. Badge purpose, transferability, and learning objectives were noted as the top priorities when implementing badge offerings in higher education contexts.     

The participation of Australian Indigenous students in higher education: a scoping review of empirical research, 2000–2016

While access to higher education has increased for Indigenous Australians, participation and completion rates remain lower than those of non-Indigenous Australians. A sound evidence base is needed to ground equity initiatives if they are to address the specific needs of Indigenous students. This paper presents the results of a scoping review of empirical research focusing on the participation of Indigenous students in higher education. The purpose of the scoping review was to synthesise empirical research on aspirations for, and barriers and enablers to, higher education that were published between 2000 and 2016 (n = 57), and identify areas where further research is needed. Despite a recent increase in research on this topic, relatively little attention has been paid to Indigenous students’ aspirations while they are at school. We argue that future research should take account of school students’ aspirations for higher education, including primary school students; the similitude of barriers and enablers across the student life cycle; differences within Indigenous community and among Indigenous students; and, the insights emerging from Indigenous methodologies and scholarship.     

Equity in Spanish higher education

The most outstanding event in the recent evolution of higher education in developed countries has been the continuously increasing proportion of students entering higher education and, therefore, its extension to more and more inclusive groups. It seems reasonable to assume that the expansion of higher education must have facilitated access of less privileged social classes, but it is important to analyze to what extent this significant increase in higher education participation has reached all social, economic, and cultural groups. This analysis could be useful in designing a policy to help those students who have more difficulty accessing higher education. The goal in this paper is to analyze this subject thoroughly focusing especially on the level of participation of young adults in Spanish higher education controlling for economic level, parental education and occupation, and other environmental characteristics. We present a logistic model which jointly values the influence of different family and social characteristics of the individual on his/her decision to enroll in higher education. The main conclusions of the study are these: (a) There has been improvement in the equity of access to higher education. In spite of this overall improvement, about 30 per cent of the less privileged population is still underrepresented in higher education, (b) Family educational level is the most important factor in the decision to enter higher education. The weight of these educational characteristics exceeds by far the influence of family income level.     

团体心理咨询在大一新生入学适应中的应用

随着高等教育的普及化,能够进入高校学习的学生群体的范围也逐渐扩大。如何让这些大一新生在入学后尽快适应学校的生活和学习,目前已经成为高校心理健康教育工作中一项不可忽视的任务。团体心理咨询是在团体情境中,按照设计好的活动程序,通过团体成员的共同参与及相互之间的互动过程,从而达到既定目的的一种心理咨询方式。实践证明将团体心理咨询用在大一新生入学适应的教育过程中,效果较好。     

The 2003 UK Government Higher Education White Paper: a critical assessment of its implications for the access and widening participation agenda

Fair access and widening participation currently occupy a prominent position in the UK higher education agenda, but these terms remain ambiguous. In this paper we identify two prominent strands of policy in the government's approach to access and the widening of participation and contrast these with a third, more progressive perspective. The academic strand seeks to attract ‘gifted and talented’ young people into an unreformed higher education system. The second strand, which we term the utilitarian approach, posits a need for reform. However, this is undertaken largely to meet the requirements of employers and the economy. In contrast, a transformative approach values diversity and focuses on creating a system of higher education that does not place the burden of change upon potential entrants. This framework is used to explore some of the implications of the government's White Paper The future of higher education. First, the purpose of higher education is discussed, with particular reference to the distinction between economic and social objectives. Second, the government's view of the structure of the higher education sector is examined, by scrutinizing the notion of institutional differentiation and the role of the access regulator. We conclude that within a more differentiated higher education sector different aspects of the access discourse will become dominant in different types of institutions.     

Towards 'Lisbon objectives': Economic Determinants of Participation Rates in University Education: An empirical analysis in 14 European Countries

Participation rates in higher education are an important indicator to pursue one of the main European policy objectives, which is to increase the proportion of population attending higher education. A model used to detect the determinants of participation rates is proposed in this paper, and it is empirically tested for 14 European countries through a five-year panel regression. The model considers the potential explanatory factors as follows: the country's socio-economic conditions, the human capital stock, the organisation of the higher education sector, the higher education expenditure.
The results show the important role of financial resources devoted to higher education; but also, as expected, the influence of other factors. More specifically, there is a role for the variables related to higher education organisation and structure, also confirming that higher entry rates are influenced both by an improvement in public investments in the sector and by organisational elements. These findings are relevant for policy purposes, since they suggest some possible solutions for improving participation rates. Although future research would need to explore the impact of income inequality, the overall level of spending is the key element that influences entry rates. Therefore, in periods of public finance pressure, the best way to resolve this problem could be to improve private resources.     

A Comparison of Part-time Higher Education Provision and Participation Rates in the UK: Implications for the Development of Provision in Northern Ireland

Most studies of higher education participation rates have been primarily concerned with the numbers of full-time students most of whom have progressed into higher education soon after leaving secondary school or full-time further education. This paper seeks to compare part-time provision and participation levels in Northern Ireland with that in other parts of the UK. The pattern which emerges is that part-time participation rates in Northern Ireland do not appear markedly different to those in other parts of the UK. However there are distinctive features in the pattern of provision. Compared with Scotland, a much higher proportion of part-time HE in Northern Ireland takes place within the universities. It is argued that these differences should be considered when examining options for tackling the under-supply of HE places in Northern Ireland which are identified in the Northern Ireland Appendix to the Dearing Report.     

Increasing and widening access to higher education: a comparative study of policy and provision in Scotland and Australia

The place of access policies within higher education through a comparative approach which examines recent developments in Scotland and Australia is examined. The development of access policies is presented in the context of wider change, which is restructuring higher education in both societies. The importance of factors associated with national economic development in this process is emphasized, and the possible conflict with policies which are designed to encourage equity is explored. The impact of these policies both on the structure of the higher education systems, and on participation rates is examined. While there are major differences between these two societies, in terms of geography, history and political agendas, this paper emphasizes important areas of similarity, which are helping reshape higher education in these and in other societies.