Arthur Baxter

Who benefits from widening participation? A study of targeting in the South West of England

As the Aimhigher programme is a targeted initiative, partnerships have to find ways of locating groups that are under‐represented in higher education (HE) and selecting participants for interventions. If the selection criteria are not robust, resources will be misdirected, while overly narrow indicators can exclude legitimate participants and risk stigmatizing beneficiaries. Striking the right balance is difficult but essential if the programme is to be effective. This article explores the ways in which the Aimhigher partnerships in the South West of England have targeted participants and considers the extent to which their approach has directed the programme towards its intended beneficiaries. Using dual criteria of potential to benefit from HE and no parental experience of HE, these partnerships worked with schools to identify school students to take part in their activities. Drawing on qualitative and quantitative data about a sample of 557 school students, 80% had no parental background in HE and 83% achieved five or more A*–Cs at GCSE. Although the criteria for selection were being accurately operationalized, only a third of the sample were from socio‐economic groups IIIm, IV and V that have been identified as under‐represented in HE. Nevertheless, the programme was reaching those without parental experience of HE who might need more support to progress to HE. In addition, those from manual backgrounds were most likely to have obtained most exposure to the programme through multiple interventions. This evidence suggests that the Aimhigher programme in the South West is indeed reaching its prime target group.

Opportunity knocks? The impact of bursary schemes on students from low‐income backgrounds

In England, the government target that 50% of young people should gain experience of higher education has prompted many initiatives to widen participation. National policies, however, are often implemented at institutional or local level. As a result, the impact upon the individual participants can vary according to the context in which the measures are enacted. The Opportunity Bursary scheme was first introduced in 2001, and institutions were allowed considerable discretion over the allocation of these awards. Drawing on quantitative and qualitative data, this article reports differences in the ways in which two institutions administered their bursary schemes, and the effects on the students. At both institutions, bursary students were more likely to continue with their studies one year after entry than students from low‐income backgrounds who were not in receipt of financial assistance. The interview data suggests that bursary students are well motivated and determined to succeed, but it is unclear whether this is due to the additional financial support or to the process of conscious choice through which they have entered higher education.

“It's our last chance”: A study of completion rates by age at an English university

Although the UK has one of the highest graduation rates in the world, some groups of students are more likely than others to complete their degree. This article examines the completion rates of mature and younger students on a large undergraduate social science programme at a new university in England in the late 1990s. Drawing on quantitative data and interviews with staff and students, this article compares the reasons why students enter HE, the factors affecting their motivation and attendance and the issues they face if they are to complete the programme. Although younger students have higher rates of completion than ‘matures’, they also account for the majority of the non-completers. Since non-completion is a wasteful process, both groups warrant attention. Students in the younger age groups can find it hard to negotiate the transition to university life and this can lead to non-attendance and the risk of failure. For mature students, the pressures on their time can be acute making it difficult for them to continue if personal circumstances change. As universities have expanded their intake, they need to review their teaching and learning strategies, their assessment regime and their support and guidance systems to ensure that they cater for all groups within a more diverse student body.

‘They kind of think that I’m better than they are’: Risk, Identity and Change in the Lives of Mature Students in Higher Education

Widening participation has become a central plank of the British government’s education agenda, with the target of increasing participation in higher education to 50 per cent of the age group by 2010. While the main thrust of this policy is directed at excluded groups such as young people from working-class and minority ethnic backgrounds, mature students are also perceived as potential beneficiaries of an expanding higher education system. The argument for widening participation is couched not only in terms of economic and human capital needs, but also in terms of individual development, and is linked with another key idea of the Dearing Report (National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education, 1997): lifelong learning. Education is thus seen as empowering, in that it enhances employability and is a vehicle for personal development. The view that education is empowering is one that informs many studies of mature students. In these studies empowerment is variously defined as helping students to break out of domesticity; increasing opportunities for paid work; gaining independence from traditional family structures; providing opportunities for forging new domestic roles and identities; or providing a route to independence following family breakdown (Edwards, 1993; Pascall and Cox, 1993; Maynard and Pearsall, 1994; Leonard, 1996; Merrill, 1999).