In view of the so-called 'refugee crisis' which began in late 2014, there is a growing potential demand for higher education opportunities amongst refugee communities in England and more widely in Europe. Whilst exact numbers are not certain, it is necessary to establish whether such demands can be met at all. Based on in-depth semi-structured…

This paper examines two contrasting creative methods; a drawing task and a LEGO building task used in a study exploring the gap between policy and practice in widening participation to higher education across two different types of university in England. These creative methods were used within 16 semi-structured interviews in seven universities to…

Vocational education and training (VET) is linked to many social and economic goals. Yet despite the high policy ambitions, it often remains a sector with a low(er) social standing. This paper is based on empirical data collected through interviews and focus groups with over 250 young women and men aged 16-18 in 34 VET schools in Romania. It aims…

The 'Articulate' programme is a high-intensity five-day widening participation programme designed to help students develop their communication skills and confidence through a range of activities led by an Articulacy tutor and culminates in students taking an examination for the English Speaking Board (ESB) Level 1 Award in speech on the final day.…

The extant literature on parental involvement in the university choice process sheds light on the positive impact of parents' social capital on enrolment. Little research captures the complex dynamics of parental social capital that might within certain sociocultural and economic contexts compound the effects on university choice and access. This…

It has been reported that former foster care alumni aspire to attend college and graduate. However, the intent of those aspirations and the reality of those aspirations differ greatly. Many former foster care alumni do not make it to graduation. The purpose of this case study is to explore how an exemplar support program helps their former foster…

Myriad structural- and individual-level assets (e.g., close connections within and among families) and barriers (e.g., systemic racism) shape the postsecondary pathways of rural Indigenous students. The current literature review summarizes and synthesizes existing literature on rural Indigenous students' postsecondary educational aspirations and…

The problem addressed by this proposed study is that nontraditional African-American female college students in the United States experience more underlying issues with balancing the demands of work, school, and life than their non-minority peers. The proposed quantitative, correlational study investigated if and to what extent a relationship…

Background: Students are more likely to persist when they both perceive themselves as capable of success (expectancy) and perceive tasks to be interesting, important, and useful (values) or less costly in terms of effort, lost opportunities, and psychological stress (perceived costs). Prior research has not examined whether these motivational…

Background/Context: Despite research that has rebutted the tiger parent stereotype, the perception that Asian immigrant parents enact overly strict and controlling educational practices continues to be widespread and entrenched. This stereotype is problematic because it constrains the understanding of Asian Americans to a one-dimensional group and…

To understand the role of mentoring more clearly as an incentive for teachers to complete a graduate degree, faculty members examined motivators for in-service teachers to complete a Master of Arts in Education (MA) program in English as a Second Language (ESL) at a public research university (RU) in the southeastern United States (U.S.). In this…

This paper examines how pupils' aspirations towards higher education (HE) are shaped and reinforced in Chile. Drawing on Pierre Bourdieu's theoretical framework and building on relevant scholarship focussed on HE decision-making and choices, it introduces two dual-headed conceptual tools which allow a grasp of relevant differences between social…

The role secondary schools play in raising student aspirations for, and encouraging progression into, Higher Education through supported outreach is important but often overlooked by both colleges and universities alike. This article reports on our work within Uni Connect's 'Raising Higher Education Aspirations' programme in Lincolnshire which…

It is estimated that only approximately 20 percent of adult European Roma have attained higher than primary education. Scholars have identified different potential causes of the unfavourable school outcomes achieved by Roma students. Cultural differences between the (traditional) way of life in Roma families and the values professed by the…

Following Bourdieu and Passeron's concept of cultural capital, this article contributes to the study of its transmission within stable fractions of the working classes in France, who are less observed and yet central. On the basis of household monographs and national statistics, this inquiry confirms an overall large aspiration to academic…