Widening Participation and Social Justice in Higher Education: An International Comparison

教育经常被认为是促进社会公正的关键因素之一，高等教育也不例外。然而，尽管教育系统被视为解决不平等问题的一个潜在解决办法，但它本身也可能重现社会其他领域中的明显差距。高等教育的专业化创造了新的机会，但深刻的分歧仍然存在。在英格兰，18岁以上的奥尔兹进入高等教育的可能性是那些处于不利地位的学生的两倍，而更有声望的机构不成比例地录取更多的申请人。这幅图片也是复杂的，关于谁在大学成功，与特权的某些方面减少，和其他不平等的持续存在。这个项目将调查不平等，政策和学生的经验，有关社会正义的高等教育。本文将采用国际比较的方法来考察英国和波兰，并以能力方法作为理论透镜。高等教育在英格兰一直受到重大的政策变化，继续实施市场化的新自由主义议程，包括定位为学生消费者的私人投资，并鼓励机构之间的竞争。虽然公平获得被认为是政府的一个主要目标，但有人认为，目前的政策只可能加深不平等。自推翻共产主义以来，波兰对其高等教育部门进行了相当大的改革，参与率的提高主要归功于私营提供者。目前的制度中仍然存在着严重的不平等现象，大多数高收入的学生往往进入国家提供的免费、高质量的全日制学校，而收入较低的学生则为不那么有声望的机会支付费用，从而导致地位较低的职业。高等教育的发展计划，直到2030年和最近通过的立法可能会揭示的承诺程度的问题，社会justice.This项目将解决四个研究问题：RQ 1：什么是高等教育参与在英格兰和波兰在过去的15年的模式，什么因素的基础上观察到的社会经济不平等？第二个问题：在过去的15年里，英格兰和波兰的国家高等教育政策是如何解决可持续发展和社会正义问题的？最近的立法可能产生什么影响？建议问题3：国家政策如何影响与妇女工作方案和社会正义有关的体制做法？RQ4：从两国高声望机构的第一家庭学生的学术和社会经验中可以学到什么？为了解决RQ1，将对次级数据进行定量分析，包括HESA、GUS（波兰政府数据）、欧洲学生和欧洲社会调查提供的数据。为了回答RQ 2，将分析国家政策，以确定其哲学基础和可能的影响。为了研究RQ3和RQ4，将在这两个国家选择四个机构作为案例研究。将对主要利益攸关方进行访谈，并对准入协议等文件进行抽样和审查。作者还将对学生进行访谈，以了解社会和个人因素在多大程度上塑造了他们的能力和生活轨迹。高等教育对国家及其公民的社会经济，智力，文化和道德发展以及福祉至关重要。该项目将对知识作出原创性贡献，并将有助于为今后的政策方向和体制办法提出循证建议。它将成为政府和机构各级学术界和从业人员的宝贵信息来源。

Education is often cited as one of the key factors in promoting social justice, and Higher Education (HE) is no exception. However, despite being viewed as a potential solution to addressing inequalities, education systems can themselves reproduce the disparities evident in the rest of society. The massification of HE has created new opportunities, but deep divisions remain. The most advantaged 18 year olds in England are twice as likely to enter HE than those who are disadvantaged, and the more prestigious institutions disproportionately admit more advantaged applicants. The picture is also complex with regards to who succeeds at university, with certain aspects of privilege diminishing, and other inequalities persisting.This project will investigate the inequalities, policies and student experiences relating to social justice in HE. It will adopt an international comparative approach to examine England and Poland, and utilise the Capabilities Approach as its theoretical lens. HE in England has been subject to significant policy changes, which have continued the implementation of a neoliberal agenda of marketisation, including situating HE as a private investment for student-consumers, and encouraging competition between institutions. Although fair access has been cited as a key aim of the government, it has been argued that present policies are only likely to entrench inequalities. Poland has undergone considerable reforms to its HE sector since the overthrow of communism, with expansion in the participation rate largely due to private providers. Significant inequalities persist in the present system, with the most advantaged students tending to enter free, high-quality full-time state provision and the less advantaged paying for less prestigious opportunities leading to lower status occupations. A plan for the development of HE until 2030 and recently passed legislation are likely to reveal the degree of commitment to issues of social justice.This project will address four research questions:RQ1: What have been the patterns of HE participation in England and Poland over the last fifteen years, and what factors underlie any observed socio-economic inequalities?RQ2: How have national HE policies in England and Poland addressed WP and social justice in the last fifteen years, and what are the likely implications of the most recent legislation?RQ3: How have national policies influenced institutional practices in relation to WP and social justice?RQ4: What can be learned from the academic and social experiences of first-in-family students attending high-prestige institutions in both countries?To address RQ1, quantitative analyses on secondary data will be carried out, including data available from HESA, GUS (Polish Governmental data), EuroStudent and European Social Survey. To answer RQ2, national policies will be analysed to determine their philosophical underpinnings and likely implications. In order to investigate RQ3 and RQ4, four institutions will be selected as case studies in the two countries. Key stakeholders will be interviewed, and documents such as Access Agreements will be sampled and examined. The author will also conduct interviews with students in an effort to understand the extent to which societal and individual factors have shaped their capabilities and life trajectories.HE is vital to the socio-economic, intellectual, cultural and moral development and wellbeing of countries and their citizens. This project will make an original contribution to knowledge, and will enable the formation of evidence-based recommendations for future policy directions and institutional approaches. It will form a valuable information source for an academic and a practitioner audience at governmental and institutional levels.