Abstract
Access and widening participation in arts higher education within the UK is focus of this study, although many of the issues can be related to the wider global context. The COVID-19 pandemic and the #BlackLivesMatter movement have intensified the awareness of the persistent inequalities in higher education generally. In addition to this education-related issues threaten the diversity of arts higher education, such as cuts in course funding, increasing tuition fees and student loans, the narrowing of arts curricula and positive graduate outcomes measured in terms of higher salaries. The concern is that arts higher education will only be attainable by those who have the means to pay for it and those who are able to risk relatively low-paid employment immediately after graduation. Ultimately, a lack of diversity in arts higher education could impoverish the cultural and creative industries. These debates are timely as it is important to explore various critiques of current policies and practices whilst offering examples of interventions designed to improve arts students’ experiences, access and participation in higher education.
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Broadhead, S. (2022). Introduction. In: Broadhead, S. (eds) Access and Widening Participation in Arts Higher Education. The Arts in Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-97450-3_1
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