Higher Education Equity Literature Database

Context: Introduction to Special Issues on emotional geographies of education as a new line of inquiry
Theoretical frame: Emotional geography, specifically Deleuze & Guattari (2008)
Methodology: Essay/ discussion piece
Discussion: Education = "almost always positioned as rational e as a social and epistemological endeavor, as an abstract process, as a set of reasoned and logical practices, and as a series of formal spaces the production and use of which is as 'uncontaminated' by emotion as possible" (p.132) - when it is considered, it is through lens of educational psychology and pathologised (visible only when = problematic). Where emotion is included (e.g., emotional intelligence) = understood along rational (thus masculine) lines. Understandings of emotion in social/ discursive/ spatial/ affective offer different possibilities and understandings. Moving on, notion of affectivities (Deleuze & Guattari, 2008): "the intense sensation of bodies that are pre-personal and pre-discursive. This understanding of affectivities has been taken up to understand and demonstrate the ways that affective intensities flow through educational sites and encounters in ways that exceed any notion of a unitary subject, even an emotional unitary subject" (p.133). Exploration of space and place = permits multiple positionings of education's "centers and margins, mobilities and stabilities, hierarchies, relationalities and positionalities" (p.133), and speaks to ontology of 'becoming-other' (Deleuze & Guattari, 2008).
Core argument: Emotional geographies of education = hitherto non-existent but highly fruitful new are of inquiry

Context: Emotional teaching/ caring teaching in school settings as an underexplored area of research; emotional struggles as part of care. Emotional labour can involve the expression and inhibition of various emotional reactions/ states. Authors argue that their perspective is at odds with other views of caring teaching (which play down the emotional aspects of teaching): "we view emotional labour associated with caring teaching as a preeminent site for contestation about the nature of a caring teacher, and for attempts to shape and reshape the professional and intellectual stance of a caring teacher" (p.122).
Aim: To identify the range of emotions experienced and described by first author (teacher); to investigate "the ways in which caring teaching is problematized at the intersection of positive and negative functions of emotional labour" (p.122). Article responds to this question: What are the negative and positive functions of emotional labour in caring teaching? (p.124)
Theoretical frame: Emotional labour (Hoschschild, 1983) is described as "emotional labour is what teachers perform when they engage in caring relationships but they have to induce, neutralize or inhibit their emotions so as to render them appropriate to situations" (p.123). In contrast, "Emotional work involves many emotional costs, and is often invisible, unacknowledged, or devalued; consequently, conceptualizing this as a form of work challenges assumptions of care as natural or effortless" (p.123). Hoschschild (1983) also outlined a further distinction of 'emotional management' to describe how people control their emotions. Authors argue that emotional labour tends to foreground the negative aspects, thus concealing the positive aspects of teaching
Methodology: Collaborative action research over 2 years - see p.124 for description. Focus on Author 1's relationship with one student 'Reed' - data included reflective journal, student work, class notes and planning documents. Data = presented as extended reflection on emotions and actions of dealing with Reed.
Findings:
Negative emotional labour: manifested in two ways - suppressed sadness and depression (at 'failure' to help Reed or create an inclusive classroom - high expectations she set for herself) and frustration (at how her colleagues treated Reed).
Caring and positive emotional labour: positive impact on self-esteem - "for the good of the children", a strong sense of satisfaction from feeling she belongs in the classroom.
"Caring teaching for Lynn is intellectual, emotional, challenging, demanding and deliberate. Emotional labour seems just an inextricable part of caring teaching" (p.132).
Authors identify different forms of caring:
- pedagogical care: "caring about children's academic expectations"
- moral care: "caring about the values communicated in learning"
- cultural care: "caring that communicates the norms of the culture in which the school/classroom is part of" (p.132)
Core argument: Caring teaching is both emotionally charging and draining. Further exploration is needed of the institutional contexts in which caring teaching occurs.

Context: Contributes to increasing interest in exploring role of emotions in higher education learning; draws on psychoanalytic lens to examine significance of anxiety and tension for learning. Using psychoanalytic lens = "provides opportunities for insight into the emotionality of learning" (p.686). Review of literature on emotions connects recent interest to WP agenda and constructivist perspectives (see p.687). Authors note this is contested terrain - distraction away from power dynamics and neoliberal/ surveillance-driven regimes of performativity, and 'epistemology of emotion' (Ecclestone, 2004; Furedi, 2004) = "a consequence of competition for legitimacy by poorly theorised psychological perspectives the result of which is to re-cast the identity of all learners as emotionally vulnerable and diminished agents" (p.687). At same time, there is acceptance that the affective/ emotional = deeply connected to learning
Aim: Three aims: 1) examine links between emotion and learning (literature review of 'the emotional turn') - experiences of anxiety = produce learning; 2) foreground agency of learners and teachers; 3) examine emotions of educators and students
Theoretical frame: Psychoanalysis (Winnicott, 1960...; Bion, 1959...) = intersubjective, social and collective experiences (not just individual psychology). Winnicott = developmental model at intersection between internal and external processes and facilitative environment = 'hold' emotions (importance of tutor to facilitate teaching and learning relationship). Bion = 'psychic containment', where "exposure to new, uncertain experiences can revive unconscious processes involving an oscillation between a state of high anxiety where thinking is difficult, and a state of coherence and cohesiveness as the mind becomes gradually capable of tolerating frustration and ambivalence" (p.689) - tutor's role = stimulate imaginative reflection ('reverie') and be a 'temporary container for anxieties' helps students to make meaning so that they "become able to internalise not only a 'container' of feelings but also a mind that can hold and generate thoughts" (p.689)
Methodology: Constructivist-interpretivist qualitative paradigm. Draws on year-long action research pedagogic project in postgraduate professional programme - didactic approach replaced by experiential learning approach (see Kolb, 1984) to facilitate collaborative peer learning and aid metacognitive practices to facilitate meaning making. Authors = curriculum designers and teachers of programme. Data collected from students and tutors via focus group-like interactions using flip charts to summarise thoughts/ responses to questions. Flip charts = data/ thematically analysed.
Findings: 6 main themes emerged: cognitive, functional, skills, assessment issues, novelty value, emotional responses.
Students (early to mid-point of programme) = students were largely positive but concerned about assessment. Mid-point, most students = frustrated that approach took too much time and increased anxiety about assessment. Common emotions= "'worry', 'scared' 'frustration'; 'fear'; 'tearful'; 'panic'; 'concern'; 'anxious'; 'unmotivated'; 'bored'" (p.691).
Tutors (early to mid-point of programme) = tutors also apprehensive at beginning but by mid-point = more positive as they saw greater engagement with pedagogy and satisfaction with students' achievement.
At mid-point there was a planned changed of tutors. Group 1 of students = happy to continue with new pedagogic approach; group 2 demanded return to traditional didactic approach. Group 3 kept same tutor but also demanded return to traditional approach and a compromise was brokered (to remain with new approach but recognised and met needs of students regularly). Group 2 set up independent study groups because they were frustrated with tutor (and authors did not know about this until afterwards). At end of programme, highly emotional states = evident with students and tutors - distance between students and teachers eroded sense of confidence. Some students = highly frustrated and critical of the approach = quote on p.693 illustrates how this new approach was not taken up and criticism of tutors for not listening to their 'customer feedback').
Anxiety = 1) about new approach; 2) about perceived mismatch between experiential pedagogy and summative assessment (epistemological fluidity in tutorials v. 'right' answers in assessment); 3) 'lack of clarity': "pedagogic
(mis)alignment becomes additionally significant and our case highlights how that can be emotionally as well as intellectually problematic for learners and tutors alike" (p.693). Discussion about working in groups (students and tutors) and context of ambiguity (seeking comfort in 'not knowing' - see Winnicott - and tutors "became caught up in a state of mind with very limited tolerance of frustration and of 'not knowing'" (see Bion; p.694).
Core argument: Psychoanalytic lens = contribute rich understandings of learning process; both teachers and learners have agency in learning contexts; teachers and students experience learning emotionally. They argue this is particularly salient for 'WP' students.

Context: Examination of 'falling standards' and plagiarism in context of increased international student populations in Australia
Aim: To explore academics' views of 'falling standards' and plagiarism
Methodology: Qualitative interviews with 14 academics from 10 universities.
Core argument: Discussion of English Proficiency tests (IELTS): international v. NESB. Half of the academics/ participants reported feeling pressure to pass students because of the commercial implications of not passing. Flawed appeals procedures for plagiarism cases (in the majority of the cases reported by the participants, the cheating student had either got off lightly or had won their appeal due to intervention of senior staff). Calls for universities to set linguistic standards appropriate to level of study (p.19) - less international students could lead to less foreign money/ more funding from federal government

Context: The Equity Scorecard is a diversity assessment tool designed to foster institutional change in higher education by helping to close the achievement gap for historically underrepresented students. It focuses attention not on how students can change to meet the rigors of college but instead on institutional change. The Scorecard's premise is simple and strategic; members of the campus community use established institutional data to measure student educational outcomes and assess factors that influence those outcomes and develop self-generated corrective strategies. It helps institutions monitor progress in four areas: access, retention, excellence, and institutional viability using both macro-measures (large-scale picture of the institution) and micro-measures (examining specific trends and student outcomes at a more fine-grained level). After examining selected micro measures to determine the success and educational gaps in institutional units or programs, campuses should move to the next stage which involves defining goals and improvement targets.
Aim: To determine the effectiveness of the implementation of the Equity Scorecard at Loyola Marymount University (USA).
Findings: Several structural, attitudinal and cultural components of institutional transformation, which did not exist prior to implementation of the Scorecard, were now present in the campus community. Examples are provided.
Core argument: The Equity Scorecard is one of the most effective assessment tools available to help institutions of higher education achieve educational equity. The Scorecard raised the level of consciousness about educational equity and its relation to academic excellence and provided the evidence necessary to support institutional change.

Context: Young people leaving authority care are one of the most under-represented groups in higher education (HE) (p. 5). Children in care have generally poor attainment of education at all levels, and the proportion of care leavers progressing to HE (7%) is tiny compared to non-care leaver entrants (43%) (Driscoll, 2011). Studies of care leavers with successful academic outcomes have identified aspects of resilience which help students overcome 'risk factors' (difficulties) by having access to 'protective factors' (Stein, 2006, 2008; Driscoll, 2011, 2013; Munson, 2013). Research which identifies types of support provided by the university is therefore urgently needed to ensure that risk factors are minimised and protective factors are increased to ensure successful academic outcomes of care leavers in university (p. 7).
Aim: The study aimed to investigate the whole university experience of final year care leavers to identify the following: 1) Perceived impacts of their care leaver status on their experience 2)Difficulties encountered 3)Sources of support and factors that were perceived to have contributed to successful outcomes (completion and attainment)
Theoretical Framework: None identified
Methodology: A qualitative, interpretive approach was selected (p. 8). Narrative interviews were employed as a specific method of data collection. Narrative accounts of academic and personal experiences were gathered using the critical incident approach (Brookfield, 1987; Trip, 1993). Eight care leavers (females aged between early 20s and early 40s) participated in the study.
Findings: Findings show that there is a range of risk and protective factors which impact on the success of care leavers at university, and each individual had a 'specific set of factors' (p. 9). (Example of protective and risk factors can be observed in Table 1, p. 10). Key factors which emerge as important in ensuring success of care leavers at university include the following: motivation for participation, preparation for university, academic, personal and financial support for difficulties at university, and the importance of a safety net such as the care leavers' service (pp. 10 - 18)
Core Argument: The actions of universities and their academic and support staff can have significant impacts on care leavers' success in HE and it is crucial for HE institutions to provide specialized support for care leavers, to ensure that the 'social status quo' (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1990) is not simply reproduced (p. 19).
Context: Non-traditional students are often underrepresented in HE and whose participation might be limited by structural factors. (Definition of non-traditional students: p. 63). Increased evidence shows that non-traditional students are at particular risk of withdrawal from HE (p. 63). Research with non-traditional students on two distinct but related projects at a UK university led to the consideration of the concept of resilience in helping understand student retention and success.
Aim: To explore the potential for using the concept of 'resilience' to help understand non-traditional students' retention and withdrawal.
Research Questions: 1) In what ways and to what extent can the concept of resilience be used to help understand individual students' experiences of HE? 2) In what ways and to what extent can the concept of resilience be used to help universities put in appropriate support for non-traditional students? 3) What are the strengths and weaknesses of resilience as a theoretical approach to understanding retention in HE?
Theoretical Framework: 'Resilience framework' is used to understand the experiences of non-traditional students.. Other theories used in the study include Bourdieu's concepts of 'social and cultural capital (Bourdieu, 1986); Tinto's model of student drop-out (Tinto, 1975) and Honneth's (1995) theory of recognition to understand how retention and success of students can be dependent upon a process of authentic recognition by significant others.
Methodology: Researchers draw on findings from two related research projects on non-traditional students, with a focus primarily on interview data & critical incident analysis to determine variables which enabled students to overcome issues encountered at university.
Project 1: Exploring the experiences of students on the National Scholarship Programme
a) longitudinal, mixed-methods approach (online questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and data tracking through the students' record system)
b) 20 semi-structured interviews with non-traditional students: Accounts of positive and negative experiences were gathered using the critical incident approach (Brookfield, 1987; trip, 1993).
Project 2: Exploring the experiences of care leavers in higher education
a)qualitative, interpretive approach
b)Narrative accounts of academic and personal experiences were gathered through semi-structured interviews, using the critical incident approach
Findings: There are a number of protective and risk factors for non-traditional students within the control of HE institutions. Key factors include the following: Significant adult relationship/ supportive, approachable tutor, financial support and management, good network of friends and family, awareness and access of student support, engagement in extra-curricular activities and good attendance.
Core Argument: The resilience framework can play a substantial role in helping tutors understand the range of factors which impact students' retention and success rate in HE, by:
1)providing an additional layer of analysis to studies of non-traditional students
2)providing theoretical benefits: focuses attention on both individual and structural factors & facilitates understanding of different student outcomes in seemingly similar situations
3)providing practical benefits: focuses on aspects of institutional culture and environment which can help students develop resilience. Many factors which have potential impact on retention of all students are within the control of individual institutions. Support which individual institutions can provide to non-traditional students include: support through personal tutoring, targeted study support, and assistance with social and academic integration.

Context: Focus groups conducted with a students from a HEB from a diverse set of countries, studying in HE in Australia
Aim: How do refugees experience and perceive HE? What are barriers to success, from their perspective? Aim to capture the voices and perceptions of refugee students in this context.
Conclusions: Refugee students experience a variety of difficulties and barriers to success that are not recognised by universities. This area is currently under-researched and requires an increased focus. Research particularly needs to consider that refugee students may have particular psychosocial needs that impact their HE experience. HEB students may experience sociocultural dissonance, stress, anxiety, health issues, racism, and difficulty with acculturating to the practical aspects of resettlement that will all affect how they participate and succeed in HE. These factors are not recognised in conventional university systems of support. Refugees are not generally provided with specific forms of support that take into account these particular needs. Also: unfamiliar with education styles, emotional distress, financial and social pressures, exclusion from social networks in the uni but having responsibilities to social networks outside of it. Gender issues: women have burden of caring for home. Students have high aspirations, but face barriers to achieve them (as above). Although HEB students have diverse backgrounds, there is a need for universities to support these students (particularly those who are especially underprepared, and the data suggests many are) to be familiarised with the context of HE in Australia.
Methodological comments: Focus on psychosocial needs; what about the practical aspects that influence HE experience for refugees (i.e. remittances, financial difficulties, housing disruption, etc.) This could have been explored more.
Core argument: Identifies the gap in the literature we are directly addressing. Provides a scoping basis for the issues that we may also come across, which can be a platform for our analysis.

Context: Importance of first year experience for future academic success, particularly in the context of widening participation; recent reforms to German higher education that have created additional challenges for students' transitions (standardised study programmes including more frequent and earlier exams)
Aim: To "explore the first-year challenges in German HE from the student perspective focusing on the nexus of the individual and institutional factors relevant for successful transition" (abstract). To respond to these RQs:
"1. Which critical requirements emerge from students' reports on their first-year challenges?
2. How relevant are the identified critical requirements to first-year students?
3. How do students experience critical requirements during the first year?" (p.374)
Theoretical frame: Broader study has sought to develop a comprehensive framework based on psychosocial (learning strategies) and sociocultural (socialisation/ integration/ identity transformation and belonging), which "attempts to bridge the gap between the variable-centred and the more holistic, person-oriented research approaches" (p.373)
Methodology: Interviews with students (n=25) using critical incident technique/ qualitative content analysis - see p.374 for details
Findings: Analysis revealed 32 critical requirements (reconstructed from the text segments) and from these, the authors extrapolate down to four themes to answer RQ1:
1) personal requirements
2) organisational dimensions
3) content-related dimensions
4) social dimension
For RQ2, critical requirements = personal requirements (34%), organisational dimensions (30%), content-related requirements (22%) and social requirements (14%), quality of teaching/ supervision (7%)
For RQ3:
Personal requirements = balancing part-time work and travel, arranging housing, time management.
Organisational dimensions = quality of teaching/ perceived lack of support from lecturers, assessment conditions, bureaucratic regulations. Organisational barriers sit on top of personal requirements.
Content-relate barriers = increase in difficulty of subjects (e.g. maths), need to modify initial expectations
Social requirements = building trustworthy relationships, navigating new spaces, find peer group
Core argument: Personal and organisational requirements are the most difficult to navigate

Context: Gendered landscape of higher education in the UK; male-dominated staff, women-dominated student body (57% undergraduate cohort; see p.15). However, men = dominate in elite institutions. Men are more likely to drop out; women more likely to get higher class degrees. Male graduates as likely to get paid employment 6m after completion of degree, but are also more likely to be unemployed. Men = slightly more likely to get ongoing, graduate-level full-time work and get paid above-average salary, after which the pay gap widens (with motherhood a key differentiator). Author notes that arguments for focusing on men as a minority in higher education are controversial: "the thrust of this commentary has been that the current gender patterning of HE is likely to produce disadvantage for men comparable to that experienced by women in the past" (p.17), but also argues that "The speed, scale and possible implications of the changes in relation to the gendered landscape of HE clearly make it a social phenomenon meriting further attention" (p.18). Literature suggests that male perspective on higher education is classed, with working class men less likely to view higher education as possible/ offering opportunities.
Aim: To "contribute to the discussion about the gendered landscape of UK higher education by exploring whether men, as compared to women, feel themselves to be in a minority on their HE course, and, if so, whether they feel themselves to be disadvantaged by this status" (p.19).
Theoretical frame: Gender studies
Methodology: Survey of Economics, Mathematics, History and Sociology undergraduate students (men and women; n=333; 43%m, 57%f) - see p.19 for details. Participants were asked demographic questions and then targeted closed questions about gender balance, feelings of disadvantage, their degrees and future employment, as well as two open questions based on a scenario relating to 'John' and 'Anne', with participants asked to speculate on how the student would be feeling (generating 18,016 words). Independent t-tests for gender and disciplines.
Findings:
Quantitative analysis:
No statistical difference between men and women with regard to feeling like a minority/ majority in their course.
In male-dominated disciplines, women felt like they belonged more than their male counterparts; conversely in women-dominated courses, men were much more likely to report feeling like a minority, but these feelings were not connected to the gender balance by the participants. In her analysis, author reports that women = more likely to have greater feelings of being disadvantaged because of gender balance on their course.
Significant differences in how men and women perceived disadvantage resulting from gender balance in society, with men more likely to report feeling advantaged/ women more likely to report feeling disadvantaged.
No significant association between gender balance and perceptions of degree achievement.
Women = more likely to report believing that men would gain best jobs on graduation, while men = more likely to perceive no gendered difference with regard to gaining a job
No significant statistical difference with regard to perceptions of discrimination on courses and gender
Scenario completion:
Both men and women most likely to report that both John and Anne would be happy, proud, rewarded.
2% of women used gender to contextualise John's success.
Most common imagined outcome = securing good employment, but this was imagined more frequently for John. Second most likely imagined outcome = difficulty in gaining employment; largest gap = "emale participants less than half as likely to say John would have difficulties findings work than Anne" (p.26)
Core argument: Women more likely than men to identify as being disadvantaged/ discriminated on the basis of gender (although only 5%), "implying that the assessment of minority status was a mainly quantitative exercise for most participants rather than one which might involved negative feelings that can be associated with such a status" (p.27). Generally, neither men or women considered themselves discriminated against/ disadvantaged in their courses, but they did in society.
"Those identifying men as potentially disadvantaged by women's majority status in HE fail, therefore, to take due cognisance of a fact that is acknowledged here by both male and female students - that participation and performance in HE needs to be understood in the context of the wider gender regime in which women still face the greater disadvantage" (p.30).

The Gonski Institute for Education has awarded UNSW researchers Dr Jung-Sook Lee (School of Social Sciences) and Dr Jihyun Lee (School of Education) a research grant for the development of a survey questionnaire on beliefs and attitudes about equity in education in Australia. 

The research will seek to explore how Australian adults perceive the current state of equity in Australian education, their views on its importance and thoughts on current Australian policies and practices that promote educational equity. 

Initial findings will be published in a report by the Gonski Institute for Education in late October 2019.

Context: Explores trajectory in and out of HE: from access alongside academic achievement and graduate outcomes, viewed through case study of NESB students - who experience more disadvantage through/post studies than with access. NESB students "are often relative under-achievers at university and under-employed after it" (p.61). Examines WP policy context (UK/US/AUS). Notes inconsistency in use of NESB label (e.g. ABS use CALD instead). Australian Government defines the NESB cohort as domestic students who have been in Australia for less than ten years and come from a home where a language other than English is spoken (DEEWR, 2012) - p.64. Notes 10 year clause = contested. Diversity notes in terms of definitions used by different universities. Notes that NESB = heterogeneous with different groups experiencing differing levels of disadvantage, but in general this disadvantage plays out later than access (later stages of the continuum/trajectory).
Theoretical frame:
Methodology: Essay. Draws on existing data (established surveys, gov't data, university data and literature) to explore policy context and NESB student outcome
Findings:
People from a NESB are well represented at university, but typically under-achieve and then face relatively poor employment outcomes.
Access: NESB were under-represented in late 80s/early 90s but were then over-represented by 1995 (in terms of proportional representation): "In 2007, NESB people comprised 3.7 per cent of the general population and comprised 3.8 per cent of the higher education cohort, which constitutes a ratio of 1.02 (Bradley et al, 2008: 29), p.66. NESB people = now 5.3% but participation has remained stable (3.7%), suggesting they are again under-represented - reflective of migration program (many = post-international students who have already completed studies and therefore are less likely to be enrolled in UG study.
Some ethnic-language groups are shown to perform well at school (Chinese/ Vietmanese); others perform less well (Turkish/Arabic/ Pacific Islander/ African groups) - evidence in James et al.2004/ Windle, 2004. In particular, sfrb and children of unskilled migrants likely to be most disadvantaged: "The majority of Australian universities do not provide specific and systematic support for people from refugee backgrounds to access
their institutions" (p.67)
Achievement: Although NESB students are seemingly well-represented, they underperform. Cites evidence that suggests NESB fail more modules but have higher rates of retention. One thesis = NESB have less employment options and therefore persist with education. Notes 'language issues' = e.g. lead to less perception of usefulness of tutorials/ group learning - problematics of centralized language support. Notes some universities offer sfrb-specific support (e.g. La Trobe and WSU). Discuss need to shift pedagogies/ pedagogic practices to more multicultural/inclusive models because NESB students tend to eschew remedial support mechanisms. Teachers need to adapt communicative practices (e.g. speak more slowly/ avoid colloquial language/ recognize language backgrounds/ preferences, such as people from oral cultures preferring to speak over writing.
Graduate outcomes: NESB students are less likely to find work after study. Graduate outcomes = not funded and thus receive less institutional attention than access/ retention. NESB students = 67% more likely than NES students to be seeking f/t employment [presumably post-graduation] (see p.72). Also, graduate salaries tend to be lower by 6% (see p.73) - calls into question claims of 'value-added degrees'
Core argument: NESB students are disadvantaged later in HE experience (post-access).

Context: masters by coursework students as a cohort in Australia
Aim: identify impact of govt policies and institutional practices on masters by CW students in Aust, especially with reference to masters by CW as a PhD pathway/preparation
Theoretical frame:?
Methodology: document analysis for stats; semi-structured interviews with students, supervisors, deans, etc
Findings: the cohort is diverse, growing; some cross-over from PGCW to RHD
Relevance to PGCW/ equity: useful quant description of the cohort; the cohort is very diverse compared to other PG cohorts (e.g., _ female, varied ages but getting younger)
Pedagogical intervention suggested?: ?
Points to future research agenda?: only the idea that there's a potential linkage between PGCW and RHD and equity, given that PGCW can be a pathway to RHD (new, 'non-traditional'?)

Context: Impact of school on young people's tertiary entrance rank (TER) and their further education decisions
Aim: To "investigate the impact of schools on tertiary entrance rank (TER) and the probability of going to university" (opening page)
Theoretical frame:
Methodology: Analysis of Longitudinal Survey of Australian Youth (LSAY) 2006 data (n=3797 students still in school in 2010 and who reported valid TER) - specifically the information on school characteristics: "such as school sector and location; structural characteristics, such as whether the school is single-sex or coeducational; resource base, such as class size and student-teacher ratio; and average demographics, such as the average socioeconomic status of students at the school and the extent to which parents put pressure on the school to achieve high academic results" (opening page). Multilevel analyses conducted on two outcome measures: TER + university enrolment (meaning that gap year students = excluded)
Findings: Individual student characteristics are significant in determining TER and students' transition to university, but so are school characteristics. The analysis suggests that the three most important school characteristics are:
1. Sector: Catholic/ independent schools have higher predicted TER
2. Gender mix: single sex schools have higher predicted TER
3. Academic orientation of the school ("measured through parental pressure for the school to perform well academically"= from Exec Summary)
Socioeconomic profile of the school = less important, but does influence likelihood of choosing to go to university but does not influence TER outcomes, conditioning on academic achievement at age 15.
Cluster analysis of high-, average-, and low-performing schools
High-performing: from all 3 sectors
Low-performing: almost all from public sector
Academic orientation = important
Limitations on timetable = important
Schools with high % of NESB students perform well [but more nuanced analysis of NESB is clearly needed]
Schools with lower student-teacher ratios get better TER (with school fees contributing to greater resourcing of particular schools)
Core argument: Individual characteristics = most important factor in influencing likelihood of going to university. School characteristics that are significant are:
sector
gender composition
academic orientation

Context: UK HE in time of Conservative government (post-'Students at the heart of the system' White Paper, Browne Review, National Scholarship Programme, OFFA policies re: Access Agreements) and in context of higher tuition fees and changing policy field. Author argues that these changes have resulted in changes towards positioning of WP and students over time (comparing 2006/7 to 2012/13) - more emphasis on 'brightest' rather than traditional WP activities focused on all people. National Scholarship Programme (NSP) = funded 1/6 of number of students supported in previous iteration = shift from increasing overall number of students to increasing (smaller) number of WP students into prestigious universities/ courses. Review of WP in UK (p.9-10).
Aim: To identify discourses of marketization in UK HE policy, particularly differentiation of/between different types of universities as a result of policy changes (tuition fee increases); looking at possibilities for WP in different types of universities through DA of policy documents/ Access Agreements
Theoretical frame: Critical discourse theory + theory of marketisation
Methodology: Discourse analysis of 20 Access Agreement statements from 2006/7 and 20 from 2012/13 (same 10 RG and same 10 post-92 universities for both periods)
Findings: Key themes derived from analysis = strategic aims and objectives, historical record on access, access enhancement statements, outreach targeting.
Post-1992 universities = particularly vulnerable "to the changing context for widening participation created by economic downturn and the introduction of higher fees, as well as competitive market pressures for potentially contracting student numbers during the 2006-2012 period" (p.11). In 2012/13, post-92 unis had to focus more on retention and success, lead to post-92 universities appearing.
Pre-1992 universities had to work towards helping disadvantaged students to meet grades requirements. Discusses 'Realising Opportunity' scheme run by some RG universities to prepare young people for any research-intensive university. Therefore, pre-92 universities have not had to adapt far from their original and stated goal = to recruit the brightest and best - but with consideration of WP principles
Core argument: McCaig's analysis suggests that, in reaction to increased marketization and intra-university competition, "Institutions are seeking to create and sustain narratives that differentiate them from institutions of another type" (p.18); post-92 universities have had to accommodate more towards new policy field: "reflecting the ongoing differentiation of the sector due to long term marketisation as well as the specific policy changes" (p.19). Post-92 universities are particularly threatened by policy changes (declines in typical student bodies (e.g, mature age/ part time).

Context: Explores cultural and economic influences of decision to attend university - focus on aspirations, not enrolments. Works from premise/evidence that higher SES students are more likely to attend school and lower SES students more likely to enter TAFE. 3 potential sources of differentiation between low/high SES students: 1) highly educated students = "have stronger tastes for schooling" (p.96), 2) if education is used as indicator by employers, more education is better than less, 3) cost of acquiring education is less/ expected benefit is higher for high SES students. Race/ethnicity/ language background = also significant. Bowdern & Dougherty (2010) note that higher education aspirations/ value placed on education are/is stronger in LBOTE households
Aim:
Theoretical frame: Use a binary logit model to investigate cultural and economic factors that impact on students' aspirations (using SES and ethnic background as measurable variables) - SES based on parents' education. Draws on human capital theory, Bourdieu's habitus, Rational Cost Theory to situate SES.
Methodology: Paper based on responses to 'Aspirations Online' survey in 2006-7 (Yr 9-12; n = 2189; 36 schools in Melbourne's metropolitan western suburbs: 23 public, 6 independent, 7 Catholic schools). Slightly different surveys used for Yr 9-10 and Yr 11-12. Project information was multilingual. 2189 students in total participated
Findings:
High SES and LBOTE students more likely to aspire to HE
Females more likely to aspire than males
Students are more likely to aspire to attend if:
They have the internet at home
They are encouraged by teachers
They attend a Catholic or independent school
They have high levels of parental support (which is likely to be related to parents' level of education)
Core argument: That SES and ethnicity are strong predictors of students' likelihood to aspire to HE

Context: Australia's WP agenda has placed a greater emphasis on "Pre-skilling" programs such as enabling, preparatory, transition or access programs because of fears broader socio-economic cohorts may not 'cope with the rigors of university'. In addition, links have been shown between under-preparedness and attrition in the first year of university study. Further, studies have shown that enabling students enter undergraduate studies with "disparate expectations about their level of ability [and] have lower self-esteem" (p. 253). Literature on the lived experiences of enabling students who have entered first year is limited. Therefore this paper reports on findings from a study exploring the lived experiences of 8 students who, after completing the STEPS enabling program at CQUniversity (a regional university with high proportion of LSES students), went on to complete the first year of their university degree. Uses the theoretical framework of social efficacy (Bandura 1997).
Aim: To explore the lived experiences of 8 enabling students as they transition into and complete first year of university studies.
Methodology: Analytical framework: Existential phenomenology; focused interviews
Conclusions: Four key themes or common characteristics were identified from the interviews:
1. Sense of preparedness;
2. Fear of the unknown;
3. University as an anchor; and
4. Sense of certainty and rightness.
It was also found that students had a "heightened sense of self-efficacy, which proved integral to their success in their first year of undergraduate study".

Context: 'The educational progress, experiences and attainment of children in out-of-home care and care leavers continue to be an issue of concern internationally' (abstract). A range of individual and contextual factors appear to influence the low educational attainment among children and young people who have experienced care. This suggests the need to understand and address these factors to ensure that individuals with care experience are provided with equal opportunities as their peers to achieve successful educational outcomes.
Aim: To advocate for the use of the life course perspective as a valuable guiding research paradigm to examine the educational experiences of adult care leavers by illuminating new ways of understanding key issues relating to the education of this group.
Theoretical Framework: The life course perspective research paradigm.
Methodology: A composite-worked case example is referred to throughout the discussion to demonstrate the potential value of the life course perspective as a guiding research paradigm. The case is derived from the 'educational life histories' of several participants in an ongoing PhD research project to form a composite case sample. The PhD study employed is a qualitative investigation of the lifetime educational experiences of adults between the age of 25-35 with a minimum of 5 years spent in care in Ireland. Participants were recruited via care leaver networks and organisations in Ireland, social media, word of mouth and snowball sampling.
Findings: 6 interrelated themes in the life course perspective: 1)interplay of human lives and historical time: both individual and family development must be understood within the relevant historical context 2)timing of lives: age at which specific life events and transitions take place (Hutchinson, 2005) 3)linked lives: refers to the interdependence of human lives and the ways that relationships with others can both "support and control an individual's behaviour" (Hutchinson, 2005, p. 24) 4)human agency: people play an active role in shaping their lives 5)diversity in life course trajectories: a person's relationships and their social, cultural and historical context influence their life's trajectory 6)developmental risk and protection: proposes that an individual's experience of a transition/event will either sustain the individual's life trajectories or disrupt it (Hutchinson, 2011). Key concepts in the life course perspective: 1) trajectories 2)pathways 3)transitions 4)turning points. The life course perspective provides a framework within which to conceptualise and explore the intricacies and nuances of these individual pathways and how they interact and shape various areas of individual lives. The life course perspective allows for the exploration of research questions as:
1)What is the nature of the educational experiences that adult care leavers have had over the course of their lives, and expect to have in the future? 2)What are the critical experiences in the life course that have influenced the educational experiences of adult care leavers and how have these interacted?
Composite case example: Ben
1) Interplay of human lives and historical context: The value of the life course perspective for interpreting Ben's return to education is seen here as it highlights the interaction of Ben's own agency, the support he received from his sister and aunt, and the impact of relevant national policy in facilitating his return to education. 2)Timing of lives: Ben's case there were a number of key events that took place over his life so far and the timing of these is noteworthy. Ben came into care at the relatively young age of six and as a result of this began school but did so one year behind his peers. Ben also had two subsequent placement moves - one when he was age 7 and one aged 15. 3)Linked lives: The role of linked lives over time can be seen in Ben's life via the supportive roles that his foster parents, teachers, aunt and sister played in his educational journey across his life course. The value of these relationships over time can be viewed as one of a number of key influences on Ben's educational experience. In particular, the connection with Ben's aunt and sister that had been 'intermittent' over the years appears to have acted as the catalyst for a turning point with regard to Ben's education as it provided him with emotional, practical, and financial supports he needed to pursue third level education. 4)Individual agency: Ben's expression of agency can be seen in a number of ways including his wish to pursue further education upon leaving school and his reconnecting with his aunt and sister; the life course view on agency as being tied to structural context also appears relevant given that he had to drop out of his post-Leaving Certificate course after a few months due to his financial and housing situation. 5)Diversity in trajectories: While Ben's individual experience is unique to him, his overall educational experiences are perhaps not atypical of other care leavers but represent one of a number of potential educational trajectories that may occur in light of the range of experiences people with care experience may have. 6)Developmental risk & protection: Ben has experienced a number of transitions and turning points throughout his life to date, each directing his life path in a new or continued direction. For example, when Ben came into care and started school this could be considered a developmentally 'protective' experience. Similarly, Ben's reconnecting with his sister and aunt served to act as a positive 'turning point' in his life. Conversely, Ben's experience of leaving care and ultimately becoming homeless lead him down a developmentally 'risky' path, if only for a short period.
Core Argument: The life course perspective is an invaluable research paradigm to examine the educational experiences of adult care leavers as it provides a 'distinctive and integrative long term, interdisciplinary, multifaceted, and multidimensional perspective' (p. 72) and has the potential to capture the 'fluidity, complexity and nuance of various elements that may influence education' (eg: human agency, historical context, timing of various life events, critical turning points).