Widening Participation Policy Research Articles

Using Bourdieu’s concept of habitus to explore higher education decision-making for working class women on an access to higher education course

Despite the increasing number of non-traditional students entering higher education (HE) in England, HE choices remain stratified by social class. Mature working class students are a target group of the widening participation policy, yet little attention has been given to their HE choices and decision-making. Through narrative inquiry, this study uses a creative method alongside focus groups and semi-structured interviews, and contributes a class perspective to the HE decision-making for 13 women on an Access to HE course. It links sociological theory to adult education, through a Bourdieusian framework. It evidences structural constraints and perceptions of belonging that impeded choices. A sense of place and feelings of fit (habitus) were significant for destination decisions. However, Access to HE course teachers were positively influential in helping students challenge embedded habitual ways of thinking and practice and in raising self-efficacy. The findings offer explanations as to why participation rates may be increasing but not widening enough. It illuminates how social class differences (intersected by age and gender) are crucial to understanding HE decision-making and places a much-needed focus on mature students to the widening participation and social mobility agenda.

Assessing English Widening participation policy (2016–2021): trends, devolution, and collaborative partnerships

ABSTRACT This paper analyses recent trends in English Widening Participation (WP) policy over a six-year period from the introduction of the Higher Education and Research Bill and the formation of the Office for Students, up to the completion of Phase 2 of the Uni Connect project. It will draw upon the history of WP policy in England, especially the 1997 Dearing Report to assess whether recent policy measures have come closer to addressing the omnipresent inequality that is present within higher education. The paper will follow the journey of WP policy as it moves through a process of devolution into collaborative partnerships. This period can be defined by the planning and execution of the National Collaborative Outreach Programme (NCOP) and this paper will consider the efficacy of this programme within its immediate policy context. The authors will explore the successes and shortcomings of the policies that define this period and whether the developments discussed have brought England closer to the vision of participation set out by Dearing and by the needs of the contemporary context. It is concluded that the redirection of resources from WP to recruitment diminishes intervention effectiveness, thereby perpetuating inequality. Therefore, clearer WP strategies are required involving broader partnerships to counter market forces and ensure sustainable impact.

Translating government policy into practice: How new UK medical schools enact widening participation.

Increasing the diversity of medical students, or widening participation (WP), is critical for social justice and healthcare delivery, and many governments are setting policies to encourage WP. However, establishing policy is only the first step in an educational change process: we also need to know "how" policy is enacted or how medical schools interpret and put into practice WP policy. Addressing this gap, the aim of this study was to examine policy enactment in six new UK medical schools with an explicit WP mandate. This qualitative study, underpinned by social constructivism, used semi-structured interviews to explore the experiences of key actors (6 Deans and 14 Admissions staff) of putting policy into practice when setting up a new medical school. Data coding and analysis were initially inductive, using thematic analysis. We then applied Ball's theory of policy enactment to organise the data into four contextual dimensions of 'situation', 'professional', 'material' and 'external'. On the surface, there were many similarities across the six schools in terms of the four dimensions. However, how these dimensions interacted illuminated tensions and differences. For example, some schools found themselves increasingly subjected to local and extra-local rule systems, including pressure to follow host university norms and hosts struggling to accept that medical schools are heavily regulated. There were also tensions between the new medical schools and the medical education "establishment", including lack of power and being judged by overly narrow outcomes. Different contexts seem to influence the enactment of WP to medicine in different places, even in the same country, even in medical schools established at the same time. That policy enactment is a complex, non-linear process of enactment is important to acknowledge: context is critical. Our findings will inform future policies and practices that aim to increase WP in medicine.

Student access to higher education through alternative pathways and differences by equity group and discipline

ABSTRACT Widening participation in higher education for under-represented groups is a priority internationally. In Australia, the most common entry pathway for domestic undergraduate students is by obtaining an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) in the final year of secondary school. The ATAR system, however, has been criticised as disadvantaging certain equity groups. Consequently, widening participation policy has encouraged alternative entry pathways into university, including enabling/bridging courses, vocational education qualifications, or portfolio entry based on demonstrated skills and experience. There is, however, relatively scarce evidence of student use of these pathways, including those from equity groups. Drawing on national enrolment data and institution-specific pathway data for 16 Australian universities, this study’s examination of admission data found increasing use of alternative pathways among most student equity groups, with variations by discipline. The findings inform stakeholder understanding of the relative success of alternative entry pathways in widening participation, informing strategies for improvement and future policy.

Towards a deeper medicine: Widening participation and race-class social relations.

Foreshew directs readers towards exploration that can deepen awareness of race‐class relations and yield more effective implementation of widening participation policies.

Classed markers of a working-class academic identity

Working-class academics (WCAs) represent a powerful example of widening participation policies, although their struggles (and achievements) are often overlooked once they enter the academy. Drawing on extensive qualitative interview data with WCAs, the largest study conducted, to date, in the United Kingdom, and informed by the work of Pierre Bourdieu and Tara Yosso, this article outlines four main class markers that were inherent in the WCA identity of these respondents: a lack of a safety net to ‘manage’ academic precarity; an uneven access to capital; a complex habitus; ‘utilising lived experience’. This article ends with a consideration of how we can move forward in our approach to studying working-class cohorts and offers three key recommendations for further research.

Whose target group is it anyway? The messy business of enacting widening participation policy

ABSTRACT The widening participation (WP) policy agenda directs higher education institutions (HEIs) in England to deliver measures aimed at increasing participation rates among under-represented groups. A central aspect of this is the idea that targeting must be used to reach individuals belonging to these groups. However, the detail of how to go about putting this into practice has largely been left to the interpretation of HEIs and the staff working within them to deliver WP. Drawing upon in-depth interviews with WP practitioners to gain insight into how this policy is being enacted on the ground, this paper will demonstrate how external and situated contexts shape the interpretation of targeting; in particular, the closely interlinked contextual factors of an institution’s position in the HE market, makeup of its student body, and nature of its relationship to the regulator. Furthermore, examining how social class, ethnicity and gender feature within targeting approaches, it will show how different contextual factors make certain target groups possible while effectively precluding others.

Stratification and the illusion of equitable choice in accessing higher education

ABSTRACT In recent decades, the Australian higher education landscape has achieved significant expansion. Initially aimed at getting more people into university, massification policies have, more recently, focused on widening participation – encouraging a more diverse array of students to ‘choose’ higher education. Paradoxically, this shift has deepened stratification, with new inequalities within and across the academy. However, this stratification is glossed over in widening participation policy and research. In this paper, we challenge this view by examining young people’s capacities to ‘choose’ university using the heuristic of ‘embedded choosers’ and ‘contingent choosers.’ Our analysis of two school-based case studies highlights the early stratification of students’ post-school choices, conceptualised as a continuum from an absence of choice to a wide array of global choice. We argue that rather than focus on gains in overall enrolment, there is a critical need to address the insidious stratification that is subsumed within the widening participation agenda.

Widening participation policy as practice: category work and local policy appropriations at student support units

ABSTRACT The massification of national systems of higher education in recent decades and the rapid increase in the number of students have raised widening participation for students from underrepresented groups as a central policy agenda. In this study I focus on an overlooked group in the research literature – student support practitioners, who provide advising and counseling services to students – and explore how these practitioners negotiate and shape widening participation policies as part of their ongoing work. The study is based on interviews with 43 support practitioners working in 17 Israeli higher education institutions. It draws on the policy-as-practice approach and the theoretical construct of category work to explore how these practitioners interpret, adapt, and modify widening participation policies. The analysis reveals three practices of category work: creation, transformation, and disruption of policy categories: Practitioners create a new category of flexible and part-time studies, transform the category of students eligible for support by expanding its boundaries to include low socioeconomic status, and disrupt a target group’s category by dissolving its boundaries, modifying its homogenous nature, and eliminating problematic support tools. This study contributes to our understanding of the gaps between WP policies and their appropriation, and of the processes in which local actors shape policy categories.

Meritocratic and fair? The discourse of UK and Australia's widening participation policies

Globally, people with the academic and personal attributes to successfully study medicine experience disadvantages associated with sociodemographic factors. Governments have attempted to address this issue via macrolevel policies aimed at widening participation (WP) to medicine. These policies differ by country, suggesting much can be learned from examining and comparing international policy discourses of WP. Our question was: How are discourses of WP to higher and medical education positioned in the UK and Australia? A systematic search strategy was guided by five a priori themes inspired by United Nations Sustainability Goals (2015). Seventeen policy documents (UK n=9, Australia n=8) published between 2008 and 2018 were identified. Analysis involved two over-arching, iterative stages: a document analysis then a Foucauldian critical discourse analysis, the latter with the aim of unveiling the power dynamics at play within policy-related discourses. Discourses of social mobility and individual responsibility within a meritocracy are still paramount in the UK. In contrast, the dominant discourse in Australia is social accountability in achieving equity and workforce diversity, prioritising affirmative action and community values. Similarities between the two countries in terms of WP policy and policy levers have changed over time, linked to the divergence of internal drivers for societal change. Both nations recognise tensions inherent in striving to achieve both local and global goals, but Australia appears to prioritise community values in working towards 'nation building' whereas in the UK the focus on individuality and meritocracy at times seems at odds with achieving parity for disadvantaged individuals. WP policies and practices are situated and contextual so caution must be taken when extrapolating lessons from one context to another. The history of a country and the nature of marginalisation in that country must be scrutinised when trying to understand what drives WP policy.

‘So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past’: legacy, care leavers and university study

ABSTRACT International research reveals underrepresentation and problems of retention, amongst care leavers in higher education, are universal. Drawing upon qualitative research in England, we highlight legacy as an under-explored and double-edged feature of care leavers’ motivations to enter and persist in university study. While restricting access to the propulsive power of material resources, in the context of a widening participation policy mandate, our interviewees’ care experiences also shaped an ‘orientation framework’ providing a strong desire to ‘prove people wrong’ through study. Supporting this orientation were examples of significant other relations; but interviewees’ linked lives also meant the past could resurface in the present, resulting in strong emotional reactions. These could threaten orientation to university study by undermining self-reliance and fragile mental health. As the problem of care leavers’ retention occurs across different higher education systems with varied structural and cultural specifics, it appears to transcend such issues. We conclude further study of the nuanced issue of legacy may help better elucidate the problem of retention and we advocate for ‘corporate parenting’ moving beyond an objective list approach to well-being.

Reframing widening participation towards the community: a realist evaluation

This article draws on an evaluation of Go Higher West Yorkshire (GHWY) Uni Connect – an initiative by the Office for Students (OfS) to reduce educational inequalities through collaborative widening participation (WP) outreach across West Yorkshire. It contributes to wider debates on widening participation policy through demonstrating how Higher Education Progression Officers (HEPOs) normalised 'progression' based on community and learners' needs. We deploy realist evaluation to examine the role of HEPOs in a range of educational contexts where young people historically do not progress on to higher education (HE) at the same rates as their peers when GCSE results are taken into account. While there are complexities around the introduction of WP resources in such communities, the article highlights the importance of contextualised WP, and offers a new model of community-focused WP that incorporates learners' needs, educational institutions and the wider community space in which they reside.

The Covid-19 pandemic and the dissolution of the university campus: implications for student support practice

PurposeThis paper problematises student support in higher education during the Covid-19 crisis and proposes an original approach of social network analysis for developing effective support for students from different socio-economic backgrounds.Design/methodology/approachIn this forward-thinking essay, the authors draw on theoretical ideas from Hannah Arendt in conceptualising the destructive and productive nature of societal crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic. We also draw on literature on social network analysis in exploring student support.FindingsThe authors propose a number of recommendations for university staff to consider when developing effective student support, ranging from nurturing their own professional capital to mapping student support networks and the role of faculty within these.Originality/valueThis paper emphasises the importance of developing effective student support that works for students from different socio-economic backgrounds. This is essential to avoid regression in widening participation policies and practices, and to promote inclusive university environments.

The creation of social networks: social capital and the experiences of widening participation students at three elite institutions in the US, England, and Scotland

ABSTRACT As nations continue to use OECD data to ensure preparedness for global competitiveness, questions concerning how inequality is constructed and maintained in different nations are critical. Drawing on Bourdieu and Savage, I argue that social capital continues to perpetuate social inequality both prior to and during university attendance despite decades of widening participation policy in the US and UK. A nested case study of thirty underrepresented students across the US, England, and Scotland is used to illustrate three findings: students who identified as being from the poorest backgrounds indicated having fewer social ties both prior to and during their university experience. Second, widening participation students do not receive the same social advancement from attending an elite university as their peers. Finally, differences in how each of these universities organise students provide clues to how universities can ensure the social acceptance, inclusion and cohesion of the underrepresented student.

No such thing as a free lunch: widening participation in English higher education for those on free school meals

Government policy is committed to increasing the representation of students that come from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds at selective universities in England. However, access and participation of this group remain stratified and unequal. Focusing on free school meals as a proxy for socio-economic disadvantage, this article will examine how successful the Government has been in influencing 25 of the most selective universities in England to change their widening participation policies in relation to free school meal students. Drawing on the Stephen J. Ball conceptualisation of policy as text and policy as discourse, a macro-level policies were enacted at a micro-level. Findings indicate that the Government has had some success at influencing some local practices of the sampled institutions. However, universities have also deployed strategies that are based on established and dominant discourses to maintain their elite and selective position in society.

Estranged students in higher education: navigating social and economic capitals

ABSTRACTFamily is widely regarded as a cornerstone of student support. When family support exist as an essential form of social capital making, rupture of family ties places students in a disadvantageous position. This paper focuses on estranged students’ accounts of their experiences of higher education, highlighting how capital dynamics shape their academic trajectories. Based on interviews with 21 estranged students, our research uncovers different dimensions of estranged students’ struggles and successes as they move through academia. This paper explores the social imagination that surrounds the university student, or ‘student experience’, as resting upon family support. The authors propose that widening participation policies and practices need to be more attuned to the realities that mark estranged students’ experiences, as they are not only impacted by the scarcity of either economic or social capital, but also by the instability of interrelated capitals that contribute to precarious and volatile experiences.

‘The best and the brightest’: widening participation and social justice in contemporary English social work education

ABSTRACT Social work education in England has a long track record of success in widening participation to disadvantaged student populations. However, more recently these successes have instead been cast as a burden that is negatively impacting on the calibre of students entering the profession. Alongside this reconceptualisation, new fast-track models of education have been introduced, providing a quicker and more financially supported a route of entry to the profession. This article critically examines the changing nature of widening participation in social work education and how fast-track social work programmes are perpetuating the inequalities that are inherent at all levels of the English educational system. This discussion is shown to have implications for widening participation policy agenda beyond social work. The concerns that are raised should be of interest to any other jurisdictions considering the possibility of a fast-track approach to social work education. A social justice approach-based bringing students together is proposed as an alternative and preferable model of social work education.

Thinking–feeling–imagining futures through creative arts-based participatory research

Aspiration for higher education has been a focus of significant policy intervention in Australia for some time, with numerous large-scale research studies investigating the formation of aspiration amongst high school students. However, case studies in particular schools which might provide insights into the complexities and contradictions of aspirations for individual young people are scarce. This paper explores aspirations for particular futures from the perspectives of young women in a single-sex NSW government school in an area of historically lower HE participation. Rather than conventional interview-based methods where researchers ask young people to articulate their plans for the future, the study adopted creative arts-based methods which enabled students to engage with each other and a range of materials to produce multimodal ‘aspiration artefacts’ of their imagined futures. The method assemblage privileged imagination and embodied feelings, beyond the rational information-driven pedagogies that are promoted in widening participation policies. Our close readings of artefacts created by three Year 9 girls demonstrate that aspiration is a process that is relational, embodied, affectively and discursively constituted; and further, that this is inflected by gender, class and other positionalities in elusive and unanticipated ways. Arts-based methods allow us to tentatively trace the work of thinking–feeling–imagining that is entailed in developing and articulating aspirations for particular futures.

Raising Aspirations and Higher Education: Evidence from the United Kingdom’s Widening Participation Policy

This paper investigates the relationship between aspirations and inequality in higher education participation. Using a regression discontinuity design, I evaluate the impact of a national-scale Uni...

Who Goes to College via Access Routes? A Comparative Study of Widening Participation Admission in Selective Universities in Ireland and England

This article explores changing national widening participation (WP) policy and responses from Higher Education institutions (HEIs) from a cross-national perspective. Specifically, the use of contextualised admissions and the provision of foundation year programmes in selective universities in Ireland and England are the key foci of interest. Using data gathered from WP students in two selective universities in Ireland and England, we explore how student characteristics differ according to the WP route undertaken. In an attempt to generate more knowledge of how HEIs enact WP policy, we draw on interviews conducted with staff involved in admission decision-making to explore how those with responsibility for admission within each institutional context perceive the WP pathways and their aims. The findings highlight how important it is for selective universities to adopt multiple WP pathways given that the use of contextualised admission and the provision of foundation years attract quite diverse student intakes. In both contexts, those entering through foundation years have experienced greater levels of disadvantage in terms of family history of education and family occupation compared to their contextualised admission counterparts. The qualitative findings reveal that those with responsibility for admission perceive the WP admission routes in different ways, highlighting a clash between institutional culture and the goals of WP.