ERIC Number: EJ753534
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006
Pages: 20
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0260-1370
EISSN: N/A
Beyond the "Learning Society": What Have We Learnt from Widening Participation Research?
Gorard, Stephen; Smith, Emma
International Journal of Lifelong Education, v25 n6 p575-594 Nov-Dec 2006
This article emerges from a recent review of evidence, conducted by the authors and others, on the lifelong barriers to widening participation in higher education in England. This has led us to a consideration of the quality and relevance of the research activity in this large field of endeavour, and to the creation of a typology of the kinds of widespread problems we then encountered. These include pseudo-research, poor quality reporting of research, deficiencies in datasets, analytical errors, a lack of suitable comparators, obfuscation, a lack of scepticism in general, and the regular misattribution of causal links in particular. The article discusses each of these, and illustrates them using generally high-profile research studies and publications. We found a substantial proportion of non-empirical pieces. Of the remainder, we found a substantial proportion that did not report sufficiently well their methods or their findings. Of the remainder that were empirical and did explain their methods and findings sufficiently, we found a substantial proportion in which the findings could not support the conclusions drawn from them. The article ends with a plea for a great deal more "learning" and openness to new ideas among those engaged, lifelong, in researching lifelong learning. (Contains 2 tables.)
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Lifelong Learning, Higher Education, Access to Education, Educational Research, Meta Analysis, Attrition (Research Studies), Evaluation Problems, Research Problems, Error Patterns, Evaluation Criteria, Disproportionate Representation, Data Collection, Relevance (Education), Peer Evaluation
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/default.html
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom (England)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A