A Vision of Equal Opportunity in Postsecondary Education

Jacobs, Lesley A.

doi:10.1007/978-94-6209-230-3_3

Cited by 8 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Thomsen et al 2013). On further reflection, formal approach to equality, i.e., procedural fairness in access to higher education (Jacobs 2013) is insufficient.…”

Section: The Nordic Higher Education and Equality Of Accessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It does not recognise how cultural and socio-economic differences create inequalities between individuals. To widen participation to higher education, the playing field must be levelled by creating policy initiatives that remove barriers and compensate children coming from disadvantaged background (Bøyum, 2014;Jacobs 2013). In addition, the social justice approach to widening participation claims that educational structures, systems, and cultures need to transform and turn into more inclusive contexts (Burke 2012).…”

Section: The Nordic Higher Education and Equality Of Accessmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Higher Education in Nordic Roma and Traveller Policy Documents – Analysing Silences

Helakorpi¹,

Isopahkala-Bouret²

2020

The Roma in European Higher Education

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“…Thomsen et al 2013). On further reflection, formal approach to equality, i.e., procedural fairness in access to higher education (Jacobs 2013) is insufficient.…”

Section: The Nordic Higher Education and Equality Of Accessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Nordic Higher Education and Equality Of Accessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Higher Education in Nordic Roma and Traveller Policy Documents – Analysing Silences

Helakorpi¹,

Isopahkala-Bouret²

2020

The Roma in European Higher Education

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“…Let me now begin to relate in more detail my vision of equality of educational opportunities to a broader theory of equality of opportunity I have developed elsewhere (Jacobs 2004, 2010, 2013). Equality of opportunity is, I suggest, an ideal for the normative regulation of competitions that distribute valuable opportunities in society.…”

Section: Reframing Equality Of Educational Opportunitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Equality of educational opportunity is in this sense a normative ideal for regulating fairly competitions between students, within schools, between schools, and what ever other competitions might arise in an educational context. I advanced this view in considerable detail a decade ago and in a series of publications since then (Jacobs, 2004(Jacobs, , 2010(Jacobs, , 2013, showing its applicability to fundamental legal and policy debates in education including civil rights, taxation and school financing, the uses of standardized testing, public funding for universities and colleges, and affirmative action.…”

Section: Fairness As the Currency Of Equality Of Educational Opportunitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Dealing fairly with winners and losers in school: Reframing how to think about equality of educational opportunity 50 years after the Coleman Report

Jacobs

2016

Theory and Research in Education

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Although the policy and methodological legacy of Equality of Educational Opportunity, the so-called Coleman Report published by the US Department of Education in 1966, is widely recognized, the way in which it played a role in shaping theorizing about equality of educational opportunity has been less well-explored. This article reconsiders the Coleman Report in light of how it has contributed to the framing of how we think about the very idea of equality of educational opportunity and its normative capacity to evaluate the education system. The main argument is that the Coleman Report helped to crystallize the concept of equality of educational opportunity as being fundamentally about how education provides ladders of opportunity and enables upward mobility for socially disadvantaged students. This framing has, however, created certain normative blind spots that have seriously impeded its ability to engage certain issues in education. The normative blind spot singled out, in particular, is the competitive structure of the current education system – the school system is structured so that some children win, while some lose. The competitive nature of schools has often been challenged, from a wide range of perspectives, but rarely utilizing an equality of opportunity framework. Given this normative blind spot, the more constructive dimension of the article is to advance an alternative theory of equality of educational opportunity that is better able to function as a regulative ideal for competition in the education system, one that identifies standards or principles of fairness to guide policy on how to deal fairly with winners and losers.

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“…While most would agree that fairness in higher education access is highly important, there is nevertheless considerable disagreement as to what might constitute a fair system (Brennan & Naidoo 2008;Clancy & Goastellec 2007;Duru-Bellat 2012;Jacobs 2013). A range of pivotal political debates is brought into play, including tensions between equity and efficiency, public versus private, academic versus vocational, and views on human ability and potential.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Three dimensions of equity of access to higher education

McCowan¹

2015

Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education

102

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Concerns over equity of access to higher education are widespread, but there is significant disagreement over what should constitute a fair system. This article assesses diverse conceptualisations of equity, and explores the ways in which they embody themselves in the policies of three systems: England, Brazil and Kenya. While showing significant disparities of income level and enrolment ratio, all three have made concerted efforts to expand higher education access, accompanied by increasing stratification in terms of the quality and prestige of institutions. Analysis of policy options and outcomes leads to a proposal of three principles for understanding equity of access: availability, accessibility and horizontality. The third of these principles addresses the little acknowledged safeguard that disadvantaged students should not be confined to lower quality institutions, while at the same time allowing for diversity of ethos and disciplinary focus.

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A Vision of Equal Opportunity in Postsecondary Education

Cited by 8 publications

References 5 publications

Higher Education in Nordic Roma and Traveller Policy Documents – Analysing Silences

Higher Education in Nordic Roma and Traveller Policy Documents – Analysing Silences

Dealing fairly with winners and losers in school: Reframing how to think about equality of educational opportunity 50 years after the Coleman Report

Three dimensions of equity of access to higher education

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