Published in 1999, this work suggests that widening participation is not just about changing learner expectations; it is also about changing institutional expectations and practices. "Higher" learning, for example, should include a broader, more inclusive range of knowledge and ways of knowing than at present and criteria for learning achievement should include assessment of "citizenship" as well as linear outcomes.

As higher education has made deliberate strides in recent decades to become more inclusive and accessible, the number of students from non-traditional backgrounds has increased dramatically. There has been much study of the effects of higher education on previously underserved populations, showing that it can lead to higher lifetime income and higher status. But there has been little research on what happens to those students once they are in a university. This book fills that gap, taking a close look at this issue and drawing on case studies from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia to illuminate the problems that face non-traditional students, the resources they and their families are able to draw on, and the ways that administrators and staff can help them succeed. This paperback edition is well suited to postgraduate students and practitioners and alike.

A multidisciplinary analysis of learning in contemporary society. It analyzes both the meaning and the place of these strands that make up modern education and offers an overview of the part they play in the work of all educators, trainers, teachers and course developers.

This title was first published in 2000. Emanating from a two year action research project aimed at devising higher education courses for excluded social groups, this book examines ways in which UK higher education can be accessed and valued by adults who have previously been excluded. It also explores the topical argument that education contributes to building social as well as human capital - a necessary feature of citizenship and sustainable communities.

This volume offers a comprehensive international response to the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE)’s inquiry into the future of lifelong learning in the UK. The book focuses upon some of the main themes of the inquiry, and analyses them from very broad perspectives undertaken by some of the world’s leading scholars. It provides an excellent introduction to significant debates about lifelong learning such as ecology, migration, morality, happiness and poverty. Each chapter raises issues of policy and practice, with clear areas of discussion, thus assisting readers in truly engaging with the issues. The final chapter contains a response by Tom Schuller, one of the NIACE’s inquiry authors. This book is essential reading for students of lifelong learning, especially educational policy makers. This book was originally published as a special issue of the International Journal of Lifelong Education.

Both nationally and internationally there is a drive to increase participation in post-compulsory education. Yet with existing participation rates already high by historical standards, it is not easy to see how this can be done. Now Liz Thomas provides a comprehensive guide. From an analysis of the motives for expansion and the reasons why students enroll--or fail to enroll--through to a critical analysis of existing and innovative schemes, the author highlights good practice and explains ways to develop a strategic approach to widening participation.

Actionable Research for Educational Equity and Social Justice advances a unique, engaged approach to promoting educational equity and social justice in higher education across China and beyond. Developed as a joint venture of senior and junior scholars in China and the United States, this book documents Chinese, Latin American, U.S., and European examples of engaged scholarship supporting the development of strategies for expanding educational opportunities for low-income families. Drawing from collaborative research, workshops, and field investigations, chapter authors propose and test new methods and practices for reducing educational inequality and provide examples of successful practices that have improved access for low-income students across the globe.

This book examines the relationships between exclusion and adult learning focusing on 19 innovative learning initiatives that are making the difference in six countries: Belgium (Flemish Community), Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom (England).

This book offers a critical investigation of the exclusion of individuals described as having ‘learning difficulties’ from participation in higher education. Using a postmodernist framework, the author explores the insights and experiences of a theatre group attempting to develop an undergraduate degree programme in the performing arts. In doing so, he provides a theoretical map of insights into discourses of power and knowledge, and makes transparent competing and contradictory discursive practices. Suggesting that ‘learning difficulties’ is a constructed and re-constructed discourse serving normative interests, the author demonstrates that despite the rhetoric of widening participation, individuals are intentionally beset by barriers, silenced and excluded from degree level participation. The author calls for a radical re-think of the notion of ‘learning difficulties’, segregated provision, access to employment in theatre, and critically questions the notion of participation in higher education. This pioneering volume will appeal to students and scholars of inclusive education, (critical) disability studies, cultural studies and the sociology of education.