Structural Inequality in Refugee Participation in Higher Education

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Naylor ◽  
Les Terry ◽  
Alberto Rizzo ◽  
Nga Nguyen ◽  
Nathan Mifsud
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Access To Higher Education ◽  
Refugee Students ◽  
Structural Inequality ◽  
University Outreach ◽  
Education Data ◽  
Support Programmes ◽  
Type Of Institution ◽  
Unequal Opportunities ◽  
Participation In Higher Education

Abstract Structural inequality is a framework that examines conditions in which groups of people experience unequal opportunities in terms of roles, rights and decision-making compared to others. This research sought to examine whether students from refugee backgrounds faced structural inequalities in their access to higher education. Data regarding the participation of refugee students in higher education between 2011 and 2014 was obtained from the Australian Department of Education and Training. This data was compared with sector averages and those of students from formal equity backgrounds to establish possible structural impediments to university study. Students from refugee backgrounds were found to face both horizontal and vertical inequalities in their access to higher education, as do other equity groups. The experience of refugee students appears to have unique features, however, including gender, age, type of institution accessed and potentially field of study. These barriers may be addressed to some extent by university outreach and support programmes, but more will be required to facilitate full participation in higher education by these students.

scholarly journals Refugee Students’ Access to Three European Universities: An Ethnographic Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrin Sontag
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Institutional Change ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Specific Situation ◽  
Access To Higher Education ◽  
Refugee Students ◽  
Ethnographic Fieldwork ◽  
European Universities ◽  
Migratory History ◽  
History Of

The article presents an ethnographic fieldwork carried out at three universities in Switzerland, Germany, and France, and analyses how access to higher education for refugees was addressed in the three cases, how and which institutional change and activities were initiated, and by which actors. The article argues that the topic cannot be addressed in isolation but has to consider four intersecting areas: the personal biography and migratory history of the students, the asylum system, the educational system, and the funding situation. For the refugee students, the challenge is that these areas need to be taken into account simultaneously, but what is more challenging is that they are not well in tune with one another. Solutions need to take this complex—and place-specific—situation into account.

scholarly journals Geographical differentiation in access to higher education in Sweden

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 61-81
Author(s):  
Aimee Haley
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Geographical Origin ◽  
Sustainable Communities ◽  
Access To Higher Education ◽  
Theory Of Practice ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Secondary Grades ◽  
Type Of Institution

Using Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice, this study examines the practices of Swedish students when entering higher education. Logistic regression is used to examine relationships between the educational resources and geographical origins of students born 1973–1982 (N = 382,198) and 1) their probability of migration when entering higher education and 2) the type of institution they entered. The results indicate that students’ practices differ by geographical origin, suggesting that students use migration in different ways to access higher education. For example, the students with the highest probability of migration are students originating from rural areas with high upper-secondary grades and students from large urban areas with low grades. Implications for expanding access to higher education while also creating sustainable communities are discussed.

scholarly journals Which Person Is Presumed to Fit the Institution? How Refugee Students’ and Practitioners’ Discursive Representations of Successful Applicants and Students Highlight Transition Barriers to German Higher Education

2020 ◽  
pp. 211-227
Author(s):  
Jana Berg
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Structural Characteristics ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Access To Higher Education ◽  
Refugee Students ◽  
Program Coordinators ◽  
Qualitative Social Research ◽  
Institutional Settings ◽  
Academic Practices

Abstract During recent years, German higher education institutions implemented a variety of support programs for refugees on their way to higher education. This newly highlighted questions of widening participation and informal as well as formal access barriers to higher education. This paper looks into discourses on successful students as a form of knowledge that implicitly highlights transition barriers to higher education. The qualitative study is based on expert interviews with teachers, program coordinators and student counsellors as well as interviews with prospective refugee students in a case study of a preparatory college (‘Studienkolleg’) and a university in a case study of one city in Germany. They are analysed using Keller’s (Forum qualitative Sozialforschung/Forum Qualitative Social Research 8(2), Art. 19:1–32, 2007) approach to discourse analysis. The paper describes personal, institutional and structural characteristics of ideal higher education transitions. Institutional presuppositions and assumptions about individual characteristics, the social organisation of time, academic practices and knowledges as well as discursively represented norms are discussed as crucial factors influencing higher education transitions. The paper ends with a working hypothesis on the influence of discourses on transitions and recommends that institutional settings should develop more awareness of and adapt to diverse applicants and students in order to widen access to higher education.

scholarly journals Determining the Challenges Faced by Syrian Refugees Students at Jordanian Camps According to Their Perspective: A Case of Universities Role to Supporting

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 176
Author(s):  
Luma Fakhir AbduRazak ◽  
Reda Salamah AL Mawdieh ◽  
Asaad Ali Karam ◽  
Abdulsalam Yousef Aljaafreh ◽  
Mohammed Elias Al-Azzaw
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
University Students ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Access To Higher Education ◽  
Refugee Students ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Syrian Refugee ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Multiple Challenges

This study aimed to identify the most important challenges facing the Syrian refugee university students in Jordan camps, and the universities’ role in supporting them from their perspective, by providing answers to the following questions: What are the challenges that facing the Syrian refugee university students in Jordanian camps from their perspective? And what kind of support could Jordanian universities provide for the Syrian refugee university students from their perspective? This study employs a quantitative and qualitative approach and intends to explore the challenges and opportunities for Syrian refugee students in Jordan. The results show that the large number of Syrian Refugee University Students at Jordanian camps present challenges for local communities in meeting the needs of both the refugees and the host universities. Refugees face multiple challenges in Jordan:(1) Financial shortcomings; (2) legal issues including lack of documentation and restrictive host country policies; (3) Psychological and Family challenges. Findings of the study add to the understanding of the vital role of higher education in improving living conditions and giving a sense of hope for the future. The study offers policy and program recommendations to decision- and policy-makers for the national and international communities, donors and other institutions with the overall goal to improve and guide further practice and research in supporting access to higher education.

scholarly journals Exploring socioeconomic inequalities and access to elite postgraduate education among English graduates

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Luis Mateos-González ◽  
Paul Wakeling
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Undergraduate Education ◽  
Postgraduate Education ◽  
Socioeconomic Inequalities ◽  
Access To Higher Education ◽  
Large Dataset ◽  
Undergraduate Level ◽  
Undergraduate Study ◽  
Participation In Higher Education ◽  
Educational Variables

AbstractA worldwide trend towards high levels of participation in higher education, paired with concerns about the post-university destinations of an increasing pool of graduates, have brought about two parallel phenomena: a process of sharp stratification in higher education and the growing relevance of postgraduate education as undergraduate study becomes nearly ubiquitous, particularly among the most advantaged groups of students. To date, the literature on socioeconomic inequalities and access to higher education has focussed on undergraduate education, with some researchers specifically investigating access to the most prestigious institutions. We contribute to this body of research by investigating the effects of socioeconomic characteristics on access to postgraduate education at those universities believed to deliver elite forms of higher education. We look at access to ‘elite’ postgraduate education among English graduates, operationalised as belonging to the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. We analyse an exceptionally large dataset (N = 533,885) capturing graduate destinations, including postgraduate education at specific institutions. We find that socioeconomic inequalities in attending an elite postgraduate degree persist, but these are mediated by educational variables. Socioeconomically advantaged students are more likely to attain a good degree and to attend an elite institution at the undergraduate level, which powerfully predicts access to elite postgraduate education.

scholarly journals ACCESS AND BARRIERS TO EDUCATION: ATTITUDES AND PERCEPTIONS OF ETHNIC MINORITIES LIVING IN GEORGIA

2016 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-64
Author(s):  
Anastasia Kitiashvili ◽  
Tamar Abashidze ◽  
Irine Zhvania
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
General Education ◽  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
Vocational Education And Training ◽  
Access To Higher Education ◽  
Education Policies ◽  
Limited Participation ◽  
Barriers To Education ◽  
Attitudes And Perceptions ◽  
Participation In Higher Education

The aim of this research is to analyse the attitudes and perceptions by Georgian Azeri and Armenian ethnic minorities about the accessibility and barriers to acquire an education. The research includes three types of education: general, vocational education and training (VET), and higher education. The survey was carried out with 800 participants of both ethnic minorities in two regions of Georgia, Samtskhe-Javakheti and Kvemo Kartli . In-depth interviews were carried out with four experts working in the field of education for ethnic minorities. Respondents believe that they have more equal access to general education and VET while local Georgians have better access to higher education than ethnic minorities do. Attitudes of Ethnic Minorities correspond to their limited participation in Higher Education. The respondents identified poor knowledge of Georgian language (state language of Georgia) as the most significant barrier that excludes them from educational opportunities. This research provides evidence and a basis for formulating education policies for the Azeri and Armenian ethnic minorities living in Georgia. Key words: access to education, barriers to education, ethnic minorities.

scholarly journals Using the Lens of ‘Possible Selves’ to Explore Access to Higher Education: A New Conceptual Model for Practice, Policy, and Research

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. 209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Possible Selves ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Structural Constraints ◽  
Access To Higher Education ◽  
Sociocultural Context ◽  
General Readership ◽  
Participation In Higher Education

The concept of ‘aspiration-raising’ has been ubiquitous in the discussion of differential rates of participation in higher education in England for many years. Potential students from disadvantaged backgrounds are constructed as setting their sights too low and therefore not considering higher education or ignoring elite universities that they could access. However, it is increasingly understood that aspiration-raising is unable to explain patterns of participation and that it risks ‘blaming the victim’ by failing to appreciate the structural constraints forged through their sociocultural context. The purpose of this paper is to present an alternative lens in the form of ‘possible selves’. This is drawn from the discipline of psychology and aims to explain how we all conceive and develop visions of ourselves in future states. These images create a motivational impetus for actions in the present in order to achieve a like-to-be self—or evade a like-to-avoid self. Notably, the theory takes specific account of the individual’s expectations and the importance of having a clear pathway towards a long-term destination. This paper provides an overview of the foundational theory and empirical evidence for a general readership, before presenting a new conceptual model focused on access to higher education. This is then used to explore the principles that might underpin interventions to support participation from disadvantaged groups within highly stratified systems, as well as suggesting a new policy agenda and priorities for future research.

scholarly journals Using Future Research Methods in Analysing Policies Relating to Open Distance Education in Africa

Open Praxis ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mpine Elizabeth Makoe
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Distance Education ◽  
Research Methods ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Access To Higher Education ◽  
African Countries ◽  
The Past ◽  
Policy Interventions ◽  
Policy Goals ◽  
Participation In Higher Education

Many African countries have developed policies to reform their education system in order to widen participation in higher education. To achieve this, open, online and distance education based models have been advocated as the most viable delivery tools in expanding access to higher education. However, the policy analysis of Kenya, Rwanda and Zambia revealed that the integration of open, online and distance education in these countries’ education systems is inadequate. The purpose of this study is to analyse policies in order to determine why policy goals are not achieved and how the present reality and the past knowledge impacts on the desired outcome. The future research methods of forecasting is used because it looks at policy interventions with the aim of assisting us to understand probable development in education that may have led to the weak implementation of the policies.

scholarly journals Revisiting the Issues of Access to Higher Education and Social Stratification through the Case of Refugees: A Comparative Study of Spaces of Opportunity for Refugee Students in Germany and England

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. 186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie-Agnès Détourbe ◽  
Gaële Goastellec
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Stratification ◽  
Access To Higher Education ◽  
Education Policies ◽  
Refugee Students ◽  
Higher Education Policies ◽  
Education Aspirations ◽  
High Participation ◽  
European Higher Education ◽  
The Relationship

This paper presents new insights into the relationship between inequality in access to higher education and social stratification through the analytical lens of refugees’ access to high participation systems of higher education (HPS). Taking stock of the growing numbers of refugees and their increasing—yet still marginal—demand for accessing higher education, the paper analyses the specific statuses and rights they are granted, and how they combine in two European Higher Education Area HPS, England and Germany. The comparative analysis draws on the desk-based study of immigration and access to higher education policies and mechanisms for refugees in the two countries. The concept of assemblage is called upon to highlight how complex combinations of asylum, welfare and access to higher education policies lead to differential rights which create different spaces of opportunity for refugees with higher education aspirations. More generally, analysing how these rights intersect allows for a better understanding of inequalities in access to higher education.

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