Are university widening participation activities just-in-time or just-out-of-time? Exploring the (mis)alignment between the timing of widening participation activities and university decision-making among students from low socioeconomic backgrounds

Maria Raciti; Joshua Dale

doi:10.5204/ssj.v10i1.923

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Are university widening participation activities just-in-time or just-out-of-time? Exploring the (mis)alignment between the timing of widening participation activities and university decision-making among students from low socioeconomic backgrounds

Journal article

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Are university widening participation activities just-in-time or just-out-of-time? Exploring the (mis)alignment between the timing of widening participation activities and university decision-making among students from low socioeconomic backgrounds

Maria Raciti and Joshua Dale

Student Success, Vol.10(1), pp.47-58

2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5204/ssj.v10i1.923

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Abstract

When is the best time to engage high school students in widening participation (WP) activities? With qualitative data from 46 university students at six Australian universities who are from low socioeconomic status (LSES) backgrounds, this study explored WP's timeliness. It was found that a) the timing of the decision to go to university can occur at any point in compulsory schooling; b) LSES students experienced the bulk of WP in senior high school, being the years after they have selected the university stream; c) students in the university stream were exposed to WP activities while those in the non-university stream were excluded; and d) participants recommended that WP should begin earlier and be concentrated in the lead up to the forced streaming decision that occurs in Year 10. Overall, earlier WP exposure that is synchronised with high school streaming processes would optimise WP activities aimed at increasing LSES university participation.

Details

Title: Are university widening participation activities just-in-time or just-out-of-time? Exploring the (mis)alignment between the timing of widening participation activities and university decision-making among students from low socioeconomic backgrounds
Authors: Maria Raciti (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - USC Business School
Joshua Dale (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - USC Business School
Publication details: Student Success, Vol.10(1), pp.47-58
Publisher: Queensland University of Technology
Date published: 2019
DOI: 10.5204/ssj.v10i1.923
ISSN: 2205-0795
Copyright note: Copyright © 2019 The Authors. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence. As an open access journal, articles are free to use with proper attribution.
Organisation Unit: School of Business and Creative Industries; Indigenous and Transcultural Research Centre; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; USC Business School - Legacy; Marketing and Communications; Student Services and Engagement; Sustainability Research Cluster
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99450746702621
Output Type: Journal article

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