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Do educational pathways contribute to equity in tertiary education in Australia

Bibliographic Data

ID12905941
AuthorsLeesa Wheelahan (0000-0001-7981-9710, Griffith University, corresponding author)
Year2009
Volume50
Issue3
Pages261-275
Publication date2009-09-15
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCritical Studies in Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1750-8487 • E-ISSN: 1750-8495
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17508480903156854
OpenAlexW2017480465
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited7

A key assumption of equity policies in Australia, as in many countries, is that pathways from lower-status, vocationally oriented ‘second’ tiers of tertiary education to ‘first’ tier higher education are able to act as an equity mechanism. This is because students from low socio-economic backgrounds are over-represented in former and underrepresented in the latter. The assumption that pathways support equity is tested in this paper through an analysis of the socio-economic profile and institutional destination of student transfers from vocational education and training to higher education in Australia. It finds that educational pathways deepen participation in education by existing social groups but do not effectively widen participation for groups that do not have equitable access. This is as a consequence of the hierarchical structuring of qualifications within VET as well as in higher education

Access to Higher Education · Business · Economic growth · Economics · Educational Equity · Equity (law · Higher education · Pedagogy · Political science · Social equality · Sociology · Structuring · Vocational education · Education Systems and Policy · Higher Education and Employability · Higher Education Learning Practices · Finance

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Unique citing works10
Citations per year0,67
Citation span2011 - 2025 (15)
Citation velocityrecent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 10
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