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The Rhetoric of Widening Participation in Higher Education and its Impact pp 147–183Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

The Rhetoric of Widening Participation

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Abstract

This chapter begins by examining the policy context in relation to higher education participation. It concerns itself with defining higher education, its purpose, function and beneficiaries. It highlights the policy discourse of raising aspirations along with issues of under-representation, non-participation and the increasing concern around rising student debt. It identifies the contested terrain in which the quest for an exact number of disabled students in higher education is not only problematic but is in direct tension with issues of disclosure, privacy and the fear of discrimination. It also discusses Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSA), which are arguably framed by an individual/medical (biophysical) bureaucratic model of disability. Finally, the chapter discusses assessment in relation to the notion of ‘reasonable adjustments’, the requirements of the Equality Act and the so-called defensive call of maintaining standards. In summary, it is concerned with the rhetoric of widening participation.

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  1. School of Education, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK

    Navin Kikabhai

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Kikabhai, N. (2018). The Rhetoric of Widening Participation. In: The Rhetoric of Widening Participation in Higher Education and its Impact. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75966-1_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75966-1_6

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