The division between further and higher education in England is long-standing. This project examines the impact of this separation on strategies to widen participation in undergraduate education. Does it advance or inhibit a broadening of participation, or is its influence otherwise neutral?
This influence will be investigated at three levels:
• At the system level, the findings of policy interviews and statistical studies will be compared with international evidence on analogous systems.
• At the institutional level, a typology of dual sector organisations, partnerships and networks will be developed from an analysis of national datasets and a survey of further and higher education establishments.
• At the level of learning and teaching, fieldwork conducted in four partner institutions will assess the significance and meaning of moving between further and higher education and between short-cycle and first-degree education.
A key element in the study is research collaboration and capacity-building with partner institutions. Small-scale longitudinal studies of students and interviews with managers and tutors will involve regular visits to each institution over two years. The research team will work with four institution-based research associates, each seconded for one day a week.
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