Encyclopedia of International Higher Education Systems and Institutions

Living Edition

Widening Access to Higher Education

Living reference work entry

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9553-1_319-2
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Synonyms

Diversity; Equity in higher education; Inclusion; Widening participation

Definition

Widening access to higher education (HE) aims to redress the historical underrepresentation of some social groups in HE. It is addressed in many international contexts through policies and practices aimed at overcoming the barriers faced by students identified as coming from socially disadvantaged backgrounds.

Introduction

Widening access to higher education is a major strand of higher education (HE) policy internationally, connected to discourses of equity and widening participation. Debates tend to focus on providing access to undergraduate studies for those students who come from socially disadvantaged backgrounds but are identified as having the potential and/or ability to benefit from HE. Policy attention to “fair access” has led to an emphasis of policy and practice on providing advice, guidance, and information to support student aspirations and choices. Increasingly, there has been...

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2017

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Centre of Excellence for Equity in Higher EducationUniversity of NewcastleNewcastleAustralia