ERIC Number: EJ1022967
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0142-5692
EISSN: N/A
Framing Higher Education: Questions and Responses in the British Social Attitudes Survey, 1983-2010
Mountford-Zimdars, Anna; Jones, Steven; Sullivan, Alice; Heath, Anthony
British Journal of Sociology of Education, v34 n5-6 p792-811 2013
This article focuses on questions and attitudes towards higher education in the British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey series. First, we analyse the changing BSA questions (1983-2010) in the context of key policy reports. Our results show that changes in the framing of higher education questions correspond with changes in the macro-discourse of higher education policies. Second, we focus on the 2010 BSA survey responses to investigate how attitudes towards higher education are related to respondents' characteristics. Respondents' socio-economic position predicts attitudes towards higher education. Graduates and professionals are most likely to support a reduction in higher education opportunities, but those who have so far benefitted least from higher education are supportive of expansion. One interpretation -- with potential implications for social mobility -- is that those who have already benefited from higher education are most inclined to pull the ladder up behind them.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Higher Education, Educational Attitudes, Social Attitudes, Surveys, Discourse Analysis, Educational Policy, Socioeconomic Status, Prediction, Educational Benefits, College Graduates, Professional Occupations, Educational Opportunities, Access to Education, Social Class, Government Publications, Gender Differences, Educational Legislation, Employment Opportunities, Correlation
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom (England)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A