GUEST LECTURER- Widening Access

In addition, it is fair for one to suggest that a large amount of attention is placed merely on the policy, not its customers, the children. Alice Davies came to inform us on the company, Widening Access. Widening Access is a programme run for students in Wales who “aim to improve access to higher education for those with the potential to benefit from it.” (HEFCW, 2012) Interestingly, a lot of the company’s work is directed at specific target areas including black and ethnic minorities, disabled people, children from low income families, children from deprived areas and those who have been a part of the care system. (Biddle, 2001) claims that poverty often has a profound effect on a student’s achievements and progression, and what happens in many developed countries such as the UK and US is that poverty often goes understimated. Due to this vicious link, higher education is dominated by the higher classes within society. A large amount of research on this connection shows that children from a poor household will often underachieve and ‘fall behind.’ Yet, what is made clear is that early research on this area concentrates on minorities (such as those from an ethnic background); so were researchers testing the effects of poverty or discrimination? (Biddle, 2001) Nonetheless, it is important to note, that perhaps both lead to a poor performance in education.

‘Widening Access’ simply aim to raise both aspiration and attainment of the under-represented, and to encourage progression onto Higher education. To aid this, they run many programs in order to promote a healthy attitude to learning, which will then hopefully lead onto a desire for individuals to increase their educational portfolio when the opportunity to do so arrises. Perhaps the most interesting is a course run for Year twelve students in which they are given the opportunity to study a ‘condensed course’ for four weeks at a University, such as Swansea Metropolitan University, where they live in halls of residence and complete coursework. Passing the course will lead to a reduction in UCAS points if they choose to apply to the University in which they completed the course at. (Smart, 2011) suggests that there are not only financial benefits of Higher education, but research implies that it can also lead to better working conditions and has also been shown to improve your child’s cognitive development; evidently, progression onto Higher education can largely impact an adult’s life, so programmes such as those run by Widening Acess are not only useful, but perhaps vital. What is also helpful about schemes, such as those run by Widening Acess is that its results can be easily measured by factors such as GCSE results and attendance to name a few. (HEFCW, 2012). It is fair to suggest that if ideas, such as those presented by Widening Access were more widely implemented it could lead onto many positive improvements including the promotion of adult education, more part-time and distant learning, and simply, more students in Higher education.