OBJETIVO GENERAL

the political ju stificatio n for w idening access and also draw links to those theoretical ideas outlined in C hapter 4.

7 . 1 4 . 1 T h e e c o n o m i c i m p e r a t i v e

As noted a m ajor ju stificatio n in the political prom otion o f widening access is the econom ic need for a skilled w orkforce. Such econom ic imperatives were clearly visible and central to both planning and activities within the university. The strategic goal o f ‘em p lo y ab ility ’ w as a prom inent feature in all three docum ents considered. The C orporate Plan stated one aspect o f the ‘academic business’ o f the University was ‘ ...e q u ip p in g students w ith key skills and experiences that are dem anded by e m p lo y e rs ...’ (C orporate Plan, 2005-09:4). In this docum ent links between em ployability and non-traditional students were made in terms o f advancing

collaboration w ith further education colleges w hich w ould allow the university to ‘ ...b u ild capacity in the local econom y’. Specific aims also included making ‘...1 0 0 % o f academ ic program m es ... offer em ployability m odules or provide equivalent p rov ision /exp erience’ and for departments to ‘...develop appropriate links w ith em ployers and professional bodies in order to inform curriculum dev elo p m en t’(C orporate Plan, 2005-09:10). One o f the three aims o f the Learning and T eaching Strategy w as focused entirely on em ployability and saw students being enabled to ‘ ...c o n trib u te fully and effectively to the econom y and society’ (Learning and T eaching S trategy 2003-2008: para. 3.0). Collaboration w ith schools, colleges and business w as em phasised in the W idening Access and Participation Strategy w hich highlighted links to ‘ ...sk ills developm ent, skills deficit and requirem ents and the benefits o f inter-sectoral lia is o n ...’. H ighlighting the presum ed individual and societal benefits o f w idening access this Strategy made the statem ent that

F or m any groups w ho do not participate in higher education, em p loym en t p rospects are an im portant fa c to r in the decision to study a n d current curricula wnll be review ed to meet the needs o f a changing em p loym en t m arket. (W A P Strategy, 2002-05:8)

There w as thus a discourse in the policy docum ents o f the university that mirrored national policy argum ents in presenting exclusion from higher education as econom ically dam aging for both society and excluded individuals.

D iscussion o f ‘core sk ills’, ‘em ployer engagem ent’, progress files and ‘career p lan ning ’ also frequently took place in meetings attended. Individual staff showed a strong aw areness o f this em phasis on em ployability and appeared accepting o f it. This is not surprising in a post-92 university that has a particular focus on the provision o f vocational and professional courses and a similar focus has been observed across the H E sector, particularly in new universities (Morley, 2001).

W ithin Inter-U the prom inence o f em ployability issues, although at times related specifically to non-traditional students, was also seen as fundam ental to the un iv ersity ’s m issio n and em ployability was viewed as relevant to all students at Inter- U. E m ployability w as m easured by graduate em ploym ent and Boards and C om m ittees received the outcom es o f ‘first destination surveys’ as an indicator o f achievem ent in m eeting em ployability goals. H owever it can be argued that such m easurem ent o verlooks different students’ relationship to the em ploym ent market. F or exam ple, H urst (1999) has com m ented on the problem s o f w ork experience for disabled students and the difficulties for disabled graduates regardless o f their skills. M ore recently Purcell et al (2007:77) have noted how m any m ature graduates had to ‘ ...d isp lay greater determ ination and resilience to achieve relative labour market su ccess’. A lthough the w orkings o f the external em ploym ent m arket are a significant factor in the prospects o f m any non-traditional students this was largely ignored in the discussion and m easurem ent o f em ployability w ithin the university.

7 . 1 4 . 2 U t i l i t a r i a n, a c a d e m i c a n d t r a n s f o r m a t i v e a p p r o a c h e s

The em phasis on being receptive to the needs o f the econom y and a corresponding focus on vocationally oriented program m es indicated that, in term s o f Jones and T h o m as’s (2005:618) policy approaches previously referenced, Inter-U ’s principal approach w as ‘u tilitarian ’, confirm ing their contention that ‘...th ere is a tendency tow ards the utilitarian approach, particularly am ongst the new universities’. However, as w ill be m entioned later, som e elem ents o f both the ‘academ ic’ and ‘transform ative’ approaches could also be discerned. In addition to the econom ic focus the correspondence w ith the utilitarian approach was further evidenced by the central location o f the D isability U nit. As they argue in respect o f utilitarian influenced higher education ‘...m a n y student service departments reported institutional

resistance to their integration into core activity’ (Jones and Thomas, 2005:618). W hilst ‘resistan ce’ is perhaps too strong a word to describe perceptions in Inter-U the contentm ent w ith such services being centrally located appeared to derive from academ ic sta ff feeling overw helm ed and feeling ill-equipped to deal w ith such issues. There w as therefore a ready acceptance o f others having the m ajor responsibility for m eeting certain stu d en ts’ needs.

The university also show ed the influence o f the utilitarian approach in the emphasis placed on p re-entry activity to raise levels o f aspiration and com pensatory activity to m ake up for deficit in qualifications, skills and understanding. There were however som e qualifying factors related to these activities. Firstly, the focus on pre-entry activity although supporting the notion o f aspiration deficiency seemed also to be influenced by the ease o f identification o f such activity for accountability purposes. Secondly, although som e distinct, com pensatory provision w as made, some lecturers saw this as addressing the needs o f the m ajority o f students not ju st those who were from non-traditional backgrounds. Thus, study support activities, whilst viewed as essential to com pensate for students’ lack o f skills, did not appear to be given much consideration in term s o f their potential to ‘rem edialise’ non-traditional students. In a sim ilar fashion to the perception o f the role o f the Disability Unit, the central provision o f study skills appeared to be seen sim ply as an additional resource to help lecturers m anage a m ultiplicity o f demands.

It could be argued that the activities in Inter-U shared some similarity with the ‘differential p ro v isio n ’ m odel w hich Shaw et al. (2007) offered as an adaptation o f the utilitarian approach and L ayer’s ‘different product’ approach to institutional policy (Layer, 2005:80). Both o f these are based on alternative modes o f provision

being m ade available for underrepresented groups. Thus, as Shaw et al. (2007:58) stated regarding this approach,

... the H E I recognises the need to change in order to adapt to the

diverse needs o f students (unlike the academic discourse), but these changes are not fu lly integrated throughout the whole o f the institution (unlike the transform ative discourse).

There w as som e evidence o f such alternative provision designed specifically for non- traditional students. This w as such shown in such courses as ‘Foundation degrees’, ‘level z e ro ’ and those that w ere offered as ‘HE in F E ’ but this provision was not extensive and, in any case, the ‘m ainstream ’ provision was not for traditional students only. Thus, although show ing som e correspondence w ith the ‘differential provision’ m odel, the lack o f adaptation throughout the university w as more com plex than this m odel im plies. This w as because, as Shaw et al (2007:43) also noted, HEIs are m ultifaceted and ‘ ...sc h o o ls and departm ents may approach WP in very different w ays and construct different business cases to justify th is’.

As stated, in addition to elem ents o f the utilitarian approach, some aspects o f both the academ ic and transform ative approaches could also be identified. The academic approach again privileges aspiration raising activities and the supply o f information about higher education opportunities, both o f w hich take place outside the university. This show ed itse lf in the m ajority o f the w ork o f the central access team and their location w ithin the recruitm ent and m arketing department. Some transformative aspects w ere also revealed. The ideal version o f the transform ative approach was seen by Jones and Thom as (2005:619) as being very unusual in HE and as ‘...related to the progressive thinking around adult education and the m ore radical precepts o f the access m o v em en t’. A lthough not showing the institution wide coverage stressed by Jones and T hom as som e pockets o f activity could be seen as manifesting

transform ative qualities. This was m ost evident w hen individual lecturers spoke o f their attem pts to provide a platform for non-traditional students to contribute and utilise know ledge m ost relevant to them w ithin their courses. It was also evident in acknow ledgem ents o f the im portance o f life and professional experience as well as academ ic skills. In addition to the specific instances o f certain lecturers valuing the experience o f non-traditional students there were occasional references to the cultural benefits o f having a w ide range o f international students. H ow ever this was seen as som ew hat lim ited w ithin the classroom context w hen lecturers spoke o f the difficulty o f getting groups to m ove out o f w hat was view ed as their ‘com fort zone’. There may be room for d evelopm ent in this area given the positive potential o f diverse student populations.

7 . 1 4 . 3 A s s i m i l a t i o n

D espite som e instances o f transform ative and potentially em pow ering activity, the study found that those argum ents concerned w ith accom m odating non-traditional students w ithin courses w ere far m ore prevalent than those prom oting diversity as benefiting all students. N evertheless, the ‘accom m odations’ made, although not necessarily transform ative in the term s used by Jones and Thomas, did show that m ost lecturers w ere, at one level, aw are o f the different circumstances o f non- traditional students and m ade efforts to respond to their needs. Parker et al’s (2005) notion o f the official and unofficial curriculum seems relevant to such responses to the needs o f non-traditional students that were found in the study. Essentially this argum ent m aintains that practitioners routinely make the curriculum more accessible, and this is largely based on individual goodwill. The individual adjustments to delivery that lecturers m ade seem ed to be o f this kind. Lecturers appeared to be routinely involved in ‘finding a way around’ the stated curriculum or in work outside

the lecture. Thus, a sim ple understanding o f the institution as requiring the assim ilation o f non-traditional students to a pre-defined system was by no means the w hole picture. A lthough non-traditional students were generally being required to assim ilate to a system o f higher education that values particular academ ic forms and outcom es, and, as a consequence, w ere being required to be brought ‘up to standard’ (Sayed, 2002:8-9) m ore flexible and accom m odating means o f enabling students were also being enacted by lecturers on a daily basis.

7 . 1 4 . 4 D i v e r s i t y m a n a g e m e n t

In addition to ideas o f assim ilation the notion o f diversity m anagem ent, as a means o f integrating the m inority groups, w as m entioned in Chapter 4. A spects o f diversity m anagem ent approaches could be recognized in term s o f there being an imperative for som e courses to attract and retain students from a more diverse pool. This approach to m ak ing a ‘business case’ for w idening participation has been reflected in recent literature on the m otivation to w iden access. Thus Shaw et al. (2007:3) have w ritten about w idening participation and

The concept o f a business case fo r diversity... built on recognising a distinction betw een an externally driven ‘equal opportunities para d ig m ’ a n d a ‘diversity paradigm ’ that recognises business benefits as w ell as m oral a n d ethical argum ents

This w as particularly relevant in those courses that had recruitm ent difficulties. In these courses it could be argued that non-traditional students were seen as ‘...m aking up for po or recruitm ent o f “traditional” students’ (Powney, 2002:25). However, w here this w as the case, non-traditional students tended to be identified principally by their lack o f form al qualifications, leading to a conception o f non-traditional students as those ‘ ...n o t m aking the g rade’. The ‘business case’ could also be seen as relevant to those courses w here recruitm ent was buoyant. In this study the sports department felt no pressure to seek alternative markets to the traditional despite institutionally

stated aim s. The ability to recruit to target against a backdrop o f restricted admissions provided little dem and to look beyond traditional markets. A lthough there was little evidence o f sta ff w ithin the departm ent being averse to the w idening participation agenda this relative lack o f pressure to recruit led to some staff outside the department perceiving it as less w elcom ing.

7 . 1 4 . 5 E m p o w e r m e n t

As previously stated another concept, frequently em ployed in the analysis o f the contexts in w hich m inority groups find them selves, is em powerm ent. Empowering students in term s o f developing skills and knowledge in order to enhance em ployability w as highlighted in corporate docum ents and illustrated by the profile given to p rogress files, w ork experience and the professional accreditation o f courses. This career im provem ent version o f em pow erm ent stresses the acquisition o f skills and qualifications, w hich is undoubtedly im portant for m any non-traditional students but, as m entioned earlier in this section, this form o f em pow erm ent is limited by the external em ploym ent m arket. ‘Student centred learning’ is also sometimes interpreted as a form o f em pow erm ent. The active participation in, rather than passive receipt of, learning advocated by adherents is argued to be both m ore effective as a learning process and to provide students with a range o f transferable skills valued by em ployers (C louston, 2005). H owever, it was found that the need to manage the pressures o f higher student num bers was also a powerful incentive acting to promote m ore independent form s o f learning. Furtherm ore, non-traditional students may find the developm ent o f autonom ous learning difficult through a lack o f self-confidence and less fam iliarity w ith the requirem ents o f the ‘academ y’. In short, their lack o f cultural capital m ay put them at a disadvantage. To some extent this did appear to be recognised by som e academ ic staff in dem ands for increased learning support for

students and an acknow ledgem ent that some students lacked the ‘tools o f the trade’. Finally, a m ore radical conception o f em powerm ent was, as stated, found in some instances w here lecturers em braced diversity and saw the potential contribution o f non-traditional stu d en ts’ experience.

7 . 1 4 . 6 H a b i t u s

The inappropriateness o f m aking categorical statem ents regarding the institution as a w hole stem s from the different dem ands and influences operating on departments and individuals. G reenbank (2007:219) in research on the im plem entation o f widening participation policy, noted that H EIs are com plex organisations

...that have w ithin them groups o f people (in departments, within d epartm ents a n d in other activity system s) that have developed distinct sub-cultures. Individuals also have their own values that have d eve lo p ed fr o m their m em bership o f these subcultures and fro m the other environm ents or social locations which currently shape their values, or in the p a s t have influenced them.

G reen ban k’s study show ed that policy docum ents and the statements o f senior m anagers often failed to convey this com plexity owing to their perception o f a