December 2017
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80 Reads
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21 Citations
International Journal of Educational Research
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December 2017
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80 Reads
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21 Citations
International Journal of Educational Research
November 2016
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643 Reads
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25 Citations
Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning
This article emphasizes the complex and critical realities of ‘Diversity’ and ‘Widening Participation’ (WP); policy, discourse and practice in higher education, as ‘understood’ and experienced by undergraduate students of education. Building upon previous work which engaged with questions of hegemony in education, this paper develops the argument that ‘under-represented’ voices need to take centre stage- and that HEIs should critically consider why and how they positon ‘under-represented’ student groups (Gibson, 2006; 2015). The article draws on an international study involving 373 undergraduate students of ‘Education’ and 8 academics in six universities; one in Cyprus, one in New Zealand, two in the UK and two in the USA. This paper tells a story of tension, division and exclusion for students who have, through WP discourse, been defined as ‘non-traditional’ and thus positioned by their University as ‘diverse’. It argues that, at an international level, the HE sector needs to be more responsive and Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning Volume 18, Number 3, November 2016 ISSN: 1466-6529 8 proactive in engaging with their key stakeholders, their students. Our study, which made use of questionnaire and focus groups (FG), suggests this is particularly the case when it comes to critical aspects of the student experience, specifically institutional labelling and student exclusion from university discussions on what is and what is not ‘inclusive education practice’. Key words: Widening Participation, diversity, inclusion, student experience, higher education Prologue: “There is a danger of diversity becoming a corporate buzzword.[…] Rightly or wrongly you get fed up of hearing it. I don’t think it’s bad for anyone to strive for diversity for whatever reason, diversity in my opinion is a good thing – but maybe companies are only striving for it because it makes them look good and it’s in danger of becoming just another word they can add to their website.” (UK student citation)
... As a multi-stakeholder participatory approach and convening tool, Urbal can help build links between otherwise siloed institutions, sectors, and actors and provide a neutral place from which to assess the progress of an innovation, as well as policies and programmes. While the Urbal approach has many benefits, it also surfaces some questions about inclusion (Gibson et al., 2017;Gray et al., 2022). While place-based circumstances are foundational to how Urbal is interpreted and applied, the unique circumstances of each UFIL raise questions of cultural relevance. ...
Reference:
Urbal
December 2017
International Journal of Educational Research
... Inclusion initiatives in higher education have been adept at attending to the perspectives of key stakeholders, particularly through the use of climate surveys, which can provide an accurate reading of respondents' perceptions of the campus culture and suggest concrete steps for initiatives to be implemented (Lombardi et al., 2011;Marchiondo et al., 2023). Focus groups, too, have been useful for gathering perspectives about inclusivity from underrepresented members of the campus community, especially with the aim to raise awareness among other stakeholder groups (Gibson et al., 2016;Haslerig et al., 2013;Moreu et al., 2021;Verbree et al., 2023). While these methods have proven consistently useful for addressing the perspectives of specific groups, vital to age inclusion is the ability to involve the participation of all campus community members in the process of addressing ageism and inclusivity. ...
November 2016
Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning