O’Sullivan, Katriona and Robson, J. and Winters, N.
(2019)
‘I feel like I have a disadvantage’: how socio-economically disadvantaged students make the decision to study at a prestigious university.
Studies in Higher Education, 44 (9).
pp. 1676-1690.
ISSN 0307-5079
Abstract
This paper presents findings from an interpretative phenomenological
analysis with 20 students from socio-economically disadvantaged
backgrounds who were accepted onto a Foundation Year in Oxford
University. It explores the factors that impacted on their decision to
apply to a prestigious university and student’s views on their transition
to the prestigious university. The analysis highlighted four key factors:
(1) The complex relationship students had with their schools and the
wider education system;
(2) The strong sense of agency they showed in overcoming a range of
systemic and structural barriers;
(3) Social relationships with family members, peers and the wider
community;
(4) The importance of the Foundation Year model in supporting
transitions to the university.
The identified factors have two key implications: (1) a need to engage in
system-wide structural reform that empowers students to develop an
agentic approach to HE choices and (2) a need for prestigious
institutions to ensure that schools and teachers are empowered with
cultural capital and knowledge of the admissions processes to support
students’ applications in an equitable way.
| Item Type: |
Article
|
| Keywords: |
Widening participation;
student choice; agency;
university choice; support; |
| Academic Unit: |
Faculty of Social Sciences > Adult and Community Education |
| Item ID: |
16152 |
| Identification Number: |
https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2018.1460591 |
| Depositing User: |
Katriona O'Sullivan
|
| Date Deposited: |
20 Jun 2022 13:37 |
| Journal or Publication Title: |
Studies in Higher Education |
| Publisher: |
Taylor & Francis (Routledge) |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| URI: |
|
| Use Licence: |
This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available
here |
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