Students who have dependent children are 'relatively invisible in the policy and physical spaces of universities' (Moreau and Kerner, 2015: p.4), are 'ignored or only briefly mentioned' in governmental communications (Moreau, 2014: p2), and are impossible to track in terms of entrance to, performance at, or attrition rate from, higher education. There is no obligation on institutions in England and Wales to compile data on their students' family circumstances (Moreau, 2014), and as such student-parents at such institutions can remain unidentified and unsupported throughout their higher education journey. With the aim of adding urgency to the calls to take the first step in supporting student parents, this paper uses Hopkins' (Hopkins, R., 2019; 2022a) 'What is? What if? What next?' method to stimulate conversation about this overlooked cohort, and to visualise the ways in which studentparents could be supported and celebrated by their institutions if they were visible participants in higher education. The article underlines why the higher education sector should collect data on student-parents ('What is'); presents a vision of the university of the future which collects data from, and thus is able to support and celebrate, its student-parent population ('What if'); and urges higher education institutions, in the absence of a national requirement to do so, to compile data on an institutional level which in turn facilitates the retention, progression, achievement and satisfaction of this committed and motivated cohort ('What next').
{"title":"'What Is? What If? What Next?' Why institutions must urgently identify, support, and celebrate their student-parents – and imagining a world in which they do so","authors":"Andrea Todd","doi":"10.5456/wpll.24.3.165","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5456/wpll.24.3.165","url":null,"abstract":"Students who have dependent children are 'relatively invisible in the policy and physical spaces of universities' (Moreau and Kerner, 2015: p.4), are 'ignored or only briefly mentioned' in governmental communications (Moreau, 2014: p2), and are impossible to track in terms of entrance\u0000 to, performance at, or attrition rate from, higher education. There is no obligation on institutions in England and Wales to compile data on their students' family circumstances (Moreau, 2014), and as such student-parents at such institutions can remain unidentified and unsupported throughout\u0000 their higher education journey. With the aim of adding urgency to the calls to take the first step in supporting student parents, this paper uses Hopkins' (Hopkins, R., 2019; 2022a) 'What is? What if? What next?' method to stimulate conversation about this overlooked cohort, and to visualise\u0000 the ways in which studentparents could be supported and celebrated by their institutions if they were visible participants in higher education. The article underlines why the higher education sector should collect data on student-parents ('What is'); presents a vision of the university of\u0000 the future which collects data from, and thus is able to support and celebrate, its student-parent population ('What if'); and urges higher education institutions, in the absence of a national requirement to do so, to compile data on an institutional level which in turn facilitates the retention,\u0000 progression, achievement and satisfaction of this committed and motivated cohort ('What next').","PeriodicalId":90763,"journal":{"name":"Widening participation and lifelong learning : the journal of the Institute for Access Studies and the European Access Network","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-02-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75122818","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The Open Learning Champions project has been running in Scotland since 2016, with the aim of increasing access to higher education by using Open Educational Resources (OER). The project involves partnering with voluntary and community organisations to engage disadvantaged learners who may be very distant from higher education, with often long and complex journeys into formal study. Evaluating the impact of this pre-access intervention has been a challenge as the university has no direct relationship with the learners, and learner journeys from OpenLearn into OU study are tracked in different ways on each platform. In a recent evaluation of the project, the authors used a mixed-methods approach, drawing on a range of qualitative and quantitative data gathered over five years to tell the story of the project's impact.
{"title":"Open to Success: Evaluating the impact of the Open Learning Champions project in Scotland","authors":"G. Ryan, Lidia Dancu","doi":"10.5456/wpll.24.3.152","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5456/wpll.24.3.152","url":null,"abstract":"The Open Learning Champions project has been running in Scotland since 2016, with the aim of increasing access to higher education by using Open Educational Resources (OER). The project involves partnering with voluntary and community organisations to engage disadvantaged learners who\u0000 may be very distant from higher education, with often long and complex journeys into formal study. Evaluating the impact of this pre-access intervention has been a challenge as the university has no direct relationship with the learners, and learner journeys from OpenLearn into OU study are\u0000 tracked in different ways on each platform. In a recent evaluation of the project, the authors used a mixed-methods approach, drawing on a range of qualitative and quantitative data gathered over five years to tell the story of the project's impact.","PeriodicalId":90763,"journal":{"name":"Widening participation and lifelong learning : the journal of the Institute for Access Studies and the European Access Network","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-02-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87648729","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Editorial – special edition – ’ Lessons from digital spaces: opportunities and challenges for widening participation through online learning ’ Journal Item How to cite: Stokes, Jennifer and Butcher, John (2022). Editorial – special edition – ’ Lessons from digital spaces: opportunities and challenges for widening participation through online learning ’. Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning, 24(2)
{"title":"Editorial – special edition – ' Lessons from digital spaces: opportunities and challenges for widening participation through online learning '","authors":"J. Stokes, J. Butcher","doi":"10.5456/wpll.24.2.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5456/wpll.24.2.1","url":null,"abstract":"Editorial – special edition – ’ Lessons from digital spaces: opportunities and challenges for widening participation through online learning ’ Journal Item How to cite: Stokes, Jennifer and Butcher, John (2022). Editorial – special edition – ’ Lessons from digital spaces: opportunities and challenges for widening participation through online learning ’. Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning, 24(2)","PeriodicalId":90763,"journal":{"name":"Widening participation and lifelong learning : the journal of the Institute for Access Studies and the European Access Network","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86939079","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
COVID-19 has required a significant and abrupt shift in the way we teach and learn in the field of Higher Education (HE). This paper explores an innovation in pedagogy in HE as lecturers and students transition from learning on campus to learning online. The transition to online learning, in this context, is problematised within the broader context of digital exclusion and the significance of foregrounding students' needs. The reflections presented in this paper derive from a re-envisioned undergraduate final year research project module delivered to a large diverse cohort of students (100+). In this module we applied premises underpinning authentic pedagogy, bringing the challenges faced by learners to the foreground whilst privileging student agency, autonomy, and competency. An element of the module previously delivered through in-person group supervisions was reconfigured into one-hour online workshops structured through a cycle of opportunities for participation. In our reflections we identify that students' agency, the promotion of social int eraction, and continuity in pedagogy were key elements in enabling the formation of a community of learning.
{"title":"Navigating pedagogical challenges through authentic pedagogy during the transition to online learning amid COVID-19","authors":"Jennifer van Krieken Robson, Francesca Zanatta","doi":"10.5456/wpll.24.2.83","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5456/wpll.24.2.83","url":null,"abstract":"COVID-19 has required a significant and abrupt shift in the way we teach and learn in the field of Higher Education (HE). This paper explores an innovation in pedagogy in HE as lecturers and students transition from learning on campus to learning online. The transition to online learning,\u0000 in this context, is problematised within the broader context of digital exclusion and the significance of foregrounding students' needs. The reflections presented in this paper derive from a re-envisioned undergraduate final year research project module delivered to a large diverse cohort\u0000 of students (100+). In this module we applied premises underpinning authentic pedagogy, bringing the challenges faced by learners to the foreground whilst privileging student agency, autonomy, and competency. An element of the module previously delivered through in-person group supervisions\u0000 was reconfigured into one-hour online workshops structured through a cycle of opportunities for participation. In our reflections we identify that students' agency, the promotion of social int eraction, and continuity in pedagogy were key elements in enabling the formation of a community of\u0000 learning.","PeriodicalId":90763,"journal":{"name":"Widening participation and lifelong learning : the journal of the Institute for Access Studies and the European Access Network","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84278809","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The fear of mathematics has long posed a barrier to wider participation and access for students to make sense of introductory microeconomics. The use of students' own written, contextualised stories as an assessment task was used to address the problem. Data was collected from a survey of 122 undergraduate and postgraduate students at an Australian leading research-intensive university to evaluate the impact on student learning. Preliminary findings suggested students' own contextualised stories helped them to meaningfully connect their learning to personal life experiences, link their learning to topical news events, and to appreciate the value of learning economics. Postgraduate students tended to value using contextualised stories twice as much as undergraduate students. The assessment task provides teachers of introductory micro economics insights into the value of students' own contextualised storytelling for learning, while also having implications for wider access and participation of mathematically challenged students from diverse backgrounds.
{"title":"Widening access and participation for learning introductory microeconomics: using students' own contextualised storytelling","authors":"Carl Sherwood","doi":"10.5456/wpll.24.2.94","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5456/wpll.24.2.94","url":null,"abstract":"The fear of mathematics has long posed a barrier to wider participation and access for students to make sense of introductory microeconomics. The use of students' own written, contextualised stories as an assessment task was used to address the problem. Data was collected from a survey\u0000 of 122 undergraduate and postgraduate students at an Australian leading research-intensive university to evaluate the impact on student learning. Preliminary findings suggested students' own contextualised stories helped them to meaningfully connect their learning to personal life experiences,\u0000 link their learning to topical news events, and to appreciate the value of learning economics. Postgraduate students tended to value using contextualised stories twice as much as undergraduate students. The assessment task provides teachers of introductory micro economics insights into the\u0000 value of students' own contextualised storytelling for learning, while also having implications for wider access and participation of mathematically challenged students from diverse backgrounds.","PeriodicalId":90763,"journal":{"name":"Widening participation and lifelong learning : the journal of the Institute for Access Studies and the European Access Network","volume":"42 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74212884","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Using the concept of liminal spaces, this paper discusses findings from a study exploring the experiences of fifteen adults as they negotiate their identity as online learners during the first module on a part-time undergraduate degree programme. Online programmes enable adult learners with diverse backgrounds and responsibilities to choose when and how they study and therefore make decisions of how their aspirations are best met. The convenience and flexibility of these hybrid spaces enables them to take control of their learning. However, such benefits are reliant upon negotiating new ideas, technologies, constructs of learning and emergent identities which may sit at the counterpoint of existing roles, responsibilities and experiences. For some, this period of transition can consequently be characterised by disorientation and liminality. The findings presented here provide new insights into the experiences of adults who choose to study online, highlighting the extent of the entanglement between their emergent identities and personal lifeworld. I explore the interplay of the factors which shape these early encounters and, using a narrative approach, examine how identities are forged, how the opportunities and challenges presented by online spaces are negotiated, and the importance of a sense of belonging. This approach contributes to the growing field of online research methods through an innovative use of online reflective journals and Skype interviews and further extends the writing on liminality into online spaces. Although the data for this study was collected and analysed before the COVID-19 pandemic, I examine what we, as educatorresearchers, can learn from these narratives and how this might inform our professional practice in the COVID-19 context.
{"title":"Beginning, becoming and belonging: using liminal spaces to explore how part-time adult learners negotiate emergent identities when embarking on undergraduate online study","authors":"Kara Johnson","doi":"10.5456/wpll.24.2.7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5456/wpll.24.2.7","url":null,"abstract":"Using the concept of liminal spaces, this paper discusses findings from a study exploring the experiences of fifteen adults as they negotiate their identity as online learners during the first module on a part-time undergraduate degree programme. Online programmes enable adult learners\u0000 with diverse backgrounds and responsibilities to choose when and how they study and therefore make decisions of how their aspirations are best met. The convenience and flexibility of these hybrid spaces enables them to take control of their learning. However, such benefits are reliant upon\u0000 negotiating new ideas, technologies, constructs of learning and emergent identities which may sit at the counterpoint of existing roles, responsibilities and experiences. For some, this period of transition can consequently be characterised by disorientation and liminality. The findings presented\u0000 here provide new insights into the experiences of adults who choose to study online, highlighting the extent of the entanglement between their emergent identities and personal lifeworld. I explore the interplay of the factors which shape these early encounters and, using a narrative approach,\u0000 examine how identities are forged, how the opportunities and challenges presented by online spaces are negotiated, and the importance of a sense of belonging. This approach contributes to the growing field of online research methods through an innovative use of online reflective journals and\u0000 Skype interviews and further extends the writing on liminality into online spaces. Although the data for this study was collected and analysed before the COVID-19 pandemic, I examine what we, as educatorresearchers, can learn from these narratives and how this might inform our professional\u0000 practice in the COVID-19 context.","PeriodicalId":90763,"journal":{"name":"Widening participation and lifelong learning : the journal of the Institute for Access Studies and the European Access Network","volume":"126 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76674806","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruption to the educational experiences of young people and to educational institutions. This article will examine the opportunities and challenges of the 'emergency' move to online spaces for the universities, schools and colleges in the Higher Education Progression Partnership South Yorkshire (HeppSY). Within the article, there is a particular focus on stakeholder groups and their relationships, which were vital for accessing and engaging the target students for activities and initiatives, but they are often not explicitly discussed when evaluating the impact of widening participation activities. This article will present the findings of 16 interviews and focus groups and the opportunities and challenges of moving into an online space will be outlined from the perspective of two stakeholder groups, as well as issues around digital poverty, capability and funding. The discussion section will focus on the implications of the online environment for widening participation and partnerships and how it can be moved beyond emergency online delivery to be planned and sustainable. It concludes by outlining the role of the online in widening participation and partnership working that will help drive the diversification of access post-pandemic.
{"title":"Partnership building for student access in online spaces: an evaluative exploration of the Higher Education Progression Partnership South Yorkshire","authors":"N. Pickering, A. Donnelly","doi":"10.5456/wpll.24.2.58","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5456/wpll.24.2.58","url":null,"abstract":"The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruption to the educational experiences of young people and to educational institutions. This article will examine the opportunities and challenges of the 'emergency' move to online spaces for the universities, schools and colleges in the\u0000 Higher Education Progression Partnership South Yorkshire (HeppSY). Within the article, there is a particular focus on stakeholder groups and their relationships, which were vital for accessing and engaging the target students for activities and initiatives, but they are often not explicitly\u0000 discussed when evaluating the impact of widening participation activities. This article will present the findings of 16 interviews and focus groups and the opportunities and challenges of moving into an online space will be outlined from the perspective of two stakeholder groups, as well as\u0000 issues around digital poverty, capability and funding. The discussion section will focus on the implications of the online environment for widening participation and partnerships and how it can be moved beyond emergency online delivery to be planned and sustainable. It concludes by outlining\u0000 the role of the online in widening participation and partnership working that will help drive the diversification of access post-pandemic.","PeriodicalId":90763,"journal":{"name":"Widening participation and lifelong learning : the journal of the Institute for Access Studies and the European Access Network","volume":"34 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75088348","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
University students who live and work in regional, rural and remote areas face challenges in studying at a distance from their institution's metropolitan or satellite campus. For mature-aged students in particular, relocating to a city campus is unrealistic, due to their family and employment commitments, and travel time and costs. A pragmatic alternative embraced by high proportions of mature-aged students is to study online. However, learning online has welldocumented difficulties. This article explores the online learning experiences of mature-aged university students in regional and remote Australia via students' individual stories in the form of three vignettes . Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems model is employed to analyse the vignettes for systemic and structural factors that condition the students' experiences. This theoretical frame affords new insights into the challenges of learning online. We found that influences beyond the actions of individual students and staff, such as students' internet access and the casualisation of the university workforce, help explain why staff working 'on the ground' may not always be able to provide 'quality' curriculum and support for online students. Placing experiences of individual students within larger contexts uncovers how institutional elements and broader higher education policy can influence the learning for students studying online.
{"title":"Mature-aged students' experiences of learning online in regional and remote Australia: an ecological systems perspective","authors":"N. Crawford, S. Emery, C. Stone","doi":"10.5456/wpll.24.2.30","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5456/wpll.24.2.30","url":null,"abstract":"University students who live and work in regional, rural and remote areas face challenges in studying at a distance from their institution's metropolitan or satellite campus. For mature-aged students in particular, relocating to a city campus is unrealistic, due to their family and\u0000 employment commitments, and travel time and costs. A pragmatic alternative embraced by high proportions of mature-aged students is to study online. However, learning online has welldocumented difficulties. This article explores the online learning experiences of mature-aged university students\u0000 in regional and remote Australia via students' individual stories in the form of three vignettes . Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems model is employed to analyse the vignettes for systemic and structural factors that condition the students' experiences. This theoretical frame affords new\u0000 insights into the challenges of learning online. We found that influences beyond the actions of individual students and staff, such as students' internet access and the casualisation of the university workforce, help explain why staff working 'on the ground' may not always be able to provide\u0000 'quality' curriculum and support for online students. Placing experiences of individual students within larger contexts uncovers how institutional elements and broader higher education policy can influence the learning for students studying online.","PeriodicalId":90763,"journal":{"name":"Widening participation and lifelong learning : the journal of the Institute for Access Studies and the European Access Network","volume":"15 3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78387906","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nick Mapletoft, O. Mapletoft, Tara Henderson, K. Pattison
This research note is based on ongoing studies that are taking place at a further education (FE) and higher education (HE) provider in England as it seeks to help reduce digital poverty and support digital equity and inclusion amongst its learner base throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. It draws upon quantitative data from enquiry, enrolment and learner-tracking data and statistics, coupled with qualitative dialogic discourse between the authors, who are all members of the Senior Leadership Team at the provider. We provide insights into the contrasting challenges and opportunities for access and widening participation that resulted as we moved all provision online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This research note analyses unemployed and employed learners at the provider who are undertaking vocational qualifications and skills-based assessments from entry level to degree level, grouped by homogeneous provision types.
{"title":"Opportunities and challenges in widening participation through online learning: comparison of findings in a further and higher education provider during COVID-19","authors":"Nick Mapletoft, O. Mapletoft, Tara Henderson, K. Pattison","doi":"10.5456/wpll.24.2.159","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5456/wpll.24.2.159","url":null,"abstract":"This research note is based on ongoing studies that are taking place at a further education (FE) and higher education (HE) provider in England as it seeks to help reduce digital poverty and support digital equity and inclusion amongst its learner base throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.\u0000 It draws upon quantitative data from enquiry, enrolment and learner-tracking data and statistics, coupled with qualitative dialogic discourse between the authors, who are all members of the Senior Leadership Team at the provider. We provide insights into the contrasting challenges and opportunities\u0000 for access and widening participation that resulted as we moved all provision online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This research note analyses unemployed and employed learners at the provider who are undertaking vocational qualifications and skills-based assessments from entry level to degree\u0000 level, grouped by homogeneous provision types.","PeriodicalId":90763,"journal":{"name":"Widening participation and lifelong learning : the journal of the Institute for Access Studies and the European Access Network","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76180776","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Over the last 18 months, media coverage has revealed a concern that the increasing proliferation of digital learning at all universities (amplified by COVID-19 lockdowns) has compounded access and participation barriers for students impoverished by socio-economic challenges. This reflects the importance of digital capital as an aspect of learner disadvantage (Park, 2017) and increased understanding of intersectional disadvantage (Nichols and Stahl, 2019), through which digital disadvantage may add to pre-existing inequalities. The Quality Assurance Agency (2020) report how institutional action against digital poverty correlates with greater student satisfaction and higher levels of attainment. This article synthesises data from the authors' scholarship into digital barriers facing adult students returning to education. Challenges in relation to disposable income often compound challenges intersecting with other aspects of disadvantage (Butcher and Rose-Adams, 2015), and a lack of confidence and inadequate digital readiness amongst learners from disadvantaged backgrounds seeking an Access entry route has been identified (Curry and Butcher, 2020; Fowle and Butcher, 2019; Butcher and Fowle, 2018). Recommendations are made to promote greater inclusion amongst students from poor socio-economic backgrounds and to support the progression of a more diverse (and representative) adult learner cohort.
在过去的18个月里，媒体报道显示出一种担忧，即所有大学中数字学习的日益普及(因COVID-19封锁而加剧)加剧了因社会经济挑战而贫困的学生获得和参与的障碍。这反映了数字资本作为学习者劣势的一个方面的重要性(Park, 2017)，并增加了对交叉劣势的理解(Nichols和Stahl, 2019)，通过交叉劣势，数字劣势可能会加剧已有的不平等。质量保证机构(2020年)报告了针对数字贫困的机构行动如何与更高的学生满意度和更高的学习水平相关联。本文综合了作者的学术研究数据，分析了成人学生返校面临的数字障碍。与可支配收入相关的挑战往往与其他劣势方面的挑战相结合(Butcher和Rose-Adams, 2015年)，并且已经确定了来自弱势背景的学习者在寻求进入途径时缺乏信心和数字准备不足(Curry和Butcher, 2020年;Fowle and Butcher, 2019;Butcher and Fowle, 2018)。提出了一些建议，以促进社会经济背景较差的学生之间的更大融合，并支持一个更多样化(和代表性)的成人学习者群体的发展。
{"title":"Digital poverty as a barrier to access","authors":"J. Butcher, George Curry","doi":"10.5456/wpll.24.2.180","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5456/wpll.24.2.180","url":null,"abstract":"Over the last 18 months, media coverage has revealed a concern that the increasing proliferation of digital learning at all universities (amplified by COVID-19 lockdowns) has compounded access and participation barriers for students impoverished by socio-economic challenges. This reflects\u0000 the importance of digital capital as an aspect of learner disadvantage (Park, 2017) and increased understanding of intersectional disadvantage (Nichols and Stahl, 2019), through which digital disadvantage may add to pre-existing inequalities. The Quality Assurance Agency (2020) report how\u0000 institutional action against digital poverty correlates with greater student satisfaction and higher levels of attainment. This article synthesises data from the authors' scholarship into digital barriers facing adult students returning to education. Challenges in relation to disposable income\u0000 often compound challenges intersecting with other aspects of disadvantage (Butcher and Rose-Adams, 2015), and a lack of confidence and inadequate digital readiness amongst learners from disadvantaged backgrounds seeking an Access entry route has been identified (Curry and Butcher, 2020; Fowle\u0000 and Butcher, 2019; Butcher and Fowle, 2018). Recommendations are made to promote greater inclusion amongst students from poor socio-economic backgrounds and to support the progression of a more diverse (and representative) adult learner cohort.","PeriodicalId":90763,"journal":{"name":"Widening participation and lifelong learning : the journal of the Institute for Access Studies and the European Access Network","volume":"857 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91241541","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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