Sloanes, Owen (2019) Barriers to Accessing University in Coastal Communities: A qualitative study exploring why young people living along the North Yorkshire Coast are underrepresented in Britain’s Higher Education institutions. Masters thesis, York St John University.
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Abstract
This thesis examines the under-representation of the North Yorkshire coastal region’s young people within higher education institutions using the social theories of Bourdieu. Many of the current strategies or interventions aimed at widening participation have been created under the falsehood of ‘raising aspirations’, a theme which is often present in social and political discourse. This thesis argues focus should be shifted from raising aspirations and instead should focus on the capabilities of the under-represented groups. Furthermore, arguing that the use of Sen’s (1992) capability approach is a better way of understanding persistent under-representation in low participating communities. A transformational qualitative approach was utilised, employing semi-structured interviews with three different categories of participants: (i) further education students, (ii) teachers and (iii) policy makers/influencers. Students were attending a further education course at one of two institutions based within the under-represented area. Subsequent data analysis was conducted using thematic analysis to unearth common responses of participants. The findings reaffirm previous findings from the literature which argue that more focus is needed on making higher education more normalised within the under-represented areas. Additionally, it is argued that improvements to provision are also required to avoid what Bourdieu defines as doxic fantasy (unrealistic hopes/dreams). Such provisions include more early contact with higher education from compulsory schooling, more varied course options within the under-represented area, in addition to further investment toward other social arrangements.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Masters) |
|---|---|
| Status: | Published |
| Subjects: | G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GV Recreation Leisure > GV0557 Sports |
| School/Department: | School of Science, Technology and Health |
| URI: | https://ray.yorksj.ac.uk/id/eprint/4621 |
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