Drawing from original research and recent developments in theory, Researching Social Inequalities in Higher Education brings together insights from multiple national contexts and phases to consider a diverse range of equity issues in higher education.

Authored by current and recently graduated PhD students, chapters examine the socioeconomic, ethnic and gender equalities at play within each of the following components:

• access to higher education
• the student experience
• the academic workforce

An essential read for anyone researching higher education, or wishing to address social inequalities within higher education, this volume unpacks how higher education is becoming more accessible, inclusive and beneficial to an increasingly diverse population of students and staff.

Drawing connections between the findings of a research project following young graduates from the Scottish islands of Orkney and Shetland, current international evidence, and theoretical literature, this book argues that understanding rural and island student transitions can expose the wider dynamics of place and mobility at play during student and early career experiences.

Highlighting the importance of a career perspective, Rosie Alexander encourages readers to consider how career pathways develop across time and across transition points, unsettling the notion of a straightforward transition through university into the workplace. The book uncovers how student trajectories are developed through interweaving dynamics of relationships, place, and career routes and unpacks the implications for policymakers and practitioners. It contends that a much greater spatial awareness is necessary to understand and support the educational and career pathways of higher education students.

This is a crucial read for higher education researchers, policymakers, and students interested in rurality as well as access to and transition from higher education.

Drawing upon current debates on inequalities in higher education, particularly those of race and class, and based on a Bourdieusian discussion of the relational nature of different capitals and competition for such capitals, this must-read text explores how Black and minority ethnic (BME) students navigate the university and the relational competition for capitals and status.

With original accounts of the experiences of BME students in higher education, this book draws on interviews with 58 students across three different universities to further understand experiences of how BME students navigate the predominantly White spaces of UK universities. It explores how racial inequalities continue to persist in higher education and demonstrates that greater attention needs to be made to the transitions made, not just into higher education, but from higher education.

Identifying that racism is not a new phenomenon in UK higher education but that it has adapted to changing socio-economic conditions, this is a must-read book for anyone working in higher education or with an interest in the experiences of BME students through the higher education system.