Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Widening Participation in Higher Education: Policy Regimes and Globalizing Discourses

  • Chapter
The Palgrave International Handbook of Higher Education Policy and Governance

Abstract

This chapter presents an overview of the international policy regimes focused on widening participation (WP) in higher education (HE). Such policy regimes are related to complex questions of inequality in and beyond HE and contested discourses of social justice, quality and equity. At the same time, these policy regimes are also shaped by the wider politics and perspectives of globalization and neoliberalism, both creating and constraining possibilities for equity in HE (Burke, 2012; Rhoads and Szelenyi, 2013; Williams, 2013). Discourses of ‘excellence’ are increasingly foregrounded in HE policy, and this poses particular challenges for widening access and participation. The chapter will analyse different policy regimes and discourses across national contexts to examine the relationship and tensions between WP, discourses of excellence and the institutional and social positioning of HE in broader contemporary social structures and relations. Taking a comparative approach, the chapter will analyse policy statements and texts concerned with access and WP in China, the United States and England.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 259.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 329.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Altbach, P. G. (2011) ‘The past, present and future of the research university’, in P. G. Altbach and J. Salmi (eds) The Road to Academic Excellence-the Making of World-Class Research Universities (pp. 11–32) (Washington, DC: The World Bank).

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Ball, S. J. (2008) The Education Debate (Bristol: Policy Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Baptiste, H. P. and E. Q. Villa (2012) ‘Affirmative action’, in J. A. Banks (ed) Encyclopedia of Diversity in Education (pp. 35–40) (Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications).

    Google Scholar 

  • BIS (Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) (2014) National Strategy for Access and Student Success in Higher Education. Retrieved November 27, 2014, from https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/299689/bis-14–516-national-strategy-for-access-and-student-success.pdf.

  • Blanden, J. and S. Machin (2004) ‘Educational inequality and the expansion of UK higher education’, Scottish Journal of Political Economy, 54, 230–249.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boden, R. and D. Epstein (2006) ‘Managing the research imagination: globalisation and research in higher education’, Globalisation, Societies and Education, 4(2), 223–236.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burke, P. J. (2012) The Right to Higher Education: Beyond Widening Participation (London and New York: Routledge).

    Google Scholar 

  • Burke, P. J., Boden, R. and P. Whelan (2014) The Governance of Widening Participation. Unpublished work-in-progress.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cang, W. (August 8, 2014) ‘Tuition fees see first hike in 10 years’, China Daily.Retrieved January 9, 2015, from http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2014–08/08/content_18269714.htm.

  • Carpentier, V. (2012) ‘Public-private substitution in higher education: has cost-sharing gone too far?’ Higher Education Quarterly, 66(4), 363–390.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Constitution of Communist Party of China (2013) The News of Communist Party of China. March 29, 2013. Retrieved November 26, 2014, from http://english.cpc.people.com.cn/206972/206981/8188088.html.

  • Ding, Xiaohao (2007) ‘Expansion and equality of access to higher education in China’, Frontiers of Education in China, 2(2), 151–162.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dong, Haiying and Xuehong Wan (2012) ‘Higher education tuition and fees in China: implications and impacts on affordability and educational equity’, Current Issues in Education, 15(1), 1–10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, C. and J. A. Stimson (2012) Ideology in America (New York: Cambridge University Press).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Fan, J. P. H., Morck, R. and B. Yeung (2012) ‘Translating market socialism with Chinese characteristics into sustained prosperity’, in J. P. H. Fan and R. Morck (eds) Capitalizing China (pp. 1–34) (Chicago: University of Chicago Press).

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Gu, Mingyuan and Zhongying Shi (eds) (2010) National Long-Term Education Reform and Development Plan 2010–2020. Retrieved October 4, 2014, from http://www.gov.cn/jrzg/2010–07/29/content_1667143.htm.

  • HEFCE (2010) Trends in Young Participation in Higher Education: Core Results for England. Retrieved November 15, 2014, from http://www.hefce.ac.uk/media/hefce/content/pubs/2010/201003/10_03.pdf.

  • Heffernan, R. (2011) ‘Labour’s new labour legacy: politics after Blair and Brown’, Political Studies Review, 9(2), 163–177.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heller, D. E. (2007) ‘Financing public research universities in the United States: the role of students and their families’, in R. L. Geiger, C. L. Colbeck, R. L. Williams and G. K. Anderson (eds) Future of the American Public Research University (pp. 35–54) (Rotterdam and Taipei: Sense Publishers).

    Google Scholar 

  • Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) (2014a) Widening Participation Policy. Retrieved November 15, 2014, from http://www.hefce.ac.uk/whatwedo/wp/policy/.

  • HEFCE (2014b) Understanding the Impact of Widening Participation. Retrieved November 15, 2014, from http://www.hefce.ac.uk/whatwedo/wp/current/impact/.

  • Johnson, L. B. (June 4, 1965) Commencement Address at Howard University: To Fulfill These Rights. Retrieved November 20, 2014, from http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=27021.

  • Keohane, R. O. and J. S. Nye (1989) Power and Interdependence, 2nd edn (Boston and London: Scott, Foresman and Co., Glenview).

    Google Scholar 

  • Knapp, L. G., Kelly-Reid, J. E. and R. W. Whitmore (2007) Enrollment in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2005; Graduation Rates, 1999 and 2002 Cohorts; and Financial Statistics, Fiscal Year 2005. Retrieved November 15, 2014, from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2007/2007154.pdf.

  • Krasner, S. (1982) ‘Structural causes and regime consequences: regimes as intervening variables’, International Organization, 36(2), 185–205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kratochwil, F. and J. G. Ruggie. (2001) ‘International organization: the state of the art or an art of the state’, in L. L. Martin and B. A. Simmons (eds) International Institutions: An International Organization Reader (Boston: The MIT Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Lazerson, M. (2010) Higher Education and the American Dream: Success and Its Discontents (Budapest: Central European University Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Machin, S. and A. Vignoles (2004) ‘Educational inequality: the widening socio-economic gap’, Fiscal Studies, 25, 107–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maher F. and M. Tetreault (2007) Privilege and Diversity in the Academy (New York/London: Routledge).

    Google Scholar 

  • Marginson, S. (2007) ‘Global university rankings: implications in general and for Australia’, Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 29(2), 131–142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • May, P. J. and A. E. Jochim. (2013) Policy Regime Perspectives: Policies, Politics, and Governing, paper presented at the International Conference on Public Policy, Grenoble, France, Retrieved June 26–28, 2013.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mohrman, K. (2009) ‘What world-class universities should not adopt from the American higher education model’, in Jan Sadlak and Liu Nian Cai (eds) The World-Class University as Part of a New Higher Education Paradigm: From Institutional Qualities to Systemic Excellence (pp. 97–118) (Bucharest: UNESCO-CEPES).

    Google Scholar 

  • Naidoo, R. (2010) ‘Global learning in a neoliberal age: implications for development’, in E. Unterhalter and V. Carpentier (eds) Global Inequalities and Higher Education: Whose Interests Are We Serving? (Hampshire: Palgrave).

    Google Scholar 

  • News of the Communist Party of China (March 29, 2013) Communist Party of China in Brief. Retrieved September 25, 2014, from http://english.cpc.people.com.cn/206972/206981/8188401.html.

  • Nixon, J. (2013) ‘The drift to conformity: the myth of institutional diversity’, in Tero Erkkilä (ed) Global University Rankings: Challenges for European Higher Education (pp. 92–108) (London and New York: Palgrave Macmillan).

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD (2005) Education at a Glance (Paris: OECD).

    Google Scholar 

  • OFFA (2013) Access Agreement and Widening Participation Strategic Assessment 2011–12 and National Scholarship Programme 2012–13 (in-year) Monitoring Outcomes. Retrieved November 15, 2014, from http://www.offa.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/HEFCEOFFA-Joint-Monitoring-Outcomes-Report.pdf.

  • OFFA (March 6, 2014) Research finds ‘no evidence’ of positive effect of bursaries on student retention. Retrieved November 15, 2014, from http://www.offa.org.uk/press-releases/offa-research-finds-no-evidence-of-positive-effect-of-bursaries-on-student-retention/.

  • People’s Daily Online (September 2, 2004) The Political Spectrum of Asian Political Parties. http://en.people.cn/200409/02/eng20040902_155680.html.

  • Ramo, J. C. (2004) The Beijing Consensus. Retrieved October 4, 2014, from http://fpc.org.uk/fsblob/244.pdf.

  • Rhoads, R. and K. Szelényi (2011) Global Citizenship and the University: Advancing Social Life and Relations in an Interdependent World (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Rostan, M. and M. Vaira (2011) ‘Questioning excellence in higher education: an introduction’, in M. Rostan and M. Vaira (eds) Questioning Excellence in Higher Education: Policies, Experiences and Challenges in National and Comparative Perspective (pp. vii–xvii) (Rotterdam: Sense Publishers).

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Salmi, J. (2011) ‘The road to academic excellence: lessons of experience’, in Philip G. Altbach and Jamil Salmi (eds) The Road to Academic Excellence-the Making of World-Class Research Universities (Washington, DC: The World Bank).

    Google Scholar 

  • Sen, A. (2006) The Argumentative Indian: Writings on Indian History, Culture and Identity (London: Penguin).

    Google Scholar 

  • Sen, A. (May 4, 1998) Excellence and Equity. Time Higher Education. Retrieved November 25, 2014, from http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/excellence-and-equity/107112.article.

  • Stevenson, J., P. J. Burke and P. Whelan (2014) Pedagogic Stratification and the Shifting Landscape of Higher Education (York: Higher Education Academy).

    Google Scholar 

  • Sutton Trust (2010) Responding to the New Landscape for University Access. Retrieved November 12, 2014, from http://www.suttontrust.com/public/…/access-proposals-report-final.pdf.

  • Sutton Trust (2013) Universities Summit Report. Advancing Access and Admissions, The Sutton Trust Summit, November 2013. Retrieved November 12, 2014, from http://www.suttontrust.com/news/publications/universities-summit-report/.

  • Trowler, P. (1998) Education Policy (East Sussex: The Gildredge Press).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, W. (2005) ‘Son preference and educational opportunities of children in ChinaI wish you were a boy!’, Gender Issues, 22(2), 3–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whelan, P. (2013) The Discourse and Policy of Widening Participation in England. Unpublished PhD thesis, Leeds: Leeds Metropolitan University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, J. (2013) Consuming Higher Education? Why Learning Can’t Be Bought (London and New York: Bloomsbury Academic).

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, G. and I. Kitaev (2005) ‘Overview of National Policy Contexts for Entrepreneurialism in Higher Education Institutions’, Higher Education Management and Policy, 17(3), 125–141.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, C. A. (2000) ‘Policy regimes and policy change’, Journal of Public Policy, 20(3), 247–274.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wong, E. (July 19, 2013) Survey in China Shows a Wide Gap in Income. The New York Times. Retrieved January 9, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/20/world/asia/survey-in-china-shows-wide-income-gap.html?_r=0.

  • World Bank (2009) Literature Review on Equity and Access to Tertiary Education in the East Asia Region. Retrieved September 29, 2014, from http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EDUCATION/Resources/278200–1099079877269/547664–1099079956815/ 5476701276537814548/WorldBank_EAR_Equity_LitReview.pdf.

  • Xing, L. and T. M. Shaw (2013) ‘The political economy of Chinese state capitalism’, The Journal of China and International Relations, 1(1), 88–113.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xinhu News (September 4, 2014) Xinhua Insight: China to Reform College Entrance Exam, Enrollment System. Retrieved September 28, 2014, from http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/indepth/2014–09/04/c_133621671.htm.

  • Xu, B. and E. Albert (November 17, 2014) The Chinese Communist Party. Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved November 20, 2014, from http://www.cfr.org/china/chinese-communist-party/p29443.

  • Yang, Rui (2007) ‘Urban–rural disparities in educational equality: China’s pressing challenge in a context of economic growth and political change’, in W. T. Pink and G. W. Noblit (eds) International Handbook of Urban Education (pp. 333–358) (Dordrecht: Springer).

    Google Scholar 

  • Yang, Siwei (2012) ‘Higher education’, in S. W. Yang (ed) The Education Development since the Reform and Opening Up in China (Taipei: Wunan), ISBN: 9789571166407 (printed in traditional Chinese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Yang, Xiaoming (2011) The Research on Higher Education Policy (Zhengzhou: Daxiang) (Printed in Simplified Chinese). ISBN:9787534760167.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yellen, J. L. (October 17, 2014) Perspectives on Inequality and Opportunity from the Survey of Consumer Finances — Remarks by Chair Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System at the Conference on Economic Opportunity and Inequality.

    Google Scholar 

  • Retrieved November 13, 2014 from http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/yellen20141017a.pdf.

  • Zha, Q. (2009) ‘Diversification or homogenization: how governments and markets have combined to (re)shape Chinese higher education in its recent massification process’, Higher Education, 58(1), 41–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zha, X. and S. Ding (2007) ‘Can low tuition fee policy improve higher education equity and social welfare?’ Frontiers of Education in China, 2(2), 181–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, Y. and B. Liu (2006) ‘Social occupational classes and higher-education opportunities in contemporary China: a study on the distribution of a scarce social capital’, Frontiers of Education in China, 1(1), 89–99.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, X. (2010) ‘Market forces in higher education-Chinese and British experience between mid-1980s and mid-1990s’, International Education Studies, 3(1), 66–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhou, X., Moen, P. and N. B. Tuma (1998) ‘Educational stratification in urban China: 1949–94’, Sociology of Education, 71(3), 199–222.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Penny Jane Burke
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yu-Ching Kuo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Ghent University, Belgium

    Jeroen Huisman

  2. University of Twente, the Netherlands

    Harry de Boer

  3. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA

    David D. Dill

  4. Cardiff University, UK

    Manuel Souto-Otero

Copyright information

© 2015 Penny Jane Burke and Yu-Ching Kuo

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Burke, P.J., Kuo, YC. (2015). Widening Participation in Higher Education: Policy Regimes and Globalizing Discourses. In: Huisman, J., de Boer, H., Dill, D.D., Souto-Otero, M. (eds) The Palgrave International Handbook of Higher Education Policy and Governance. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-45617-5_29

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation