Through a comparative analysis of policy texts from UN organisations and scholarly work since the 1990s this paper examines how mothers are portrayed in simplistic terms, as educated thus beneficial for their daughters' schooling, or deprived of education causing detriment to their daughters' future prospects. Drawing on semi-structured interviews…

Widening participation in England has been framed around two primary needs; raising attainment and raising aspiration. Whilst aspiration is complex, policy definitions often frame it in narrow economic terms and see access to higher education as primarily about developing a workforce, the underlying logic being that to improve social mobility that…

The adoption of a national qualifications framework (NQF) by some governments in all world regions has shown some success in the area of formal learning. However, while NQFs continue to enhance "formal" learning in many countries, the same cannot be said for the recognition, validation and accreditation (RVA) of "non-formal"…

Survival analysis is an advanced statistical method to investigate the occurrence and the timing of an important event such as school access, dropout, and graduation in a longitudinal framework. The aim of our study is to provide practical guidelines for empirical researchers in choosing an appropriate survival analysis model. For this goal, this…

Young people in low socioeconomic (SES) regions, including regional and rural areas of Australia, aspire to attend university after high school at a comparable rate to young people in higher SES regions. However, without concrete opportunities to support and develop their aspirations, students in regional areas are unable to internalize the goals…

University enabling programs, worldwide, generally target high school students who excel at school, or post-secondary students who have underperformed in their university entry examinations. Murdoch University provides an access program for Year/Grade 12 students who are not on a university pathway during their final year of high school. This…

This study explored postsecondary trends of Houston Independent School District (HISD) high school seniors over the past three years, including students who participated in direct advising sessions through Launch Senior. Three cohorts of students attended HISD schools in ninth through twelfth grades, culminating in either 2017-2018 (Cohort I) or…

This qualitative case study explores the career and educational aspirations, college choice process, and college barriers and opportunities of 26 rural, African American high school students. Data included interviews with 26 students and 11 school staff members. Findings suggest that the students' rural context shapes aspirations. In addition,…

There is a sound research base attesting to the importance of parental involvement and to the many potential benefits it can offer for children's education. This study sought to examine differences in parental aspirations (as a mechanism of parental involvement in their children's education) for their children's educational attainment between slum…

The purpose of this study is to examine socioeconomic differences in the interpersonal factors that influence college access among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs). Data on 1,460 AAPIs from the Education Longitudinal Study (ELS: 02/06) were analyzed using structural equation modeling techniques. Findings suggest that parental…

The study reviewed in this paper examined the impact of offering financial aid informational materials on the postsecondary expectations of high school students. Approximately 5,000 students from five low-achieving high schools in Ontario, Canada, were invited to complete an online survey about their postsecondary aspirations. About 1,600 students…

This article examines the factors that affect Latinos' enrollment in community colleges that are Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs). Compared with community colleges that are not HSIs, HSI community colleges are serving students at greater risk for not completing college. Latinos who are enrolled in community college HSIs, compared with their…

Parental expectations have long been studied as a factor in increasing adolescent educational aspirations, often linking these expectations to parental level of education and involvement in academic endeavours. This study further explores this relationship in a statewide Midwestern sample of parents and their adolescent children. Regression…

The education literature provides numerous estimates of community college diversion and democratization effects measured in terms of educational attainment. Kane and Rouse [J Econ Pers 13 (1999) 64] suggest testing for diversion by comparing the impacts of two-year and four-year colleges on the changes in educational aspirations that underlie…

Equity within U.S. higher education is examined in three parts: Practices, Principles, and Policies. Public/private problems, attendance variables, and public subsidies to higher education are included in the Practices section. Part 2, Principles, discusses the place of philosophy, meanings of equity, remedying discrimination, and equality of…