Session Information
22 SES 10 A, Inclusion and Diversity in Higher Education Settings
Paper Session
Contribution
Widening participation is under threat from changes to the funding methodology for undergraduate study in England. Whether participation has actually been widened during the past 10 years or merely expanded is a contested issue. However, it is clear that undergraduates from socially under-represented groups are either located in 'newer' universities, or continue to face overt and also hidden barriers to entry and to successful completion of their studies. As the political focus in the UK has shifted from a social model of higher education, allied to the increased competition for limited places, the situation for non-traditional entrants seems unlikely to drastically improve in the short-term. This research reports on the second year of a 4 year longitudinal study of a cohort of adults who gained entry to universities in England in 2009. As the cohort has its origins within London, it reflects a multi-ethnic group, many of whom are migrants, mainly from East and West Africa, Eastern and Western Europe, and who seek to improve their financial standing and their social inclusion into the community through higher education study. However, in many major European urban areas indigenous working class entrants to universities may have become supplanted by other entrants, particularly with overseas origins. Whilst a European focus on widening participation has sought to address the needs of working class learners, migrant students are similarly socially and/or educationally disadvantaged by a higher education system that may not be sufficiently well attuned to their needs. The importance this has in a European context is that urban conurbations in Europe, as with the UK, are experiencing an increasing migratory population (EC, 2009), many of whom will seek to improve their social opportunities and integration through accessing higher education. Jean-Michel Baer states that social inequalities can only be addressed where barriers to social inclusion are removed. However, this requires a holistic approach to social and educational policy development (Baer, 2009). Thus, identifying the constraints experienced, at first hand, by students prior to entry to university is important. What this second stage of the research attempts to achieve, is to identify the constraints that students experience once they have gained entry to university. Identification of these issues and mechanisms for challenging them is very likely to enhance these students' educational experience, potentially improve their opportunities for success and enhance their inclusivity into the wider society of the country in which they have decided to relocate. It is also anticipated that these findings can encourage university providers to undertake modest changes to their operation which can greatly enhance the students' experience and success.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
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