Inertia in elite STEM widening participation: the use of contextual data in admissions
Author(s)
Howson, Camille Kandiko
Cohen, Eliel
Viola, Julianne K
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
There is a contradiction of intensive national policy efforts and the slow pace of change in widening participation in England. This paper focuses on the use of contextual data in STEM subjects, where there has been less progress in widening access and a more rigid entry pathway through A-level study. Interviews with admissions tutors suggest a narrative in which STEM curricula, and the prior knowledge and skills required to succeed within it are fixed, and that attempts to widen participation and broaden the notion of ‘best students’ could undermine academic standards and the student experience. The paper draws on social justice and social reproduction theoretical frameworks to explore policy enactment, identifying support for widening participation and the effects of a conservative ethos amongst academics. The tension of these approaches, alongside the autonomy of decision-makers, are key dynamics explaining the inertia of policy efforts for change.
Date Issued
2022-06-02
Date Acceptance
2022-05-24
Citation
British Journal of Sociology of Education, 2022, 43 (6), pp.950-969
ISSN
0142-5692
Publisher
Routledge
Start Page
950
End Page
969
Journal / Book Title
British Journal of Sociology of Education
Volume
43
Issue
6
Copyright Statement
© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.
Identifier
http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000810468500001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
Subjects
Social Sciences
Education & Educational Research
Sociology
Access
fairness
holistic admissions
meritocracy
HIGHER-EDUCATION ADMISSIONS
POLICY ENACTMENTS
FAIRNESS
JUSTICE
EQUITY
ACCESS
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2022-06-13