Participation in higher education - and particularly widening participation to students from less-privileged social groups and those who have traditionally not entered HE - has been a major issue since at least the early 1950s. Widening participation has been an active policy of almost all UK governments for over 40 years, but the issue is perhaps reaching an impasse, with numbers at best static and key groups still effectively excluded from higher education. With issues such as student fees and high drop-out rates still political hot potatoes, this book is a survey of the issues behind...

This text investigates UK policy issues and strategies in an international context, highlighting the importance of educational exclusion and disaffection on the international agenda. The authors examine the problems, analyze the challenges to be faced and highlight key areas of policy development for educational inclusion. The primary focus is education, but the text also aims to look at an integrated policy approach which will relate to areas such as housing, employment and health.