This paper re-examines the low participation of young people from deprived communities through the lens of the capability approach. A fundamental problem for tackling widening participation is that much of the thinking of policymakers is grounded on the flawed "poverty of aspiration thesis". This paper contends that Sen's [1992.…

This narrative study tracks low-income student perceptions of college writing. The study uses the Funds of Knowledge theoretical framework to suggest that underperforming high schools--like diverse households and families--socialize students into bodies of knowledge that are academically relevant regardless of whether or not they resemble…

Objective: Community colleges are gateways of access to higher education for many underrepresented students. One group that has received little attention in the community college research literature is homeless youth. The objective of this research is to address the following research questions: (a) What might be learned from the narratives of…

Purpose: This paper assesses the drop-out rate among disadvantaged students within vocational education and training. The purpose of this paper is to examine the probability of dropping out after school-based training for child welfare clients--a particularly disadvantaged group of youth. Child welfare clients' drop-out rate is compared with…

This case study investigates the implementation of a unique community-driven mentoring pilot program (PASOS[superscript 2]) forging stronger community and K-12 partnerships. Focused on surfacing what matters most in engaging community mentors, this case study explores a civic organization's quest to impact, expand, and bring value via mentoring to…

Since the new millennium, the issue of financial inclusion of young people has increasingly gained recognition, especially in relation to those living in deprived circumstances. Financial inclusion can be promoted through education that specifically aims for the strengthening of young persons' financial capabilities. In 2013, a participatory…

A university degree is regarded as the "gold standard" to set young people up for their future careers, but it may not be the best path for potential graduates and others. With the ever increasing debt burden faced by graduates, and a glut of graduates in the labour market, might there be another option? This report looks at the…

Through Job For the Future's (JFF's) work with communities around the country on the Back on Track model, postsecondary bridging strategies have emerged as a particularly critical and especially replicable component of programming for vulnerable youth. This issue brief offers a typology of evidence-informed bridge programming, drawing on…

While the share of the tertiary education age cohort (19-25) which is being given the opportunity to study has increased worldwide over the past two decades, this does not in fact translate into reduced inequality. For many young people, especially in the developing world, major obstacles such as disparities in terms of gender, minority population…

A comprehensive description of barriers to college access for Latino/a adolescents is an important step toward improving educational outcomes. However, relevant scholarship on barriers has not been synthesized in a way that promotes coherent formulation of intervention strategies or constructive scholarly discussion. The goal of this article is to…

Julian Le Grand, a well-known economist, identifies two types of public sector employee: knights (with altruistic motives) and knaves (with self-interested motives). He argues that the quasi-market, predicated on the assumption of knavish behaviour (or agent self-interest), is the most effective way of directing school managers and teachers…

A central goal of the Portuguese compensatory education program--Territórios Educativos de Intervenção Prioritária (TEIP)--is the improvement of the academic performance of socioeconomically disadvantaged students. In this article, we seek to understand whether the schools involved in the program have been successful in reducing their academic…

Equitable access and participation in higher education from regional youth is a major concern in Australia (National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education (NCSEHE), 2015). Currently 0.9% of all university students in Australia come from a regional or remote area (NCSEHE, 2015). This statistic is alarming in the context of the ever-rising…

This article focuses on the pre-university access pathways of disadvantaged first-generation students studying at a South African university. Based on data collected via qualitative methods, it draws on findings from a study of purposively selected students at a university in the Western Cape Province. It explores the ways they access and gain…

Young men are significantly less likely to enter higher education than young women, and they are also more likely to drop out and less likely to achieve a highly-graded degree. There are many causes and the disparity in educational achievement starts long before higher education. Yet, while this issue is better understood than it was, there has…