Current and Emerging Themes in Global Access to Post-Secondary Education (Preview) by Sunway University

ISBN 978-1-78560-899-5 ISBN 978-1-78560-899-5 ISBN 978-1-78560-899-5

CURRENT AND EMERGING THEMES CURRENT AND EMERGING THEMES CURRENT AND EM CURRENT AND EMERGING IN GLOBAL ACCESS TO IN GLOBAL ACCESS TOTHEMES IN GLOBAL IN GLOBALEDUCATION ACCESS TO(GAPS) POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION (GAPS) P OST-SECONDARY POST-SECONDARY POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION (GAPS)

Including Selected Including Selected Including Papers from GAPS Papers from Selected GAPS Papers fromConference GAPS World World Conference World Conference 5-8 October 5-82015 October 2015

Including Papers f World C

5-8 Oct

5-8 October 2015

Editors: Glenda Crosling and Graeme Atherton Editors: Glenda Crosling and Graeme Atherton Editors: Glenda Cros Editors: Glenda Crosling and Graeme Atherton

SUNWAY

UNIVERSITY PRESS

CENTRE FOR CENTRE HIGHER FOR EDUCATION HIGHER EDUCATION RESEARCHRESEARCH CENTRE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION RESEARCH

CENTRE FOR HIGHER

P W

Current and Emerging Themes in Global Access to Post-Secondary Education

Edited by: Glenda Crosling and Graeme Atherton

Emerald Publishing Limited Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, UK First edition 2017 ÂŠ Emerald Publishing Limited

No part of this bok may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without either the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying issued in the UK by The Copyright Licensing Agency and in the USA by The Copyright Clearance Center. Any opinions expressed in the articles are those of the authors. Whilst Emerald makes every effort to ensure the quality and accuracy of its content, Emerald makes no representation implied or otherwise, as to the articlesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; suitability and application and disclaims any warranties, express or implied, to their use.

British Library Cataloguing in Publishing Data A catalogue record for this book is available from British Library ISBN: 978-1-78560-899-5

Emerald is a trading name of Emerald Publishing Limited Printed by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY

Preface Introduction

This book explores the signiﬁcant global topic of the need to increase access to and equity in post-secondary education, so that it is available for all applicants with the appropriate aptitudes, regardless of their social or economic position. Intertwined with this topic is the need to provide support for groups of people that are less represented in post-secondary education, so that they can develop the aptitudes, skills and attitudes that are required for participation. Additionally, it is recognised that access needs to be accompanied by equity, attempting to “level the playing ﬁeld”, so that students, regardless of their backgrounds, have the opportunity to succeed in their post-secondary studies. The book also raises the topic of the quality of the post-secondary education that follows access, meaning that studies must be of such a quality that students are prepared for fruitful and empowered lives after graduation.

It is well-understood that increasing the number of post-secondary education graduates is vital: in the rapidly changing, technology-driven knowledge society, nations require citizens with appropriate skills. Concurrently, there are also numerous beneﬁts of post-secondary education for individuals, as expressed in the words of Browne (2010, p.14):

Higher education matters because it transforms the lives of individuals. On graduating, graduates are more likely to be employed, more likely to enjoy higher wages and better job satisfaction, and more likely to ﬁnd it easier to move from one job to the next. Participating in higher education enables individuals from low income backgrounds and then their families to enter higher status jobs and increase their earnings. Graduates enjoy substantial health beneﬁts – a reduced likelihood of smoking, and lower incidence of obesity and depression. They are less likely to be engaged in crime and more likely to be engaged with their children’s education and more likely to be engaged in their communities.

Again on an individual level, the comment below by a mature aged student from an under-represented group in a university in Australia reveals the personal conﬁdence arising from participation in higher education. This sense of empowerment can only bode well for the graduate as she goes forth in her personal and professional life. . . . I’ve gained so much. Even if . . . I wasn’t to have a qualiﬁcation out of this, if I wasn’t to have new opportunities opening for me . . . it would have just been a wonderful self development course . . . because it’s just brought me to a place in my life where I feel like I can do anything really . . .(Harriet, cited in Benson et al., 2012).

This book addresses the topic of access and equity in post-secondary education through a number of papers.

The Structure of the Book The book begins with an introductory chapter that outlines the situation of current and emerging themes concerning access and equity in post-secondary education. It also outlines iii

the themes reﬂected in the papers in the following sections of the book. The individual papers and their contribution to the themes are then outlined. These themes are: 1. Global Perspectives and Institutional Policy on Access and Equity 2. Teaching Approaches and the Development of Teachers and Curriculum 3. Access and Outreach Approaches 4. Support for Students While They Undertake Their Study Papers are then presented that represent deliberations and initiatives under each of the themes. The ﬁnal, concluding chapter opens up the discussion, exploring global issues in access and equity in higher education research and development.

The 12 papers that elaborate on the themes provide diverse views from diverse national settings, including the Asia Paciﬁc region, Hungary, Pakistan, Europe, Malaysia, the UK, Australia, the USA and Croatia.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank a number of people who have assisted them in the development of this book. They also extend thanks to Lizzie Hall and the staff at Emerald. They thank the keynote and plenary speakers at the 2015 Global Access to Post-Secondary Education (GAPS) conference held at Sunway University in Kuala Lumpur. The range and quality of the contributions assisted them to crystallise the perspectives that they present in this book. They are grateful to the management and wonderful staff at Sunway University and on the conference Local Organising Group, who, both physically and conceptually, enabled the conference to take place so successfully. They thank wholeheartedly the reviewers of the papers in the book. They are very grateful to the paper contributors and their perspectives that are included in this book. They owe many thanks to the staff at Sunway University and at Neon, who have helped make this book possible. Finally, they extend heartfelt thanks to Young Swee Poh at Sunway University and Alex Hall at NEON.

Glenda Crosling and Graeme Atherton August 2016

References

Browne, J. (Lord Browne of Madingley) (2010), Securing a Sustainable Future for Higher Education, An Independent Review of Higher Education Funding and Student Finance, Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, Government of the United Kingdom, available at: www.gov.uk/government/ uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/ﬁle/422565/ bis-10-1208-securing-sustainable-highereducation-browne-report.pdf (accessed 22 August 2016). Benson, R., Heagney, M., Hewitt, L., Crosling, G. and Devos, A. (2012), Managing and Supporting Student Diversity in Higher Education, Chandos Publishing, Oxford.

Contents Preface ........................................................................................................................... List of Contributors......................................................................................................... Editorial Board and Reviewers.......................................................................................

iii vii x

1. Introduction: Dimensions of Access to Post-Secondary Education....................... Glenda Crosling and Graeme Atherton

SECTION ONE GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES AND INSTITUTIONAL POLICY ON ACCESS AND EQUITY

2. Access and the New Employability Skills ................................................................ Graeme G. Wilkinson 3. Closing the Gaps: What Does an Equity Agenda Look Like in Asia-Pacic? .... Gwang-Jo Kim and Wesley Teter 4. Restructuring the Functions of the Hungarian Higher Educational System after 2006 ....................................................................................................... Péter Miklós Kőmı́ves, Péter Körösparti and Péter Pilishegyi 5. Improving Higher Education and Student Equity in Pakistan: The Role of Partnerships .................................................................................................... Nishat Riaz, Zulﬁqar Ali and Zaheer Ahmad Nasir

15 24

SECTION TWO TEACHING APPROACHES AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF TEACHERS AND CURRICULUM

6. Supporting Academic Staff – A Matter of Quality .................................................. Jens Vraa-Jensen 7. The Use of Visual Aids and Storytelling for Effective Teaching of Company Law to Non-Law Students ............................................................................................... You Sum Cheah 8. Law of Attraction: Mantra for Successful Language Learning ............................... Christine Shobana Arthur

74 83

SECTION THREE ACCESS AND OUTREACH APPROACHES

9. Widening Access through Digital Technology – A British Case Study (and Model?) .................................................................................................. 95 Graeme Thomson 10. Building Creative Connections: An Analysis of a Creative Arts Widening Participation Programme ........................................................................................ 101 Krystle Vichie 11. Children as Change Agents: Exploring the Concept within Higher Education .............. 112 Tricia Alegra Jenkins

SECTION FOUR SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS WHILE THEY UNDERTAKE THEIR STUDY

12. Building Institutional Support for Undocumented Students’ Success: Understanding, Advocacy and Action ..................................................................... 129 Kyle G. Southern and Ruben E. Canedo 13. Institutional Support in Developing Students’ Professional and Social Competences through Volunteering ....................................................................... 143 Violeta Vidaček–Hainš 14. Conclusions: Access, Equity and Diversity – Making the Connection ................... 155 Graeme Atherton and Glenda Crosling

Index ............................................................................................................................... 164

List of Contributors Christine Shobana Arthur Christine has great passion in teaching English to students of diverse background, especially under-achievers who require more attention in language learning. Her current ﬁeld of research is very much related to her personal desire to elevate the learning abilities of under-achievers by employing self-regulated learning. E-mail: christines@sunway.edu.my

Graeme Atherton Dr Atherton graduated from the University of Oxford, where he was the Chadwick Scholar in Economics. His doctorate is from the University of Liverpool. He has been Executive Director of the Aimhigher West, Central and North London (WECAN) Partnership, and he founded AccessHE, working on extending access to higher education in London. He is the Founder and Director of NEON (National Education Opportunities in Education). E-mail: graeme.atherton@londonhigher.ac.uk

Ruben E. Canedo Ruben E. Canedo is a ﬁrst-generation college graduate (UC Berkeley) who serves as a Research and Mobilization Coordinator for the University of California, Berkeley’s Center for Educational Equity and Excellence. He supports work to enhance equitable experiences for historically marginalised student populations, including undocumented students. E-mail: elias_canedo@berkeley.edu

You Sum Cheah Dr Cheah has many years of working experience in the ﬁnancial services industry. He attained his LLB (Hons) degree from the University of Wolverhampton, Master of Laws degree from City University of London and Doctor of Business Administration degree from Southern Cross University in Australia. His research interest is in the areas of ﬁnancial services laws. E-mail: yscheah@sunway.edu.my

Glenda Crosling Professor Crosling, a graduate from Monash University, Australia, is Dean of Academic Enhancement, Head of the Centre for Education Research at Sunway University in Malaysia and Adjunct Associate Professor at Monash University, Australia. She has researched and published widely on access and equity topics in higher education. E-mail: glendac@sunway.edu.my; glenda.crosling@monash.edu Tricia Alegra Jenkins Tricia Alegra Jenkins, MBE, is the Founder of Catalyst for Dialogue, a small company with a global network. Previously, she was Director of the International Centre for Educational Opportunities, University of Liverpool, and Principal Investigator of the EU-funded SiS Catalyst: Children as Change Agents for Science and Society. E-mail: tricia@catalystfordialogue.com Gwang-Jo Kim Dr Gwang-Jo Kim was appointed Director of UNESCO Bangkok, the Asia and Paciﬁc Regional Bureau for Education in 2009. Born in the Republic of Korea, Kim holds a BA degree in Public Administration from Korea University, Seoul (1978) and a master’s degree (1984) and a PhD (1994) in education from Harvard University, USA. E-mail: bangkok@unesco.org vii

Péter Miklós Ko m́ves Dr Péter Miklós Kőmı́ves is a lawyer, communication and media expert, higher educational and scientiﬁc manager and doctoral candidate at the Károly Ihrig Doctoral School of Management and Business, Hungary. He graduated from the University of Debrecen, the Corvinus University of Budapest and Eötvös Loránd University. His research topic is higher educational management. E-mail: petermiklos.komives@gmail.com

Péter Körösparti Péter Körösparti is a teacher of history and pedagogy, ethnographist, politologist, higher educational and scientiﬁc manager and doctoral candidate at the Károly Ihrig Doctoral School of Management and Business, Hungary. He graduated from the University of Debrecen and Eötvös Loránd University. His research topic is quality assurance in higher education. E-mail: pkorosp@gmail.com

Péter Pilishegyi Péter Pilishegyi is an economist, a politologist and a higher educational and scientiﬁc manager. His research experience is in economy, higher education and history, and he is a doctoral candidate at the University of Debrecen. He graduated from the University of Debrecen and Eötvös Loránd University. His research topic is history and economy of the Hungarian higher education. E-mail: ppilishe@gmail.com

Nishat Riaz Nishat Riaz has supervised large-scale programmes on health, gender, skills, culture and education. She is a founding member of Karakurum International University, and a governing board member of the Aga Khan Development Network. Currently, Nishat is Director Education, British Council, Pakistan. Her work includes management and implementation of multi-million-dollar education programmes covering schools, skills, further and higher education and Education UK. E-mail: nishatriaz@gmail.com

Kyle G. Southern Kyle G. Southern is a doctoral candidate at the University of Michigan’s Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education. He focuses his research on undocumented student support services and diversifying the professoriate in the USA. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Vanderbilt University. E-mail: kgsouth@umich.edu Wesley Teter Wesley Teter is a Senior Consultant at UNESCO Bangkok, the Asia and Paciﬁc Regional Bureau for Education based in the new Section for Educational Innovation and Skills Development. He serves as a Visiting Scholar in the Faculty of Graduate Studies, Mahidol University (2015/2016). E-mail: bangkok@unesco.org Graeme Thomson Based at the University of Glasgow, Dr Graeme Thomson has worked for several years in widening access, ﬁrst as a tutor on school programmes and second, since the completion of his PhD in 2013, as the coordinator of the “Focus Point” Web project for the government-funded FOCUS West programme. E-mail: graeme.thomson@glasgow.ac.uk viii

Krystle Vichie Krystle Vichie is currently a PhD student at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). She has worked extensively in creative arts widening participation at QUT, delivering creative arts programmes at schools in low socioeconomic areas. Her current research area is rural education and digital media. E-mail: k.vichie@qut.edu.au Violeta Vidacek-Hains Violeta is an Assistant Professor in Psychology at the University of Zagreb, Croatia. She researches and teaches business communication and strategies in human resource management. Violeta is also a coordinator for the students with disabilities and a counsellor in the student counselling service. E-mail: http://old2.foi.hr/djelatnici/violeta.vidacek_hains

Jens Vraa-Jensen Jens Vraa-Jensen holds an MSc in Geography degree from the University of Copenhagen, and has been employed by DM – the largest Danish Trade Union in higher education and research – since January 1990. He is a member of EI’s European Standing Committee for Higher Education and Research, and serves as committee chair. He has been part of EI delegations to conferences and seminars in UNESCO, OECD and Council of Europe. E-mail: jvj@dm.dk

Graeme G. Wilkinson Professor Graeme Wilkinson is Vice-Chancellor of Sunway University, Malaysia. He graduated from Imperial College London and Oxford University. His research background is in satellite earth observation. Prior to joining Sunway, he held senior posts in several UK universities, with a focus on widening participation. E-mail: graemew@sunway.edu.my

Zaheer Ahmad Nasir Dr Zaheer Ahmad Nasir is a Research Fellow who specialises in environmental health at the School of Water, Energy and Environment, Cranfield University, UK. He aspires to research and develop diagnostic tools and solutions to tackle current and future environmental health challenges faced by twenty-first-century humans in diverse environments. E-mail: z.a.nasar@cranfield.ac.uk

Zulqar Ali Dr Zulfiqar Ali is an experienced educationist in the field of environmental health and wildlife. He developed international links with UK and Australian universities, where he contributed significantly to the enhancement of transnational education. He has developed advanced university curriculum and conducted many international training programmes and conferences in the country. E-mail: zali.zool@pu.edu.pk

Editorial Board and Reviewers Dr Graeme Atherton Director, National Education Opportunities Network (NEON) UK

Professor Glenda Crosling Dean, Academic Enhancement Sunway University, Malaysia, Adjunct Professor, Monash University, Australia

Professor Lilia Halim Faculty of Education Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

Assistant Professor Chan Nee Nee Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences & Liberal Arts UCSI University, Malaysia

Professor Ahmad Nurulazam Md Zain School of Educational Studies Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia

Professor Mahendhiran Nair Deputy President (Strategy) Monash University Malaysia

Associate Professor Jim Sillitoe OfďŹ ce of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) Federation University of Australia, Australia

Ms Annyza Tumar Head, Teaching & Learning Academic Enhancement Division Sunway University, Malaysia

1. Introduction: Dimensions of Access to Post-Secondary Education Glenda Crosling and Graeme Atherton

Access to post-secondary education is a significant social and economic concern globally. It links with what continues to be one of the dominant themes of the early twenty-first century: inequality at national, regional and global levels. There is a constant flow of evidence pointing to widening gaps between those in different social groups, and while relative differences in income and wealth underpin these differences, they intersect with ethnic or religious identities (OECD, 2014; Piketty, 2014). In 2015, the World Economic Forum surveyed over 1,500 leaders across all continents from business, academia, government and international organisations and described inequality as the biggest challenge facing the world today (World Economic Forum, 2015). Inequalities in participation in post-secondary/higher education (HE) play a role in these wider inequalities. Participating in HE continues to be one of the, if not the, surest route(s) to more secure, better remunerated jobs (Tremblay and Mangeol, 2014) and to a healthier, longer life (OECD, 2013; BIS, 2013). It also enables participants to pass these benefits onto their children if they have them. However, some of these benefits of HE may not be quite as certain as they once were. In both the developed and developing world, in this age of automation, as Wilkinson in this collection points out, graduate unemployment is too high and has increased in too many countries and regions in recent years, and the wage premium associated with HE participation has come under pressure. Despite this, the evidence points to how individuals and societies benefit from HE participation. Such benefits may be even greater for those from low-income backgrounds or marginalised groups, as the alternatives on offer for these learners may be far less desirable than for those higher up the economic and social ladder (McKinsey Global Institute, 2012). It could also be argued though that particularly in the developing world, inequalities in participation in tertiary education or HE are much less relevant when the disparities in participation and achievement are so stark in compulsory schooling. For example, over 250 million children across the world do not go to school at all (UNESCO, 2014). Although these challenges are obviously pressing and have to take a priority, this does not mean that inequalities in HE are also not in need of urgent attention. The inequalities between the developing and developed world will be exceptionally difficult, if not impossible, to reduce unless there are huge increases in the numbers of learners educated to the graduate level in the latter, and this means providing access to tens of millions of learners from lower socioeconomic and other groups marginalised by social background.

Current and Emerging Themes in Global Access to Post-Secondary Education pp. 1–12 © Emerald Publishing Limited ISBN 978 –1-78560 – 899-5

Introduction: Dimensions of Access to Post-Secondary Education

Access to higher education – the present picture

Expanding access in an equitable way is a massive challenge, and one that governments and HE providers across the world are addressing with variable commitment and even more uneven success. In over 90% of countries in the world, there is evidence to show that access to HE is unequal by social background (Atherton et al., 2016). These inequalities transcend the developed and developing world, different education systems and political regimes. In the countries of the OECD, a child’s chances of participating in tertiary education are twice as high if at least one of his or her parents completed upper-secondary or post-secondary non tertiary education and over four times as high if one of the child’s parents attained tertiary education (OECD, 2015). There is also evidence from countries in the developing world of inequality in access by socioeconomic background. In Southeast Asian countries, children whose parents have participated in tertiary education are 20% more likely to go on to such education themselves than those whose parents only had an upper-secondary education.1 In those developing countries with the highest number of HE students, that is China and India, socioeconomic background interacts with other forms of inequality, such as geography. In India, where there are over 300 million students, the picture is even more striking: those in the highest-income brackets are over 20 times more likely to enter HE than those in the poorest (Tilak, 2015). When gender and geography are included, the gap becomes even wider, with poor, rural females 40 times less likely to go to HE than wealthy, urban males. More than 20% of all students in the world go on to HE in China. Here, students from poor, rural backgrounds are seven times less likely to enter HE than poor students living in urban areas (Hongbin et al., 2013; China Daily, 2016). The extent of our understanding of the disparities in participation sketched out above is limited though – especially in the developing world. The chapter in this book from Teter and Kim places access to HE in the context of UNESCO’s recently adopted sustainable development goals. One of the major issues UNESCO faces here is the lack of data on education inequality across the developing world, and this problem applies especially to tertiary education or HE (UNESCO, 2016). Hence, although UNESCO has as one of the goals, the equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university by 2030, the metrics used to measure progress here focus on gender alone. One of the primary reasons for this are the technical and also contextual difﬁculties in collecting information on measures of social background other than gender. Agreeing on the groups that are under-represented and for whom this under-representation matters is something that differs greatly between countries, as the chapters that follow illustrate well.

The action decit? The evidence shows that inequality in access to HE is driving broader socioeconomic inequalities and is pervasive (Clancy, 2013). But there is still something of an unwillingness for

1 The draft report by Béatrice d’Hombres and Phuong Nguyen-Hoang can be accessed at: http://go.worldbank. org/QVFQ0QVCL0

Glenda Crosling and Graeme Atherton

HE providers and also policymakers to face up to this problem. In 2009, countries in the EU agreed to implement targets and actions to widen access to HE. However, further research in 2015 showed that less than 20% of countries had actually done so (European Commission/ EACEA/Eurydice, 2015). In Africa and Asia, the major issues are more commonly how to fund and deliver the expansion of HE that meets acceptable quality thresholds. The expansion of HE in most countries in these continents will by default enable more learners from lower socioeconomic groups to gain entry into HE. To an extent then, equitable access is interwoven with the major goals of most countries where HE is concerned in forthcoming years. There are also examples of countries where explicit policies to address inequities in access exist. India, for example, has a system of quotas to reserve places in HE for students from lower-caste groups (Tilak, 2015), and in China, the government is investing in new activities to reduce the urban– rural HE participation divide (Yucheng, 2015). The Asian Development Bank has also produced several reports in recent years to highlight the issue of equity in access to HE in the region (ADB, 2012a, 2012b). The MasterCard Foundation has invested millions of dollars in scholarship schemes in Africa to support more learners from low-income backgrounds to enter HE (The MasterCard Foundation). However, as is shown in the case of South Africa, it is problematic to assume that a commitment to expansion in HE, or even to providing ﬁnancial support alone, means that issues of equitable access are somehow addressed (Universities South Africa, 2015). The experiences of countries across the world show that as systems expand, they do so unequally, and a failure to address the implications of this can imperil the growth of the system. The spread of university rankings into Asia and South America in particular at the same time as systems in these countries wish to expand illustrates that there are countervailing forces at work as far as equity is concerned. HE leaders in South America have recognised this, arguing that ranking systems need to explicitly include measure of equity, rather than focusing so much on research and reputation (Zago, 2016). Finally, innovations in the provision of HE, in particular online learning, are also no guarantees of providing more equitable access. The number of learners taking the course on some of the leading global platforms is very impressive – over eight million registering for courses in 2012 via EdX alone. But the majority of these learners have previously participated in considerable amounts of post-compulsory learning, and the attrition rate is very large.

The tipping point There is signiﬁcant work to be done across the world to propel access to HE up the policy and practice agenda. Emerging issues are that the agenda must move to accompany access with transformation of organisational cultures, so that the needs of learners from diverse student cohorts are recognised and addressed (Crosling et al., 2009). It is possible to point to examples of HE providers who are working to develop innovative ways of working with learners from different social and educational backgrounds, or countries that have policy frameworks that recognise the existence of inequities in participation. But these are individual cases with little evidence of systematic linkage.

Introduction: Dimensions of Access to Post-Secondary Education

This book contributes to what is a growing picture of such examples. It adds to that in a special way by highlighting such examples at both the level of strategy and practice from countries in the Asian region. It includes diverse and emerging voices ranging from senior institutional and regional leaders, to those working directly with learners, as well as including examples of work with differing “equity” groups. In its diversity, as is argued in the conclusion, the book reﬂects the global ﬁeld of access to HE. It is vital that work such as this continues to be produced. If there is to be a tipping point where equitable access to HE starts to shift from the margins to the mainstream of global HE thinking and practice, it will not happen by any one act alone. It will be the accumulation of continued contributions to a global dialogue that challenges what HE is for and who it is for, and shows HE how it can change.

The book

The chapters in this book emanate from the presentations at the Global Access to Post-Secondary Education World Conference held at Kuala Lumpur in late 2015. The objectives that framed the conference indicate strategies and actions to widen and deepen commitment and practice in improving access. Furthermore, these objectives provide a lens to view the contribution to the ﬁeld of the chapters in this book. Based on an evaluation of the number of presentations addressing the various conference objectives, it is possible to gauge and order the concerns and topics of action in their work of the conference participants. The chapters have been grouped according to the relevant conference objective, and then given a representative theme. The link between the conference objectives and the themes for this book is explained below.

• The conference objective of the importance of making the evidence-based case for

increasing access stresses that access and equity activities are not just “leaps of faith”, but fact-based directions and their expression in policy; this objective was addressed most frequently in the presentations at the conference. The selected chapters under this theme of “Global Perspective and Institutional Policy on Access and Equity” introduced below advance the access case by promoting discussion of the advantages, disadvantages, opportunities, challenges and initiatives, and their expression in institutional policy. The conference objective for change in organisations underpins the need to ensure the effectiveness and success of access efforts; transforming organisational cultures with constructive efforts to accommodate diverse student needs was the next most-frequently addressed conference objective. The relevant selected chapters are thematised as “Teaching Approaches and the Development of Teachers and Curriculum”. The purpose of the next conference objective, to build a global network of public, private, voluntary sectors and policymakers, moves access and equity beyond institutions and post-secondary education, recognising that HE participation is seeded early in the lives of individuals and their families. It is the next most addressed conference objective and the selected chapters are thematised as “Access and Outreach Approaches”.

•

Glenda Crosling and Graeme Atherton

• Initiating innovative exemplar and globally scalable projects to support the HE

•

participation of students from diverse groups is the conference objective that attracted the next largest number of presentations, with the selected chapters presented under the theme, “Support for Students While They Undertake Their Studies”. This theme exemplifies the crucial role of inclusive educational approaches, assisting higher levels of successful activity. The final conference objective, of seeing students and young people central to efforts to improve access and success, acknowledges the importance of the empowerment of the people who will benefit, encouraging their commitment to HE participation. Showing the least number of conference presentations, this objective is addressing student diversity at the more individualised level, including issues of gender, and financial support for individual students from under-represented backgrounds. While this is an important aspect of the access agenda, it perhaps indicates a more nuanced and emerging level of action that builds on achievement of the objectives outlined above, but is not yet a large focus of mainstream activity. It is not explored in this book.

The chapters in this book that address the themes identified above are diverse, as are the backgrounds of their authors, reflecting the variation in responses in the field and across settings to increasing access to post-secondary education. Each of the chapters thus presents an interesting take on the issue, as follows.

Global perspective and institutional policy on access and equity

The chapter by Graeme G. Wilkinson, “Access and the New Employability Skills”, presents a broad and global perspective beyond post-secondary institutions, discussing access and the need to prepare students for success post graduation. Although access is vital, the quality and outcomes of programmes must also provide students with equity of opportunity in the world beyond their studies. Wilkinson points out that while the number of students in HE worldwide has escalated in recent decades to meet the needs of the knowledge-based economy, he contrasts this with the worldwide decline in traditional graduation jobs and careers, and hence life opportunities. He points out that work is becoming more part-time and task-based, and can be performed anywhere through advancements in educational technology. To help stem disillusioned graduates and un- or under-employment, Wilkinson argues that access initiatives should be matched with students’ skill development, preparing them in their studies for this new and emerging work environment. In addition to traditional post-secondary skills, there is the need for capacity for successful team work, good communication skills in self-promotion and branding, risk-taking, resilience and persistence. The next paper in this category by Wesley Teter and Gwang-Jo Kim, “Closing the Gaps: What Does an Equity Agenda Look Like in Asia-Paciﬁc?”, contributes to broadened and globalised understandings of access and equity, comprehensively reviewing access and equity developments in one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing areas: the Asia-Paciﬁc region. The authors emphasise that access and equity are ongoing processes with limited achievement of objectives so far, especially in developing world regions. They present an agenda to advance

Introduction: Dimensions of Access to Post-Secondary Education

equitable educational and lifelong learning opportunities and for sustainable educational development, so that post-secondary education is universal, transformative and integrated. Teter and Kim point to the diversity in culture, ethnicity and language and in regional demographics, the rapid development of economies and of social transformation. Despite general improvements in post-secondary education access, the quality of education needs to be ensured formally and informally, to support economic prosperity and equal opportunities for all. Remaining issues are of equity, quality and governance in education, evidenced in significant differences regionally in post-secondary education enrolment, retention and progression; in teaching and learning approaches; and in the dramatic increase in the numbers of education providers. Teter and Kim conclude with challenges that include the engagement of stakeholders, resource constraints, weak linkages across sectors and an understanding of the meaning of partnership in practice. Actions to advance HE quality and thus equity are recognising quality education as a human right, improving learning outcomes, ensuring recruitment of qualified teachers, strengthening internal quality assurance and grasping digital opportunities for education. Péter Miklós Kõmı́ves, Péter Körösparti and Péter Pilishegyi in their paper, “Restructuring the Functions of the Hungarian Higher Education System after 2006”, turn our attention to HE in another developing world region, Eastern Europe. They emphasise on monitoring progress and placing developments into a historical and, at the same time, global context. Kõmı́ves et al. review national Hungarian policy regarding the development of post-secondary education in Hungary since its 2006 harmonisation with the Bologna process. The authors point out that in the increasingly interconnected and competitive world, discussion of cases of national HE systems development impacts on quality and the generation of better systems, advancing equity in opportunities for students post their graduation. In Hungary, the numbers of students in HE initially increased after 2006, but then stabilised and “stagnated”. Using the framework of Hungarian legal documentation, Kõmı́ves et al. point out that HE is deemed as accessible for students according to their ability, whereas earlier education sectors are deemed as accessible for all citizens. Kõmı́ves et al. perceive this as a seeming contradiction with the European Bologna standards, where in Hungary, HE was initially defined as mass HE, reflecting international trends. The authors state that there are currently no “elite” universities in Hungary and that social mobility is low. They express the commonly made criticism of the connection of HE to the labour market. However, they summarise that HE has been provided for increased numbers of people in Hungary through more flexible means, such as part-time study. Turning now to the developing region of East Asia, the paper entitled “Improving Higher Education and Student Equity in Pakistan: The Role of Partnerships” by Nishat Riaz, Zulfiqar Ali and Zaheer Ahmad Nasir focuses on Pakistan, and discusses in terms broader than the national level, the role that partnerships have played in enhancing HE quality. They clarify the notion that access and equity matters are also related to the quality of the students’ educational programme and that institutions and programmes can benefit greatly from collaboration and interaction with more highly developed institutions. Drawing on more than a decade of links between Pakistani HE institutions with UK institutions through the British Council, the authors explain how partnerships demonstrate the new development paradigm of cooperation, compared with the former North/South power symmetry approach. Riaz et al.

Glenda Crosling and Graeme Atherton

point out that highly populated Pakistan, with a high rate of children not attending school, a HE participation rate of only 8% and government funding for it of 2%, has 450,000 graduates annually. They argue that in developing countries such as Pakistan, partnerships build capacity in research and training, innovative thinking and creative sharing and perhaps economic returns. This helps HE institutions to strengthen their critical role in the knowledge-based world. The authors discuss challenges and lessons over 12 years of partnerships, with mutual beneﬁts: for Pakistan, access to higher UK standards, and for the UK, access to Pakistan’s large talent pool. Challenges include lack of a national strategy and priorities and quantity rather than quality. What is needed, they discuss, are effective communication strategies, clarity of roles and expectations, an understanding of the stages of the partnership’s development and negotiation of the curriculum.

Teaching approaches and the development of teachers and curriculum

Jens Vraa-Jensen’s paper, “Supporting Academic Staff – A Matter of Quality”, introduces the theme, discussing teacher development as a means to support teachers and high-quality education in the context of student diversity. Just as the students from diverse backgrounds need support, so too do the teachers at the frontline of institutional access and equity initiatives. Vraa-Jensen refers primarily to a European study on the development of a supportive environment for academic staff in HE institutions. The chapter is based on the premise that high-quality education is created through the interaction of quality teaching staff with engaged students in classrooms, and support for teaching staff is vital. Such a perspective was accepted by European ministers in the Bologna process declaration of 2010. Vraa-Jensen discusses how the diverse student body brings to HE, new expectations and backgrounds that may differ from those held by their teachers. Staff must be prepared to operate in such a setting if the level of quality is to be retained and extended, as acknowledged in the Bologna process’ (2010 –2012) commitment to and expectation of student-centred learning. Vraa-Jensen presents the results of a study of HE teaching staff through ten European teacher representatives, that teachers need continuous professional development, with increased investment being required in teacher development and pedagogical support. Other conclusions are respect for academic freedom and public commitment to the teaching role. Fixed-term contract staff need to be included in decision-making, improving their collegiality with teaching staff. The next paper by You Sum Cheah, “The Use of Visual Aids and Storytelling for Effective Teaching of Company Law to Non-Law Students”, continues on from Vraa-Jensen and indirectly underscores the need for teacher support to keep them up-to-date pedagogically and flexible in approach, and so able to adopt new teaching approaches. Cheah looks more specifically at changes in teaching approaches to meet the learning needs of non-traditional student cohorts at a private university in Malaysia in a business law subject for non-law students. With the rapid expansion of demand for such programmes, the student profile includes a large number of international students. Cheah points out that it is difficult for students who are not trained to think like lawyers, unprepared for what seems to them to be the lack of practicality and of concrete solutions. The team of academics teaching the law subject implemented the flow

Introduction: Dimensions of Access to Post-Secondary Education

charts and mind maps to assist students to see the big picture of their law subject. Using small groups of students in the tutorials, students solve legal problems and develop their teamwork skills, with the tutorials assisting them to visualise rather than rely solely on written English, thus engaging students in the learning process. Another approach instigated is storytelling, assisting students to remember key legal cases that, as Cheah states, are the staple of law studies. This approach assists students’ analytical skills in preparation for their legal discussion. The students’ academic results, benchmarked before the use of the new teaching approaches, indicated that students achieved more highly in the subject, and they commented very favourably on the new approaches for their learning. Christine Shobana Arthur in her paper, “Law of Attraction: Mantra for Successful Language Learning”, tackles access and equity via the development of students’ English language abilities, which are vital for academic success in English-medium studies. That is, how can students progress with their studies if they have limited capacity to understand the subject content? Although students may meet the required English language score to enter their studies, they may need support with English language skills, especially in the transitional period. With large numbers of students in transnational education (TNE), where students and programmes cross national and cultural boundaries, English is a second or foreign language for many. Arthur begins with the premise of the importance of English language skills for TNE students as they prepare for their post-secondary studies in Malaysia. Through the prism of neuro-linguistic programming, the author finds that this approach was beneficial to not only boost the confidence of the English language learners in the study but also the value of modelling by more proficient language learners through their learning strategies. While the paper looks at English language development at the micro level, Arthur raises approaches for boosting the language capability for students, including the importance of reflection on their current language practices. Arthur’s paper in this book exemplifies the significant role of the development of English language skills in improving equity in access to English-medium post-secondary education.

Access and outreach approaches Graeme Thomson introduces the all-important value of digital technology to the discussion in his paper, “Widening Access Through Digital Technology – A British Case Study (and Model?)”, in relation to outreach activities used in the west of Scotland by “Focuswestpoint”. It is well accepted that digitally literate young people are attracted to and their engagement enhanced through digital resources. Thomson discusses a digital resource to widen the participation of young people in the region. He recognises that inclusive approaches need to be taken to draw-in groups that are not engaged through the regular approaches. Thomson’s programme, entitled “Access, Progress and Attain”, targets young people aged 12–19 years and presents a case study of the government-funded project in partnership with universities and colleges. The aim is to encourage these young people to move on to HE. Thomson reports that although success in the past decade had been made regionally with widening participation, problems remain with certain groups and communities. Isolation of individual young people who may be considering HE is evident when only a few in a community or group will continue to HE. Drawing on a needs analysis, Thomson explains

Glenda Crosling and Graeme Atherton

how an online “hub of information” was developed to engage and connect alienated groups and encourage self-directed learning. While students of 12 years of age still need face-to-face contact in introducing them to college and their participation, support is provided by online interactive tools and activities. For older students, the website uses a blend of text and interactive forms of communication, providing assistance with subject choice and support for the application process. Thomson outlines the need to build the young people’s confidence, and the online resources encourage them to reflect on themselves, their achievements and strengths and to diarise these. In all, the focus point can act as a model: in rural areas, it provides the social network element, and for regional areas, the subject choice application resource is supportive. There has been very good uptake and success with the online resource. Krystle Vichie, in “Building Creative Connections: An Analysis of a Creative Arts Widening Participation Program”, adds another dimension to the topic of outreach, this time in the Australian setting, where she discusses the development of potential post-secondary education participants’ social capital through community creative arts education. Vichie discusses the government-funded Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Programme entitled Creative Industries Widening Participation Programme (CIWPP) at the Queensland University of Technology. Focussing on low socioeconomic status students, Vichie explores how creative arts education influences people to build social capital. Drawing on the theoretical frameworks of Bourdieu (cultural capital) and Putnam (social capital), Vichie presents a case study of ten low socioeconomic status students in secondary school, and explains how the creative arts programme influenced attitudes to education and HE participation. Referring to connections among individuals and contributions to communities as social capital, the programme builds family and student connections, increasing awareness of HE and increasing aspirations. The programme will also look at offerings in other faculties and how these may impact on students’ aspirations. Tricia Alegra Jenkin’s somewhat radical paper, “Children as Change Agents Exploring the Concept within Higher Education”, reports on and discusses how children can function as agents of change, as evidenced with the European-funded SiS Catalyst initiative of the Children’s University. The initiative, she discusses, presents what is perhaps a new approach to outreach; rather than persuading people to consider attending HE, the approach is to have dialogue with children, leading to their understanding of science and society and sharing in responsibility for creating an appropriate future in these times of global uncertainty and concern about sustainability. That is, children act as catalysts for change. The project presents recommendations for future action, and those relevant to HE access include that teachers must engage and empower children and young people, with provider funding directly linked to the social backgrounds of students. A particular focus was children from the groups under-represented in HE. Through Children’s University-type activities, children are empowered as change agents in society.

Support for students while they undertake their studies The ﬁnal category is programmes that operate while students are undertaking their study to enhance their chances of bridging the gap between their expectations and those of the university and supporting their academic success.

Introduction: Dimensions of Access to Post-Secondary Education

The first paper in this section is positioned in the USA and discusses access and equity regarding a salient group in today’s world: the need for support for undocumented youth as they participate in post-secondary education. The estimated two million undocumented youth in the USA pose challenges to civil and human rights. Kyle G. Southern and Ruben E. Canedo, in “Building Institutional Support for Undocumented Students’ Success: Understanding, Advocacy, Action”, discuss the barriers and share their best practice, as reflected in more equitable policies and practices in some post-secondary situations in the USA. The authors draw on President Obama’s (2012) definition of undocumented students as those who have entered the USA without legal authorisation, or who entered legally, but remained without authorisation. Southern and Canedo discuss how national, state and institutional leaders have been unwilling to address the challenges of the US immigration system. To address the situation, student activism has been fostered on college campuses, empowering students strategically and tactically to push for reform. An example is the University of California Berkeley, where students’ inability to access financial support led to the development of university entities. In meetings with the chancellor, a leadership structure was provided, with the university including legal and support services to over 380 students. Southern and Canedo point out, instructively, that these students perform at academically competitive levels with their UC Berkeley peers. Continuing work is to promote educational equity beyond access for undocumented students, including centralised resources for students and families. The authors conclude by outlining the array of undocumented students in countries across the world and advocate the power of student empowerment and activism in advancing equity in HE. The presentation of papers in this volume is concluded with the paper by Violeta Vidacek-Hains, “Institutional Support in Developing Students’ Professional and Social Competences through Volunteering”, which facilitates development not only in the recipients of the outreach programme but also in the programme providers. The volunteering scheme in Croatia enables university students to develop social awareness of the needs of under-represented groups in the local community and concurrently supports students in their studies. Through the development of what may be seen as “soft skills” and engaging them in their university studies, the programme provides support in an outreach manner for disadvantaged groups of children. Vidacek-Hains explores the “volunteering programmes” that are encoded in Croatian law, which are activities that are valued in the Republic of Croatia. Disadvantage is based on under-representation in education and sport, based on aspects such as low socioeconomic status and low levels of education. Vidacek-Hains discusses the programme in operation through the University of Zagreb, at the Centre for Volunteering and Humanitarian Work. Understandings that volunteers develop, points out Vidacek-Hains, are useful for their lives and future careers. Examples are provided of evaluations of the volunteering projects, such as the sports programme that involves exchanges for disadvantaged Croatian athletes with partners in the UK. Participants evaluated the programmes through surveys, and results of the evaluations showed that both Croatian and UK participants noted improvement in their communication across countries and the development of social competences.

Glenda Crosling and Graeme Atherton

Conclusion

The chapters in this book explore global access to post-secondary/HE from diverse perspectives, ranging from the macro policy level, through inclusive changes in educational approaches to maximise quality participation and outcomes, to activities and initiatives to develop in communities and individuals, the attributes to facilitate access to HE, and ﬁnally to support for students while they are completing their studies. We emphasise that success and quality in educational studies must accompany access and that changes in educational approaches will support success and heightened achievements not just for diverse student cohorts but for all students, as well as for their HE institutions. In the conclusion to this book, we outline current and emerging issues for the ﬁeld as it moves forward. These arise from the selected chapters in this book.

References

Asian Development Bank (ADB) (2012a), Access without Equity? Finding a Better Balance in Higher Education in Asia, Asian Development Bank, Philippines. Asian Development Bank (ADB) (2012b), Private Higher Education Across Asia Expanding Access, Searching for Quality, Asian Development Bank, Philippines. Atherton, G., Dumangane, C. and Whitty, G. (2016), Charting Equity: Drawing the Global Access Map, Pearson, London. China Daily (2016), “China has 1 in 5 of all college students in the world”, Report: 8th April. Clancy, P. (2013), “Differentials in inequality of access to higher education in European countries: triangulation of ﬁndings from EUROSTUDENT and other comparative surveys”, 26th Consortium of Higher Education Researchers (CHER) Annual Conference, 9 –11 September, University College Dublin, Ireland, available at: www3.unil.ch/wpmu/cher2013/ Crosling, G., Heagney, M. and Thomas, L. (2009), “Improving student retention in higher education: improving teaching and learning”, Australian Universities’ Review, Vol. 51 No. 2. Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) (2013), The Benefits of Higher Education Participation for Individuals and Society: Key Findings and Reports –The Quadrants—, BIS, London. European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice (2015), The European Higher Education Area in 2015: Bologna Process Implementation Report, Publications Ofﬁce of the European Union, Luxembourg. Hongbin, K., Loyalka, P., Rozelle, S., Wu, B. and Xie, J. (2013), “Unequal access to college in China: how far have poor, rural students been left behind?”, Working Paper 26, Rural education Action Project, April. McKinsey Global Institute (2012), The World at Work: Jobs, Pay and Skills for 3.5 billion People, McKinsey Company. OECD (2013), How’s Life? 2013: Measuring Well-being, The OECD Better Life Initiative: Concepts and Indicators, OECD, Paris. OECD (2014), All Aboard, Making Inclusive Growth Happen, OECD, Paris. OECD (2015), Education at a Glance, OECD, Paris. Piketty, T. (2014), Capital in the Twenty-First Century, Harvard University Press, Boston, MA.

Introduction: Dimensions of Access to Post-Secondary Education