Book chapter
Recommendations for reducing higher education inequality in a post pandemic Australia
Australian Association of Social Marketing Viewpoint, Vol.11(1), pp.16-20
Australian Association of Social Marketing
2022
Abstract
Educational inequality is a wicked problem in Australia and the world over, aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 – Quality Education (SDG4). SDG4 seeks to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all (United Nations, 2015). Efforts to address educational inequality in Australian tertiary education is known as Widening Participation (WP). Australia’s WP agenda is decades old and it is championed by a dedicated community of WP practitioners and scholars. I’m a proud member of the WP community and had the honour of being the 2018 Research Fellow with the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education (NCSEHE) and subsequent NCSEHE Adjunct Fellow.
There is no doubt that the pandemic has transformed higher education globally. Despite experiencing a paradigm shift of proportions unseen for decades, Australia’s WP community and its agenda remains resolute and committed to righting the wrongs of educational inequality. WP, however, is currently in the eye of the perfect storm. The perceived risk of going to university for students from priority groups and communities (e.g., students from low SES backgrounds, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples) has heightened during these VUCA times where Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity make it challenging to predict career outcomes. Shifting course delivery models and looming future work scenarios also fuel these perceived risks. It would seem that now is the time for the WP community to come together, reset the compass, and ask the tricky question: What’s the next best step?
Details
- Title
- Recommendations for reducing higher education inequality in a post pandemic Australia
- Authors
- Maria Raciti (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Indigenous and Transcultural Research Centre - Legacy
- Publication details
- Australian Association of Social Marketing Viewpoint, Vol.11(1), pp.16-20
- Publisher
- Australian Association of Social Marketing
- Date published
- 2022
- Copyright note
- Copyright © 2022 Australian Association of Social Marketing. Reproduced here with kind permission.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Business and Creative Industries; Indigenous and Transcultural Research Centre; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; Sustainability Research Cluster
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99620707902621
- Output Type
- Book chapter
Metrics
57 File views/ downloads
219 Record Views