The aim of this series is to ground and contextualise discussions of widening participation, which can often be spoken of in largely abstract terms, in considerations of the local and micro practices of WP by focusing on two large and complex cities (Sheffield and London) and on Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland which face different challenges in relation to WP and to the idea of the ‘local’. The seminars will use WP and access-related research to draw attention to how WP practices at a local level shape and influence choice-making, access, progression and success and how, in turn, these inform issues of in/justice and in/equality.
The series will bring researchers and other academics together with practitioners from HE, FE, schools and local authorities departments to explore, amongst other areas:
• how ‘local’ is conceptualised and researched and how this shapes thinking and practice
• how connections are made across cities and regions and the strategies adopted to try and connect the local with the national
• the micro practices of WP and how these shape and are shaped by macro (national) and the meso (institutional) policies and practice
• what lessons can be learned for researching WP across cities or regions
This is a joint seminar series between the Society for Research into Higher Education, delivered as part of the Access and Widening Participation Network (conveners: Penny-Jane Burke and Jacqueline Stevenson) and the Universities Association for Lifelong Learning Widening Participation and Access Network (convener Annette Hayton). Support is also being given by Sheffield Hallam University and the University of Sheffield.
| Seminar 3: 8 April, From the national to the local: the contribution of knowledge and the curriculum in widening access, Sheffield Hallam University, Stoddart 7138 | |
| This session will ask critical questions of knowledge and the curriculum. The first part of the day will locate considerations of inequalities in relation to students' success and the relationship between national and institutional policies, curriculum, and powerful knowledge. In the second part of the day we will focus on how the City of Sheffield is seeking to enable greater access through considerations of academic preparedness and academic choice making. | |
| 9.30 | Registration and refreshments |
| 10.00 | Introductions and overview of the series and the session Professor Jacqueline Stevenson, Sheffield Hallam University |
| 10.15 | Making successful choices: the view from Sheffield Jackie Powell, Higher Education Progression Partnership (HEPP) |
| 11.00 | Qualifications for widening participation; the national and local picture, pre and post the Wolf review Nick Marshall, Sheffield Hallam University |
| 11.45 | Break |
| 12.00 | Anna Mountford-Zimdars, Senior Lecturer in Higher Education, King's Learning Institute, Kings College London |
| 12.45 | System diversity, inequality and epistemic access Sue Clegg, Emeritus Professor of Higher Education Research, Leeds Metropolitan University |
| 1.30 | Lunch |
| 2.15 | HEPP: a case study of collaboration in higher education - how and why it works in Sheffield Jackie Powell, Higher Education Progression Partnership; Carol Castle, Sheffield Hallam University; James Busson, University of Sheffield |
| 3.00 | Critical conversations: in this session delegates will explore key questions posed by the contributors, and share their own research and practice perspectives before posing questions back to the panel |
| 4.00 | Plenary and panel discussion |
| 4.30 | Close |
| Event Fee(s) | |
| Guest Price | £60.00 |
| Member Price | £0.00 |
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Resources
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