Social equity in higher education: a wicked problem exacerbated by multiple discourses

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 191-200
Author(s):  
Ana Larsen ◽  
Susan Emmett
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Great Influence ◽  
Social Equity ◽  
Human Potential ◽  
Wicked Problem ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Education Literature ◽  
Performance Based Funding ◽  
Massification Of Higher Education

Social equity in higher education has been a priority for universities and policy makers throughout Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations for more than a decade. Limited improvement is seen among students in under-represented groups which remains a concern and for this reason social equity in higher education is presented as a wicked problem. This article will outline the steady massification of higher education where elitist discourses were largely abandoned, while social equity discourses flourished. The discussion will include key documents that have wielded great influence on discourse including The Bradley Review, Performance-Based Funding (PBF) and the Job-Ready Graduates legislation. After illuminating the Australian political context, this article will define four social equity discourses currently distinguishable in higher education literature: meritocratic, economist, social justice and human potential. Interrogation of these discourses will reveal complexity and divergence that contributes to the wicked nature of improving social equity in higher education.

Shifting from Enrollment- to Performance-Based Funding in Higher Education: What Can We Learn from Washington's Experience?

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 482-498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darby Kaikkonen
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Student Success ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Funding Model ◽  
Institutional Accountability ◽  
Systems Research ◽  
Performance Based Funding

Performance-based funding (PBF) in higher education has grown in recent years as a means of institutional accountability and incentive for improving student success. Although most states have successfully implemented their respective systems, research on early funding models suggests a difficult fiscal environment can introduce tension between theory and practice of the concept. This policy brief uses the case of Washington State's redesign of the Student Achievement Initiative to describe new implications around this tension. The revision focused on using a base reallocation as the funding source in the context of diminished state resources and the importance of college buy-in. Regression analyses tested the alignment between the principles and metrics for awarding funds, which resulted in a funding model that awarded the maximum dollars related to performance versus college characteristics. Policy makers considering new or revised PBF systems can benefit from critical lessons learned from Washington State's comprehensive process and final product.

Social inclusion of refugees into higher education in Norway: A critical analysis of Norwegian higher education and integration policies

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 628-647
Author(s):  
Juhar Yasin Abamosa ◽  
Line Torbjørnsen Hilt ◽  
Kariane Westrheim
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Human Potential ◽  
Widening Participation ◽  
Education Policies ◽  
The Social ◽  
Integration Policies

In numerous countries, the widening participation of underrepresented groups in higher education has become an official part of education policies. However, inequalities continue in some areas, including refugees’ participation. Norway hosts many refugees, but little is known about the social inclusion of refugees into higher education in the country. In this paper, three documents representing Norwegian higher education and integration policies are analysed using an integrated analytical framework constructed from social inclusion and its three main dimensions (access, participation and empowerment) and from a critical discourse analysis. The analysis is conducted to address how social inclusion into higher education is conceptualized, which major discourses underpin the conceptualization and what implications these have for the social inclusion of refugees into higher education in Norway. The article argues that social inclusion is conceptualized from an access dimension signifying the dominance of neoliberal principles in the policy documents. On the contrary, social justice discourses are marginalized and human potential principles are absent from the documents signalling the disempowerment of refugees in relation to higher education. Future policies should incorporate conscious and clear strategies informed by social justice and empowerment principles to ensure the social inclusion of refugees into higher education.

scholarly journals Performance-Based Funding: Equity Analysis of Funding Distribution among State Universities

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Robin Ann Ellis
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
The United States ◽  
State Funding ◽  
State Universities ◽  
Funding Equity ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Performance Based Funding ◽  
Performance Accountability ◽  
Public Colleges And Universities ◽  
Funding Distribution

<p>How to finance higher education remains controversial among policy makers and constituencies across the United States. Texas is not exempt from the controversy. With increasingly strained state finances, institutions of higher education and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) have come under pressure to increase performance accountability, efficiency, and competitiveness. In Texas, House Bill 9 (H.B. 9) was enacted in 2011 to dedicate a portion of state funding to public colleges and universities that meet specific performance-based standards. Although H.B. 9 has been passed and signed into law, it still has not been determined how funding will be distributed or how effective it will be. This paper analyzes data from several states with similar performance-based funding standards to help bring to light to the possible effects H.B. 9 will have on Texas’ public four-year universities.</p>

Relational Leadership: Perspectives of Key Constructs on Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Equity in Higher Education

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodney Luster ◽  
Henry A. Cooper ◽  
Gena Aikman ◽  
Kim Sanders ◽  
Garry Jacobs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Equity ◽  
Relational Leadership ◽  
Leadership Perspectives

scholarly journals Underpinning the entrepreneurship educator’s toolkit: conceptualising the influence of educational philosophies and theory

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Bell
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Educational Philosophy ◽  
Entrepreneurship Education ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
Philosophical Orientation ◽  
Education Literature ◽  
Educational Philosophies ◽  
Literature Theory

AbstractEntrepreneurship educators can maximise the effectiveness of their delivery by having a firm grasp of the different educational philosophies and theories that underpin entrepreneurship education pedagogy and practice. A particular educational philosophical orientation underlies, directs, and drives educator practices and should align with what the teaching seeks to impart and achieve, and the roles the learners and educator play in the learning process. Whilst educators might not always be explicitly aware of their philosophical orientation, it will direct and drive their pedagogic practice and have implications for what they deliver, and how they deliver it. The benefits of bringing together different learning theories, philosophies, and approaches for entrepreneurship education has previously been posited in the literature. However, it has been highlighted that connections between educational theory and practice are limited, and that the field of entrepreneurship education could be advanced through providing links between education literature, theory, and learning. This paper advances the literature by linking educational philosophy and theory to entrepreneurship education and pedagogy in higher education. It discusses and highlights how behaviourism, cognitivism, constructivism, and humanism can be used to underpin and support learning in entrepreneurship education. This meets calls for the conceptualisation of how educational philosophies and theories can be integrated into entrepreneurship education to support learners.

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