8 November 2004
Study calls for evidence on barriers to entering higher education
A review commissioned by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) will look at why some people who have the ability to benefit from higher education do not go to university or college. The research will be used to develop future activities funded and promoted by HEFCE, to encourage a wider range of people to participate in HE.
The review is being conducted by a team led by Professor Stephen Gorard at the University of York, with partners from the Higher Education Academy, and the Institute for Access Studies, Staffordshire University.
Anyone with an interest in this subject - including practitioners, policy-makers and researchers - is asked to contribute to the review by submitting existing research. Contributions will be assessed and summarised, and the outcomes published in summer 2005.
The researchers are particularly keen to take a lifelong view of the decision about whether to participate in HE. They therefore welcome evidence relating to factors early in life that affect participation in HE - such as family, peer-group and initial education. The team are also interested in evidence relating to:
- course and institution selection
- barriers within HE
- retention
- the impact of policies and practices to widen participation by currently under-represented groups.
The reviewers are interested in all material that reports research findings about all aspects of widening participation for students from under-represented groups. This may include evaluation reports, annual reviews, conference papers, and articles prior to publication, as well as more formal material, such as journal articles, papers, reports and books.
John Rushforth, HEFCE Director (Widening Participation), said: 'This is a critically important piece of work. We believe that this is the first comprehensive attempt to look across all research relating to widening participation to establish what it tells us as a whole. We expect this review will help us and the sector to separate the myths about WP from the reality'.
Where to send the research
Please submit suggestions and material by 31 December 2004. Submissions details appear on the Higher Education Academy web-site at www.heacademy.ac.uk/wpreview.htm.
Queries on submissions should be sent by e-mail to wpreview@heacademy.ac.uk. Press queries should be directed to Stephen Gorard, e-mail sg25@york.ac.uk, tel 01904 433 478.
Notes
1. Professor Stephen Gorard is a member of the Department of Educational Studies at the University of York.
2. This project is part of HEFCE's widening participation and fair access research strategy (HEFCE 2004/34).