Participation and equity in higher education: are we going back to the future?

The December 2008 special issue of the Oxford Review of Education provided a review of education policy during Tony Blair’s tenure as Prime Minister. This paper forms a response to the ten contributions to that special issue and discusses some of the issues raised in them. While a few positive aspects of education under New Labour were identified in the special edition, it focused more on the failures of New Labour than its achievements. A common theme to emerge from the papers included the government’s pursuit of neo‐liberal market policies at the expense of its professed commitment to social justice. While accepting that the government’s failure to tackle the differences in educational outcomes between advantaged and disadvantaged pupils constitutes a major failing, the present author argues that significant achievements, such as early years provision, were neglected in the special issue. He also discusses the electoral considerations facing New Labour and the personal role of Tony Blair in determining policy. The paper goes on to consider whether New Labour’s education policy has changed since the departure of Blair and identifies some hints of a potentially more progressive approach developing under Brown. It concludes by suggesting that contributing towards a debate about alternatives to Blairite policies should now become a priority for the ‘educational establishment’.     

An ecological fallacy in higher education policy: the use,overuse and misuse of ‘low participation neighbourhoods’

One form of ecological fallacy is found in the dictum that ‘you are where you live’ – otherwise expressed in the idea that you can infer significant information about an individual or their family from the prevailing conditions around their home. One expression of this within higher education in the UK has been the use (and, arguably, overuse and misuse) of ‘low participation neighbourhoods’ (LPNs) over the last 15 years. These are areas that have been defined, from historic official data, as having a lower-than-average propensity to send their young people on to university. These LPNs have increasingly become used within the widening participation and social mobility agendas as a proxy for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds who have the potential to benefit from higher education, but who would not attend without encouragement, support and/or incentives. In this article, we explore the various uses to which LPNs have been put by policy makers, universities and practitioners, including the targeting of outreach activities, the allocation of funding and the monitoring of the social mix within higher education. We use a range of official data to demonstrate that LPNs have a questionable diagnostic value, with more disadvantaged families living outside them than within them, while they contain a higher-than-expected proportion of relatively advantaged families. We also use content analysis of university policy documents to demonstrate that universities have adopted some questionable practices with regard to LPNs, although some of these are now being actively discouraged.     

Unlocking the gates to the peasants: are policies of ‘fairness’ or ‘inclusion’ more important for equity in higher education?

Attempts to make higher education more equitable more readily succeed at the aggregate (sector) level than at the institutional, with students from disadvantaged groups being overrepresented in low-status institutions. It is suggested that this is because policies of ‘fairness’ (i.e. proportional representation) dominate the contemporary policy framework and are strongly resisted by elite universities. However, using the Australian higher education sector as an example, this paper argues that equity policy is actually a mix of ‘proportional fairness’ and ‘inclusion’ and elite institutions resist not because the policy is deficient but because it might actually work. An alternative approach to higher education equity policy is proposed; one which requires elite institutions to engage meaningfully with disadvantaged students but allows them to retain their status advantage.     

‘I can do it,and how!’ Student experience in access and equity pathways to higher education

Alternative pathways and enabling courses such as foundation programmes are well-established in some tertiary institutions and are likely to be broadened and enhanced across the sector. If such a course is designed along the lines of Biggs’ constructive alignment, it would be hoped that students would be likely to adopt a ‘deep approach’ to learning through their course of study. In addition, it is often assumed (but rarely properly demonstrated) that such courses promote the confidence of students to achieve well in their academic studies. This study explored changes in approaches to learning and academic self-efficacy in the first topic of a Foundation Course, using Biggs’ R-SPQ-2F and a newly developed academic self-efficacy scale. While the findings on approaches to learning were inconclusive, analysis showed a substantial and statistically significant increase in academic self-efficacy.     

Participation disadvantage in Australian higher education: An analysis of some effects of geographical location and socioeconomic status

This paper describes the resultsof a study that re-examined the relatively lowhigher education participation rate of peopleliving in rural or isolated Australia. Thefocus of the study was the goals and plans ofAustralian school students in their seniorschool years and the underlying attitudestowards education. The study suggests highereducation participation for people in rural andisolated areas may be affected less by distancefrom university campuses than by socioeconomiccircumstances and the influences of ruralsocial and cultural contexts. Socioeconomiceffects are generally more pronounced andpervasive than any effects of locationidentified by this study. The implications ofthe findings for equity policy and programs arediscussed.     

Educational psychology: Some questions of status

This article provides a synoptic account of historically changing conceptions and practices of social justice in Australian higher education policy. It maps the changes in this policy arena, beginning with the period following the Second World War and concluding with an analysis of the most recent policy proposals of the Bradley Review. Concurrently, it explores the different meanings ascribed to social justice, equity and social inclusion over this time span and what these have meant and will mean for students, particularly those from low socio-economic backgrounds. It concludes that a relational understanding of social justice – ‘recognitive justice’ – is yet to inform student equity policy in higher education, although this is now what is required in the context of the planned shift from mass to universal participation.     

Does accelerating access to higher education lower its quality? The Australian experience

In the pursuit of mass higher education, fears are often expressed that the quality of higher education suffers as access is increased. This quantitative study considers three proxies of educational quality: (1) prior academic achievement of the student, (2) attrition and retention rates and (3) progression rates, to establish whether educational quality suffers when supply is significantly increased. The period of analysis (2009–2011) saw just such an increase in higher education places in Australia, as universities prepared for the removal of all caps on undergraduate domestic student places in 2012. Our analysis reveals that, whilst widening access results in more students with lower levels of academic achievement entering higher education, this does not necessarily equate to a lowering of educational quality. Furthermore, although on average student progression rates dropped slightly, retention rates actually increased in the majority of universities, suggesting high levels of student perseverance. In addition, there were already wide variations in attrition and progression rates between universities, and the changes observed between 2009 and 2011 did not lead to substantial alterations.     

Chinese whispers? Investigating the consistency of the language of assessment between a distance education institution,its tutors and students

Ensuring the fairness of assessment is important in all areas of higher education. It is particularly so in distance education, where the communication around assessment and feedback is a principal method of supporting learning, and even more so when the students are at the entry point into higher education. This research explores the nature of the language used in explaining the purpose and process of assessment on an access programme at The Open University, UK, from the perspective of the module team, the tutors and the students. It takes a qualitative approach to examine the clarity and consistency of assessment tasks, assessment guidance and TMGs. Analysis revealed inconsistencies in the language used in relation to assessment, which has led to a revision of how assessment tasks and guidance are communicated to students and tutors.     

‘I cannot study far from home’: non‐traditional learners' participation in degree education

This study explores the demand amongst potential higher education (HE) learners from the non‐traditional group for flexible degree level provision, key factors influencing their decision to pursue a degree and existing degree provision. The research entailed a combination of a questionnaire survey, focus group discussions and interviews with the relevant stakeholders in Fife, Scotland. There is evidence for the existence of a demand for local degree provision in Fife: 22% would certainly want to pursue a degree locally and another 31% who originally did not intend to pursue a degree would reconsider it if there were suitable local provision. An increasing demand for degree provision in Fife is also evident and requires addressing. Although there are now three models of college/HE partnerships available within the area, the types of partnerships which can cater more for the need of non‐traditional learners are still very limited. It is also argued that flexible and local learning provision is merely a starting point and that practical and academic support to ensure successful completion of learners' studies is even more crucial.