This 3.5 year project investigated factors that facilitate or impede participation in higher education and examined the different approaches taken by state and private providers to widening participation in Ghana and Tanzania. It involved the examination of policy frameworks and codes of practice for widening participation of under-represented groups. It also included evaluating the success of widening participation initiatives - where they existed - via scrutiny of statistical data and interviews with key staff, policymakers and community advocates. Life-history interviews were also conducted to capture the experiences of students from 'non-traditional' backgrounds.
*** This project was awarded an "Outstanding" classification by the ESRC Peer Reviewers in 2011 ***
*** This project was selected by the ESRC as a Case Study for Impact ***
Useful links
The Economic and Social Research Council, which oversaw the project and the Department for International Development, which funded it, also fund other projects in this field and publish the results on their websites:
Partner universities hosting and supporting the research
One of the project's primary objectives was to establish what steps are being taken to reduce poverty in context of the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals.
Other organisations engaged in acccess to higher education
- Association of Commonwealth Universities
- Boston College Center for International Higher Education
- University of Dar es Salaam Gender Centre
- Consortium for Research on Educational Access, Transition and Equity at the University of Sussex
Other NGO's that engage in advocacy and information sharing in education include the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) and the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA).
