Aspirations, Access and Attainment

It is perhaps ironic that as the global financial crisis has, in some cases, led governments and institutions to pull back from and/or set more modest goals and associated funding around widening participation, there is an ever-growing sense that the ideals buttressing the widening participation movement are becoming more universally acknowledged by educators across the globe. That acknowledgement has translated into action on the ground via such means as policy formulation, strategic planning and target setting - each of which often reflects local contexts and manifests a regional 'flavour'. There is also, however, an increasing realisation that there are commonalities in the challenges involved with national or regional initiatives to increase the participation of non-traditional groups in higher education and that the drivers of such initiatives - and ultimately the cohorts they target - stand to benefit considerably from an open exchange of ideas and sharing of experience.

This book brings together current regional perspectives on widening participation as presented by prominent academics, researchers, policy-makers, and students from across the globe. It will create for policy-makers, institutions, and individuals interested in enabling access, a useful and informative resource that will introduce, formulate, shape and reinforce the ideas and aims of the World Congresses on widening access.

As the contributors maintain, in an increasingly globalised market economy and in the face of recent seismic economic, political and social change around the world, it is imperative to both secure existing talent within our populations and uncover and nurture new sources of talent. The series of essays featured in this book will explore, anticipate, and highlight themes underpinning a global movement towards a step-change in thinking, strategies, and policies - one that places youth and students from around the world at its heart.

Auteur

Neil Murray is Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics at the University of Warwick, Centre for Applied Linguistics, UK.

Christopher M. Klinger is Senior Lecturer at the School of Communication, International Studies and Languages at the University of South Australia.

Contenu

1. Connecting the unconnected: towards a global access movement Stuart Billingham
   2. Regressive social policy and its consequences for opportunity for Higher Education in the United States, 1980 to present
      Tom Mortenson
      3. Meeting the U.S. demand for talent: the imperative of increasing attainment for underserved populations Jamie P. Merisotis
         4. Inequality as the key obstacle to widening successful participation in South Africa - and why Higher Education is obliged to redress it Ian Scott
            5. Society, economy and access to post-secondary studies in Québec Nicolas Bastien, Pierre Chenard, Pierre Doray, and Benoît Laplante
               6. Challenges for Adult Access in Europe Michael Osborne, Simon Broek, and Bert-Jan Buiskool
                  7. Widening participation in UK Higher Education: the institutional performance Malcolm Tight
                     8. Student engagement to improve belonging, retention and success Liz Thomas
                        9. Autonomy, legitimacy and confidence: using mainstream curriculum to successfully widen participation Liz Marr, George Curry and John Rose-Adams
                           10. "I thought I knew this stuff, but apparently I don't": understanding the transition into university-level thinking Robert Cantwell, Jill Scevak and Erika Spray
                               11. An argument concerning overcoming inequalities in Higher Education
                                   Stephen Gorard
                                   12. Students as experts: reflections on the 'student voice' Neil Murray and Christopher M. Klinger
                                       13. Student voices: student union perspectives on access, inclusion and policy making in Higher Education 13.1 Australian student voice influences on wider participation policy and practice through a Student Union lens Donherra Walmsley 13.2 The student voice in widening access to Higher Education 365
                                           in England - the case of the access agreement Debbie McVitty 13.3 Social Dimension a step towards a more inclusive Higher Education Area Florian Kaiser and Taina Moisander