Traditional or non-traditional students?: incorporating UK students’ living arrangements into decisions about going to university

Since the introduction of the post-1992 university, various, and ongoing, higher education (HE) policy reforms have fuelled academic, political, media and anecdotal discussions of the trajectories of UK university students. An outcome of this has been the dualistic classification of students as being from either ‘traditional’ or ‘non-traditional’ backgrounds. An extensive corpus of literature has sought to critically discuss how students experience their transition into university, questioning specifically the notion that all students follow a linear transition through university. Moreover, there is far more complexity involved in the student experience than can be derived from just employing these monolithic terms. This research proposes incorporating students’ residential circumstances into these debates to encourage more critical discussions of this complex demographic. Drawing upon the experiences of a sample of students from a UK ‘post-1992’ university this research will develop a profile for each accommodation type to highlight the key characteristics of the ‘type’ of student most likely to belong to each group. In doing so this establishes a more detailed understanding of how a ‘student’ habitus might affect the mechanisms which are put in place to assist students in their transitions into and through university.     

‘Some people might say I'm thriving but … ’: non-traditional students' experiences of university

The expansion of neo-liberal policies' framing higher education has contributed to an increase in participation rates of students from non-traditional backgrounds. While an increase of a wider range of students might be seen as contributing to a more just and equitable higher education system, research has shown that broadening entry points does not necessarily ensure inclusion or positive experience for these students. This research investigated the experiences of first in family, rural and international students as they transitioned into their first year of university. Focus group interviews and surveys were used to collect data. Using Bourdieu's theory of field, habitus and capital as well as Weiss's dimensions of loneliness findings illuminate a number of poignant experiences for non-traditional students. We suggest that facilitating the transition for non-traditional students might require a cultural change by universities and a move away from the notion that the students need to ‘adapt’ to university. Rather, the evolving university might provide for increasingly diverse student cohorts by embracing their habitus and unique features.     

Gender differences in the influence of parental class on young adults’ participation in postsecondary education in the US

As with earlier social disparities in educational achievement, re-enrolment in college education can depend on parental social background. We link this finding with gender differences using data from the US National Longitudinal Study of Youth 79 and ask if the decision to re-enrol in college is influenced by parental social class in a gender-specific way. The results show that adding maternal class position to the operationalisation of social origin can be beneficial and result in a better model fit. Moreover, there are gender differences on the part of the child. Working-class men are constantly disadvantaged in their chances to re-enrol in education throughout their lives compared to men with more privileged family backgrounds, while working-class women are only disadvantaged among early re-entrants. This result is reversed in later years and women with working-class parents re-enrol more often.     

Getting there and staying in: first-generation indigenous students’ educational pathways into Chilean higher education

Drawing on a total of 26 life history interviews with indigenous students in higher education, the article examines the role of activating valued resources and personal strategies to navigate unequal pathways into higher education. In Chile, the historical inequalities for indigenous people’s access to higher education are beginning to be reverted, but these changes misrecognize ongoing disadvantages in regard to experiencing university life. Selection choices regarding the institution and course are based on restricted information sources and prior knowledge, whilst the capital required to succeed is heavily biased toward higher socioeconomic backgrounds. This notwithstanding, students’ transitions into higher education are marked by spontaneous adaptations to work routines, managing crises, and the activation of other resources for ‘staying in’. Emphasis is placed on the resilience expressed by these young people, as the first-generation from their families to access higher education, to negotiate cumulative disadvantages from low-quality educational establishments and poverty.     

Student employment: social differentials and field-specific developments in higher education

In this article, we examine social origin differences in employment patterns across different stages of higher education and compare these differences between vocational and academic fields of study. Using data from a large-scale German student survey, we study the development of inequality, according to social origins, in student employment from first-year to graduating students. We show that inequality in job quality exists and is partly attributable to the need for students from lower social origins to work in order to finance their studies. We hypothesise that initial inequalities decrease as students progress through higher education. While we find evidence for this hypothesis, we also show in multivariate models that the reduction of inequality in the student labour market is explained by prior differences between social origin groups.     

New challenges to Korean universities: increase of older students

This article explores the implications of the recent increase in older students at Korean universities dominated by younger students. A case study design is used to gain an in-depth understanding of experiences of older students in a Korean university. Semi-structured interviews of twelve older students, three professors, two administrators, and four younger students at the university were conducted for the date collection. The results suggest that the experiences of Korean older students differed from those of counterparts in western countries since academic and extracurricular services of Korean universities were geared towards younger students and thus were unhelpful for older students with multiple responsibilities at work and home. Also, the results show that traditional hierarchical relationships between younger and older students created strains for older students who had to rely heavily on younger counterparts. This study's findings highlight the crucial roles of higher education systems and culture in the experiences of older Asian students.     

Networks for Success: Preparing Mexican American AVID College Students for Credentials,Completion, and the Workforce

This qualitative study examines how Mexican American students participating in an AVID for Higher Education course perceived their preparation for the workforce and efficacy of completing a college credential. A focus group approach was used to explore how social and cultural networks (networks for success) contribute to college completion. The study is guided by the theoretical framework of building social networks through the availability and reception of social capital. Findings include Mexican American students’ efficacious beliefs of how networks for success assist in their persistence toward college graduation and entry into the workforce. Major themes are college success and social/cultural capital.     

新世纪我国高等教育公平研究述评

教育公平问题是一个与我国教育发展进程相伴始终的问题。纵观学术界对教育公平问题和高等教育公平问题的研究,涉及的内容主要包括：关于教育公平问题的理论探讨、我国教育公平现实问题的研究,实现高等教育公平的措施和途径等。     

Academic social cohesion within higher education

This article explores the theoretical foundations of social cohesion as it relates to higher education institutions. In so doing it seeks (a) to understand the core elements of social cohesion—social capital, human capital and ethical behavioural norms that serve a common good—and (b) to establish a flexible framework for understanding the combined contributions of higher education to society. Tertiary institutional phenomena (those occurring in higher education) that are involved in the creation of social cohesion are hereafter termed academic social cohesion. The particular emphasis is on higher education’s role in cultivating moral awareness as a vital product of institutions’ primary activities. These core functions of colleges and universities are discussed in relation to both academic social cohesion and the degree to which they should involve the creation of specific ethical norms.

高等教育对区域经济发展的影响——基于人力资本视角的分析

高等教育发展会随着经济发展同向、同步、同质量提高,人力资本尤其是接受过高等教育的人力资本存量对经济的影响越来越重要,因而对高等教育与区域经济之间的关系进行深入分析对于进一步改革和结构调整具有重大意义。文章基于人力资本视角,综合运用管理科学、计量经济学等理论与方法,以经济水平和高等教育水平划分的经济区域和高等教育区域为基础,系统分析了高等教育与区域经济之间在微观和宏观层面的相关性。     

高等职业教育招生现状与对策研究

本文根据当前高职招生工作的现状及特点，剖析了现阶段高职招生工作中的困难，提出了相应的对策，并进行了探讨。     

社会资本对当代教育的影响

20世纪90年代以来,社会资本已经成为当今社会科学领域最前沿和最具影响力的概念之一。学术界从重视人力资本转向重视社会资本,这是理论上的超越和升华,对于教育而言,将打破人力资本理论在教育领域的霸权地位,给教育带来深远影响。对社会资本本身的研究将凸显教育者与受教育者之间关系的主体间交往的本质;社会资本使传统的智力观受到了挑战;促进了知识的新生产;知识传授过程既受社会资本的影响,同时本身也生产社会资本;学校、家庭、社会之间的网络以及学生、家长、教师之间的关系在学生学业成就和学校发展方面具有极其重要的作用。