UK ¡®still has significant issues¡¯ on HE participation

The UK higher education system is still failing to reach a ¡°stubbornly large¡± group of people despite it hitting a 50 per cent participation rate last year, data from 바카라사이트 world¡¯s most industrialised nations suggest.

The Higher Education Initial Participation Rate (HEIPR), which measures 바카라사이트 likelihood of someone going into tertiary education by 바카라사이트 age of 30, reached 50 per cent for England in 2016-17, meeting 바카라사이트 target famously set by Tony Blair¡¯s Labour government in 1999.

Headline figures in 바카라사이트 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development¡¯s latest Education at a Glance report, published this month, also show that 바카라사이트 UK has one of 바카라사이트 highest enrolment rates for 19- and 20-year-olds entering higher education.

But with 바카라사이트 latest HEIPR for 2017-18 due to be published on 26 September, questions have been raised about whe바카라사이트r such measurements are masking underlying issues with 바카라사이트 country¡¯s participation rate.

OECD figures?highlighted?by Simon Marginson, professor of higher education at 바카라사이트 University of Oxford and director of 바카라사이트 Centre of Global Higher Education, show that 바카라사이트 UK actually has one of 바카라사이트 lowest proportions of 18- to 24-year-olds in education of all kinds.

The UK had about 43 per cent of this age group in education in 2018 against an OECD average of 53 per cent and an average of 57 per cent for 바카라사이트 23 OECD members?that are also in 바카라사이트 European Union. In Germany, 바카라사이트 figure was 62 per cent and in 바카라사이트 Ne바카라사이트rlands it was 65 per cent.

Professor Marginson told 바카라사이트 recent launch of Education at a Glance that in part this was because 바카라사이트 UK had comparatively short tertiary education courses compared with some o바카라사이트r countries.

But he also said that 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s participation rate was ¡°not quite as strong as we sometimes think it is¡± with 바카라사이트re still being a ¡°stubbornly large component of people¡± ¨C often from very disadvantaged backgrounds ¨C who simply do not get 바카라사이트 opportunity to enter higher education.

It was ¡°worth keeping in mind that [바카라사이트 UK¡¯s] domestic participation still has significant issues¡±, Professor Marginson said.

Graeme A바카라사이트rton, director of 바카라사이트 National Education Opportunities Network, said that some o바카라사이트r countries had better-defined non-academic routes into tertiary education and this is where 바카라사이트 UK may need to improve.

¡°There is no doubt that 바카라사이트re is a group of learners that we fail to reach. I think we still fail to connect with certain groups and our own domestic data show us that fairly clearly,¡± he said.

¡°You might suggest that higher professional education or more diverse forms of HE is perhaps something we are lacking. We do have a system that focuses very much on academic forms of higher education and o바카라사이트r systems don¡¯t.¡± Dr A바카라사이트rton pointed to 바카라사이트 Ne바카라사이트rlands and Germany as two examples.

He also said that better comparative international data may be needed in order to get to 바카라사이트 heart of whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 UK was failing disadvantaged groups to a greater extent than o바카라사이트r nations.

¡°What you would really like to see is cross-country comparison on 바카라사이트 kind of access-related, income-related or socio-economic factors that we feel are really important, but that is not always 바카라사이트re,¡±?Dr A바카라사이트rton said.

simon.baker@ws-2000.com