Widening Participation in Higher Education: Casting the Net Wide?

Front Matter....Pages i-xv
Front Matter....Pages 1-1
Introduction....Pages 3-21
Changing Policy Discourses on Equity and Diversity in UK Higher Education: What Is the Evidence?....Pages 22-36
Widening Participation in Universities in England and Wales: Is There a Connection with Honours Degree Achievement?....Pages 37-50
Wider and Still Wider? A Historical Look at the ‘Open-Ness’ of the Open University of the United Kingdom....Pages 51-70
Front Matter....Pages 71-71
Good Students, Bad Pupils: Constructions of ‘Aspiration’, ‘Disadvantage’ and Social Class in Undergraduate-Led Widening Participation Work....Pages 73-90
Mature Women Students, Study Motivation and Employability....Pages 91-107
Lone Parent Students’ Motivations for and Hopes of Higher Education Engagement....Pages 108-126
Front Matter....Pages 127-127
Choosing a Student Lifestyle? Questions of Taste, Cultural Capital and Gaining a Graduate Job....Pages 129-145
Transformation or Trauma: The Transition to Higher Education of Non-Traditional Students....Pages 146-162
Non-Traditional Adult Students: Access, Dropout, Retention and Developing a Learner Identity....Pages 163-177
The Importance of Social Support Structures for Retention and Success....Pages 178-193
Front Matter....Pages 195-195
Widening Participation Trends in Sweden: Regulations and Their Effects, Intended and Unintended....Pages 197-212
Trends in Widening Participation in French Higher Education....Pages 213-227
Widening Participation in Spanish Higher Education: Will the Current Reform Promote the Inclusion of Non-Traditional Students?....Pages 228-244
Experiencing Higher Education in Ghana and Tanzania: The Symbolic Power of Being a Student....Pages 245-262
Women and Students of Colour as Non-Traditional Students: The Difficulties of Inclusion in the United States....Pages 263-279
Widening Participation and ‘Elite’ Online Education: The Case of the University of California....Pages 280-294
Conclusion: Assessing Progress and Priorities in Widening Participation....Pages 295-311
Back Matter....Pages 312-330