Remaking the elite university

An experiment in widening participation in the UK

Dados Bibliográficos

ID12928645
AutoresJ Mclellan (0000-0001-5176-3305, autor correspondente), Richard Pettigrew (0000-0003-0822-4300), Tom Sperlinger
Ano2016
Volume8
Fascículo1
Páginas54-72
Data de publicação2016-01-13
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoPower and Education (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1757-7438 • E-ISSN: 1757-7438
EditoraSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1757743815624117
OpenAlexW2542052991
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas5
Referências citadas7

This article analyses and critiques the discourse around widening participation in elite universities in the UK. One response, from both university administrators and academics, has been to see this as an ‘intractable’ problem which can at best be ameliorated through outreach or marginal work in admissions policy. Another has been to reject the institution of the university completely, and seek to set up alternative models of autonomous higher education. The article presents a different analysis, in which the university is still seen as central and participation is seen as an aspect of pedagogy rather than as an administrative process. This is illustrated through a description of how a Foundation Year in Arts and Humanities was conceived, designed and implemented at the University of Bristol. This model is used to consider the problems, risks and successes in challenging received notions of how (and whether) widening participation can be achieved, and whether it can reach those who are currently most excluded from elite universities, such as those without qualifications. The article suggests how academics can utilise their expertise to solve key challenges faced by universities and reclaim autonomy in central aspects of university administration. At the same time, it demonstrates how change to the current model of student recruitment can also bring welcome – and transformative – change to the nature of elite higher education institutions in the UK and elsewhere

Autonomy · Elite · Higher education · Institution · Outreach · Pedagogy · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Social science · Sociology · Transformative learning · Work (physics · Engineering · Higher Education Governance and Development · Higher Education Practises and Engagement · Higher Education Research Studies · Law · Public Administration