Bridges, Pathways and Transitions: International Innovations in Widening Participation
By Mahsood Shah
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About this ebook
Bridges, Pathways and Transitions: International Innovations in Widening Participation shows that widening participation initiatives and policies have had a profound impact on improving access to higher education to historically marginalized groups of students from diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds.
The research presented provides a source of inspiration to students who are navigating disadvantage to succeed in higher education against the odds. There are stories of success in difficult circumstances, revealing the resilience and determination of individuals and collectives to fight for a place in higher education to improve chances for securing social mobility for next generations.
The book also reveals that more work and policy interventions are needed to further equalize the playing field between social groups. Governments need to address the entrenched structural inequalities, particularly the effects of poverty, that prevent more academically able disadvantaged students from participating in higher education on the basis of the circumstances of their birth.
Across the globe, social reproduction is far more likely than social mobility because of policies and practices that continue to protect the privilege of those in the middle and top of social structures. With the gap between rich and poor widening at a rate previously unseen, we need radical policies to equalize the playing field in fundamental ways.
- Focuses on collaborations with schools, families, and communities
- Highlights tools and methods to aid in the creation of pathways, bridging initiatives into higher education
- Includes case studies that show how students are supported during the transition into high education systems
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Bridges, Pathways and Transitions - Mahsood Shah
sectors.
Preface
Prof. Gail Whiteford
I recently came across a definition of Widening Participation (WP) on Brunel University’s website which I thought was powerful as it captured the main ideas that underpin what WP is about and the foci through which it can be attained
Widening Participation is a government-driven initiative to increase the number of students from under-represented groups participating in higher education. It aims to increase take-up of HE by: raising aspirations. encouraging applications. ensuring progression, retention and success. (Brunel University, 2016)
It’s a clear statement about what WP is and how Brunel are going about achieving it and they should be commended for having this publicly stated on their website. It speaks to institutional commitment and transparency of strategy. As for the foregrounding of it being government driven
this makes a lot of sense because, as the UNESCO (2013) data remind us, the benefits of increased participation in higher education are significant at the level of the individual through to the national economy:
• Higher levels of education mean people live longer (OECD average= 8 years);
• Higher levels of engagement in civic activities (voting, volunteering, etc.) 15% OECD average;
• Happiness and life satisfaction are higher (by self report) for those who have engaged in HE by 18%;
• Earnings—up to 69% more;
• Employment—up to 25% higher rates of employment;
• Return on investment (public purse) is USD 100,000 for men and USD 52,000 for women;
• Macroeconomic perspective—more than half of GDP growth in OECD countries over the past decade is related to labor income growth amongst tertiary-educated individuals.
Whilst the data are compelling, however, it does not speak to the complexity of the WP endeavor and the vast, coordinated effort required between many stakeholders to realize its essentially transformative agenda. Importantly, such coordinated effort is—and should be—different in nature and scope relative to the national context in which it occurs. Economic frameworks, GDP development priorities, and social policy platforms all influence how WP is understood and valued broadly, whilst institutional funding regimens and strategic drivers impact directly upon the development and ongoing resourcing of WP initiatives at local levels.
What we have attempted to do in this book is to highlight the complexity, value, and impact of a range of WP initiatives around the globe. We do this to enable a shared platform for learning and scholarly dialogue as well as to showcase those initiatives which serve disadvantaged and underrepresented groups and are making a real difference to peoples’ lives. In order to address a continuum of activity from school to higher education, the book is organized around three key themes:
• Raising aspirations: this section focuses on collaborations with schools, families, and communities (Chapters 2–5);
• Providing opportunities: this section provides a focus on the creation of pathways and bridging initiatives into higher education (Chapters 6–10);
• Ensuring success: in this section, the focus is on how students are supported during the transition into high education systems (Chapters 11–14).
The scope of these chapters collectively covers Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Nepal, Turkey, Chile, South Africa, and the Arab Gulf States. We are particularly pleased that such a representation has been possible to enable a diversity of voices and perspectives to be shared on this important topic.
In Chapter 1, Policy and Practice Challenges and Opportunities for Developing Widening Participation in the Global South and North, Hoskins and Shah set the scene
for the book by providing an in-depth overview of the chapters and the conceptual links between them so as to orientate the reader and ensure they get the most from the book. Ultimately, it is our hope that this book provides a vehicle through which scholars, researchers, managers, and leaders in higher education can gain a sense of possibility. This is important because WP is an agenda too important to be left to the uncertainties of political will at any given time.
References
1. Brunel University. (2016). Widening London. <www.brunel.ac.uk/about/administration/access-and-widening-participation> Accessed via Netscape March, 2016.
2. UNESCO. Social and economic value of higher education Paris: UNESCO; 2013.
Chapter 1
Policy and Practice Challenges and Opportunities for Developing Widening Participation in the Global South and North
Kate Hoskins¹ and Mahsood Shah², ¹University of Roehampton, London, United Kingdom, ²CQUniversity, Rockhampton, QLD, Australia
Abstract
In this introductory chapter we provide a summary of the social, economic, and educational context for the rich and insightful research contributions that follow. We explore the recent global drive to widen participation to nontraditional students as governments around the world seek to strengthen their economic competitiveness through educating their citizens to graduate level. We highlight the rapid and extensive policy changes that have occurred to enable the massification of higher education systems in the global north and south, with a particular focus on the emerging nations. The aim of this chapter is to show that structural inequalities persist and widening participation initiatives aimed at providing access to marginalized groups, such as women, mature students, and those from minority ethnic backgrounds, tend to favor more privileged identities, e.g., those from a middle or upper class background. Yet despite the ongoing inequality in accessing higher education, we also acknowledge that policy initiatives to widen participation have provided more opportunities for marginalized groups and thus, the chapters in this book are a source of inspiration and hope to those students attempting to succeed in higher education against the