A Western Agenda for Access and Equity in Higher Education: The Evolution of Widening Participation

Edited book (chapter)


Davis, Charmaine and David, Bull. 2023. "A Western Agenda for Access and Equity in Higher Education: The Evolution of Widening Participation." Padro, Fernando F., Green, Jonathan and David, Bull (ed.) Widening Participation in Higher Education. Singapore. Springer. pp. 1-22
Chapter Title

A Western Agenda for Access and Equity in Higher Education: The Evolution of Widening Participation

Book Chapter CategoryEdited book (chapter)
ERA Publisher ID3337
Book Title Widening Participation in Higher Education
AuthorsDavis, Charmaine and David, Bull
EditorsPadro, Fernando F., Green, Jonathan and David, Bull
Page Range1-22
SeriesUniversity Development and Administration
Chapter Number1
Number of Pages22
Year2023
PublisherSpringer
Place of PublicationSingapore
ISBN9789811995538
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-9553-8_4-1
Web Address (URL)https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-981-19-9553-8_4-1
Abstract

Widening participation has become a widely adopted and populist position for higher education practitioners from western democracies to embrace. The social and economic value of broadening access to higher education has in the last 30 years begun to be appreciated. This appreciation has subsequently become an international economic rationalist argument as well as a catch cry for those who believe in the provision of educational opportunity for all persons. From the 1970’s, a dramatic expansion of participation in higher education has occurred across almost all middle-income and many low-income economies. This global expansion in higher education continues its substantial momentum, responding to wider calls for social justice, shifting demographic trends and population growth, and demands for economic development.

While many nations have adopted widening participation strategies as they strive for a knowledge-based society, the political and ideological dynamism driving this massification of higher education has largely emanated from the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia. This chapter examines the evolution of the widening participation agenda in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia, with a particular focus on the Australian experience. It is primarily concerned with educational opportunities for adults seeking access to and academic preparation for study at undergraduate level. While each nation has approached widening participation in different ways, a powerful driver in these western democracies has been ambitious humanist agendas of achieving greater equity of access and participation in higher education. While these agendas have arguably been eclipsed by increasingly neo-liberal economic motivations, despite fluctuations in government political priorities, the fundamental goals of widening participation have remained consistent.

KeywordsWidening participation Access and Equity; Social Justice; Preparatory Education; Policy and Practice
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020390303. Higher education
Public Notes

Files associated with this item cannot be displayed due to copyright restrictions.

Byline AffiliationsUniversity of Southern Queensland
Permalink -

https://research.usq.edu.au/item/z1wy8/a-western-agenda-for-access-and-equity-in-higher-education-the-evolution-of-widening-participation

  • 73
    total views
  • 1
    total downloads
  • 0
    views this month
  • 0
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

Barriers to Access and Participation in Higher Education: The Case for a “Bounded Agency” Perspective
Sherwood, Celeste, Green, Jonathan H., Davis, Charmaine and Devi, Aruna. 2024. "Barriers to Access and Participation in Higher Education: The Case for a “Bounded Agency” Perspective." Padro, Fernando F., Green, Jonathan H. and Bull, David (ed.) Widening Participation in Higher Education. Singapore. Springer. pp. 1-26
Academic literacy in enabling education programs in Australian universities: A shared pedagogy
Davis, Charmaine, Lawson, Kathryn and Duffy, Lisa. 2024. "Academic literacy in enabling education programs in Australian universities: A shared pedagogy." The Australian Educational Researcher. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-024-00729-w
Using a five-phase applied linguistics design to develop a contextualized academic literacy placement test for pre-university pathway students
Green, Jonathan H., Davis, Charmaine, Harmes, Marcus, Judith, Kate and Weideman, Albert. 2024. "Using a five-phase applied linguistics design to develop a contextualized academic literacy placement test for pre-university pathway students." Literacy Research and Instruction. https://doi.org/10.1080/19388071.2024.2340031
What are enabling programs? How do they help Australians get to uni?
Hattam, Sarah, Davis, Charmaine and Weiler, Tanya. 2023. "What are enabling programs? How do they help Australians get to uni?" The Conversation.
Enabling Education in Australia: Emerging Themes and Shared Understandings
Davis, Charmaine. 2023. "Enabling Education in Australia: Emerging Themes and Shared Understandings." Padro, Fernando F., Green, Jonathan and David, Bull (ed.) Widening Participation in Higher Education. Singapore. Springer. pp. 1-21
Benchmarking Australian Enabling Programs for a National Framework of Standards. A Practice Report
Davis, Charmaine, Cook, Chris, Syme, Suzi, Dempster, Sarah, Duffy, Lisa, Hattam, Sarah, Lambrinidis, George, Lawson, Kathy and Levy, Stuart. 2023. "Benchmarking Australian Enabling Programs for a National Framework of Standards. A Practice Report." 8th Students Transitions Achievement Retention & Success Conference (STARS 2023). Brisbane, Australia 03 - 05 Jul 2023 Australia. Queensland University of Technology. https://doi.org/10.5204/ssj.2841
Report on Benchmarking of Enabling Programs across Australia to the National Association of Enabling Educators of Australia (NAEEA)
Davis, Charmaine, Syme, Suzi, Cook, Chris, Dempster, Sarah, Duffy, Lisa, Hattam, Sarah, Lambrinidis, George, Lawson, Kathy and Levy, Stuart. 2023. Report on Benchmarking of Enabling Programs across Australia to the National Association of Enabling Educators of Australia (NAEEA). Australia. Southern Cross University.
The Zone: A Guide to Developing Supports for First Year Student Success
Davis, Charmaine, McGovern, Mary, Green, Orie, Wood, Sylwia and Kealey, Julianne. 2019. The Zone: A Guide to Developing Supports for First Year Student Success. Toowoomba, Australia. University of Southern Queensland.
Looking ahead: Towards a national framework for Australian Enabling programs
Davis, C., Syme, S., Cook, C., Dempster, S., Duffy, L., Hattam, S., Lambrinidis, G., Lawson, K. and Levi, S.. 2022. "Looking ahead: Towards a national framework for Australian Enabling programs." National Association of Enabling Educators of Australia (NAEEA) Conference 2022. Adelaide, Australia 05 - 06 Dec 2022 Australia. National Association of Enabling Educators in Australia (NAEEA).
Community, Engagement and Connectedness: Reflections on Pathway Programs at a Regional Australian University. A Practice Report
Spence, Jenny, Davis, Charmaine, Green, Jonathan H, Green, Orie, Harmes, Marcus and Sherwood, Celeste. 2022. "Community, Engagement and Connectedness: Reflections on Pathway Programs at a Regional Australian University. A Practice Report ." Student Success. 13 (3), pp. 11-19. https://doi.org/10.5204/ssj.2441
Benchmarking Australian enabling programmes: assuring quality, comparability and transparency
Syme, Suzi, Davis, Charmaine and Cook, Chris. 2021. "Benchmarking Australian enabling programmes: assuring quality, comparability and transparency." Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education. 46 (4), pp. 572-585. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2020.1804825
Threshold concepts and ‘troublesome’ students: The uneasy application of threshold concepts to marginalised students
Davis, Charmaine and Green, Jonathan H.. 2023. "Threshold concepts and ‘troublesome’ students: The uneasy application of threshold concepts to marginalised students." Teaching in Higher Education. 28 (2), pp. 286-300. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2020.1799972
Benchmarking three enabling programs: A collaborative approach
Syme, Suzi, Davis, Charmaine and Cook, Chris. 2019. "Benchmarking three enabling programs: A collaborative approach." EPHEA & NAEEA Conference (2019): Enabling Excellence through Equity Conference. Wollongong, Australia 25 - 27 Nov 2019 Australia.
Benchmarking Enabling programs: A step towards a quality framework
Davis, Charmaine, Syme, Suzi and Cook, Chris. 2017. "Benchmarking Enabling programs: A step towards a quality framework." NAEEA Conference 2017: Enabling teaching, Enabling learning. Gold Coast 29 Nov - 01 Dec 2017 Australia. National Association of Enabling Educators in Australia (NAEEA).