Widening participation initiatives and the experience of underrepresented students at three elite institutions: a comparative study
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Date
28/11/2016Author
Friend, Katherine Louise
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Abstract
This nested multi-site case study uses data from interviews with thirty
underrepresented students to explore how these students experience elite
universities. Although greater numbers of underrepresented students are
enrolling in university than ever before, those from non-traditional
backgrounds are largely excluded from elite universities. Elite universities in
the United States, England, and Scotland are all striving for increasingly higher
levels of excellence, status, and funding to raise and maintain their global
positions as university rankings continue to affect student choice and
perception of value. The expansion of higher education during the past several
decades has fostered discussions pertaining to the social characteristics of the
student body, and whether enough is being done to include individuals
traditionally excluded from higher education. Simply developing widening
participation initiatives, however, does not eliminate inequality in the university
system. This thesis considers discussions relating to higher education
expansion, development of widening participation policy, costs associated with
higher education, and the social characteristics and constructions of the
underrepresented student in the three nations.
The four key findings resulting from the student interviews are organised into
the three themes of economic, social, and cultural capital. The first finding was
that the students who lacked accessible economic capital were unable to
participate in social events. The inability to participate produced feelings of
exclusion. The second key finding was that students who were most debt averse
reported the least amount of debt. This debt aversion meant some students
worked nearly full-time or strictly managed their income. The third key finding
was that students who were able to minimise their social and cultural
differences, such as changing their accent, were more likely to report feelings of
belonging. The fourth key finding was that, although the widening participation
policy agenda focuses predominately on economic disadvantage and access,
very little attention is given to elite universities’ habitus, which perpetuate
privilege and complicate feelings of belonging.
One of the most pronounced areas for further research that has come out of this
study is whether the fear of stigmatisation in identifying widening participation
students outweighs the potential benefits in acknowledging and creating a
community for those students. Ultimately, the hope of this study is that, by
understanding the experiences of such students who gain access to an elite
university, we can learn from their experiences and how, moving forward, not
only help a greater number of underrepresented students to attend these elite
universities, but also support those students throughout their university years.