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Higher education and the achievement (and/or prevention) of equity and social justice

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Abstract

The article examines the theoretical and empirical literature on higher education’s role in relation to social equity and related notions of citizenship, social justice, social cohesion and meritocracy. It considers both the education and the research functions of higher education and how these impact upon different sections of society, on who benefits and who loses from them. Questions for future research on the wider impact of higher education are posed as well as some research questions on the narrower issue of widening participation.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge the invaluable research assistance provided by Anna Scesa and Win-Yee Tang in the preparation of this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Higher Education Research and Information, The Open University, London, UK

    John Brennan

  2. School of Management, University of Bath, Bath, UK

    Rajani Naidoo

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  1. John Brennan
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  2. Rajani Naidoo
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Correspondence to John Brennan.

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Brennan, J., Naidoo, R. Higher education and the achievement (and/or prevention) of equity and social justice. High Educ 56, 287–302 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-008-9127-3

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