Rethinking causality and inequality in students’ degree outcomes
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11166306 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Duna Sabri (King's College London, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 44 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 520-538 |
| Publication date | 2023-04-03 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | British Journal of Sociology of Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0142-5692 • E-ISSN: 1465-3346 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/01425692.2023.2179017 |
| OpenAlex | W4321374292 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 27 |
Inequality in students’ degree outcomes has been a concern for the higher education sector and the UK government for more than a decade. Since its inception in 2018, the Office for Students in England has prioritised the need for evidence of causality through requiring institutions to evaluate the effectiveness of their initiatives as set out in Access and Participation Plans. This policy development responds to several reports which identify a dearth of evidence-based interventions and scant knowledge of ‘what works’. This paper traces the interplay between policy and research, focusing on the assumptions they make about causality. It concludes that unwarranted positions are taken in both spheres of practice, making progress unlikely. A conception of causality situated in extant formal theory on evidential pluralism and that draws on current practices would help us address inequality more effectively. Alternative framings of the problem of inequality in students’ degree outcomes is offered
Causality (physics · Economic inequality · Economics · Educational inequality · Epistemology · Extant taxon · Government (linguistics · Inequality · Pluralism (philosophy · Political science · Positive economics · Psychological intervention · Public economics · Set (abstract data type · Situated · Sociology · Evaluation of Teaching Practices · Higher Education Practises and Engagement · Psychology · Student Assessment and Feedback
Mechanisms and the Evidence Hierarchy
Interpreting Causality in the Health Sciences
The Limits of Social Science
Why “What Works” Won’t Work
Why Things Matter to People
Causation in Mixed Methods Research
What works? Academic integrity and the research-policy relationship
The construction of higher education students in English policy documents
The mediators of minority ethnic underperformance in final medical school examinations
Why is My Curriculum White
Experience and Education
The attainment of ethnic minority students in UK higher education
Forensic anthropology and the concept of race
Experiences of black and minority ethnic (BME) students in higher education
What's wrong with 'the student experience
The Importance of Qualitative Research for Causal Explanation in Education
Recognition without Ethics
Causation, Statistics, and Sociology
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |