Across Europe young people in public care are around five times less likely to attend tertiary education than those who have not been in care. This book provides a comprehensive account of why this shocking discrepancy exists and outlines ways to address the imbalance. Drawing extensively on new original research, the book examines the…

What does "fairness" mean internationally in terms of access to higher education? Increased competition for places in elite universities has prompted a worldwide discussion regarding the fairness of student admission policies. Despite budget cuts from governments--and increasing costs for students--competition is fierce at the most…

This book examines issues in studying equal opportunity in colleges and universities, especially those in the United Kingdom, and methods for conducting research into equal opportunity issues. It is intended to provide a framework of ideas and starting points for research. Most of the techniques suggested are forms of participant research on a…

This collection presents a cross section of research into the theme of equal opportunities in education in the Netherlands. The majority of articles are on the Dutch situation, which resembles that of other countries in many respects. Contributions include: (1) "Educational Inequality Research in the Netherlands. Conditions, Constraints and…

The last half century has seen a dramatic expansion in access to primary, secondary, and higher education in many nations around the world. Educational expansion is desirable for a country's economy, beneficial for educated individuals themselves, and is also a strategy for greater social harmony. But has greater access to education reduced or…

A study identified the factors that assist or impede women's access, participation, and progression within education and training in Britain. The project rationale was as follows: women face continuing inequalities in the labor market, there are signs of a diminishing concern with equal opportunities, and women's position and experiences in…

This book examines the effects of a 1988 policy decision of the British Open University (OU) requiring all distance learners to acquire a personal computer (PC) on their own and use it to conduct their distance education as OU students. The following topics are discussed in the book's nine chapters: potential, history, and development of computers…

Although 6 million adults in Britain are studying at any one time, survey findings confirm continuing underrepresentation of people in lower socioeconomic levels. This paper suggests that widened participation in education and training is necessary to improve competitiveness and economic success and to enable all to have an equal opportunity of…

In addition to an "Introduction" (Gonon, et. al), there are these 18 essays: "Women and Men in Swiss Vocational Education (Borkowsy); "Women in Basic and Advanced Training" (Grossenbacher); "How Constitutional Change and Legal Reform Projects Foster Equal Opportunities in the Fields of Vocational Education and Higher…

Reports on recent developments and problems in the diversification of tertiary education in seven Western European countries are presented by members of the Working Party on the Diversification of Tertiary Education. Policy analysis and evaluation and recommendations for future policy are also provided. As a policy, diversification refers to the…

A discussion of higher education in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland assesses policy and provision of education in the two jurisdictions and places them in their international context. The jurisdictions' demographics, trends in participation, and patterns of expenditure are examined first, in the context of both the United Kingdom and…

This book aims to unveil some of the intricacies and paradoxes in the links among education, poverty, and inequality in the Americas by offering a current account of the status of educational opportunities for low-income groups. The goal is to offer various frameworks to conceptualize the dynamics of educational inequality at the micro-level and…

If teachers want to educate deaf learners effectively, they have to apply evidence-informed methods and didactics with the needs of individual deaf students in mind. Education in general -- and education for deaf learners in particular -- is situated in broader societal contexts, where what works within the Western world may be quite different…

This book explores how different classroom discourses and concepts of knowledge permeate teaching in high- and low-performance classrooms. Drawing on empirical research from classrooms in Sweden, it presents a theory-based framework for classroom research. The book examines the central concepts of knowledge, curriculum, pedagogy and equity to…

This book examines access, lifelong learning and education for all, which have been policy preoccupations in all countries for more than half a century, but have been overlaid and pushed aside by the development of mass higher education. The authors examine what has been achieved, what lessons have been learnt and what still remains to be done,…