To explore the impact on widening par t ic ipat ion to

h igher educat ion of ‘ target ing’ act iv i t ies and resources

to speci f ic learners in Not t ingham Schools

C. D. Penford

MA

2011

M o d u l e T u t o r s

S u e C r a g g s

D e r e k B l a c k m a n

Contents

Abst rac t Page 3

1 . In t roduc t ion Page 5

2 . L i te ra tu re Rev iew Page 10

3 . Methodo logy Page 29

4 . Research Methods Page 40

4 .1 E th ica l I ssues Page 45

5 . Research F ind ings Page 49

6 . Research Ana lys is Page 57

7 . Conc lus ion Page 66

8 . Re ferences Page 69

9 Append ix 1 – Ro les o f pa r t i c ipan ts Page 81

10 Append ix 2 – Research ques t ionna i re Page 83

11 Append ix 3 – NS-SEC Class i f i ca t ion Page 87

12 Append ix 4 – Fu l lan ’s Change Lessons Page 96

13 Append ix 5 – Ques t ion group 4 response Page 98

14 Append ix 6 – In te rv iew no tes Page 112

2

Abstract

From a p rac t i t i oner s tance , th is research exp lo res the impac t

on w iden ing par t i c ipa t ion to h igher educa t ion o f ‘ ta rge t ing ’

ac t i v i t ies and resources , des igned to encourage p rogress ion

onto h igher educa t ion , to spec i f i c lea rners in No t t ingham and

No t t i nghamshi re Schoo ls .

Wi th in l im i ted resources ta rge t ing can be a rgued to be an

economic necess i ty . The p rac t ica l na tu re o f t h i s research

ques t ions the app l i ca t ion , no t the p r inc ip le , o f ta rge t ing . I t

o f fe rs the oppor tun i ty fo r those invo lved in de l i ve r ing the

ta rget ing agenda , teachers , managers and adv ise rs work ing in

No t t i ngham and No t t inghamsh i re schoo ls , academies and

co l leges , to have the i r op in ions recogn ised regard ing the

impac t o f the ta rge t ing o f l ea rners w i th in the i r i ns t i t u t i ons . The

research read ing ques t ions the ph i losophy and soc io logy o f

ta rget ing , w iden ing par t i c ipa t ion , and the need fo r pos i t i ve

d isc r im ina t ion v ia ta rge t ing resources on those under -

represen ted or exc luded f rom h igher educa t ion . The research

s t r i ves to p lace ta rge t ing w i th in a w ider ph i losoph ica l ,

soc io log ica l and po l i t i ca l pe rspec t i ve , to a t tempt to cons ider

p rac t ice in the l i gh t o f t heory .

Ut i l i s ing a p ragmat ic methodo logy , as we l l as the op in ions o f

teachers , manager and adv isers f rom w i th in educat ion , t he

research takes account o f t he researcher ’ s own exper ience .

The researcher ’s p ro fess iona l exper ience a l l ows the da ta to be

ana lysed w i th in a p ragmat i c pe rspec t i ve . The research , i n

te rms o f methodo log ica l approach and ana lys is a ims to be

p ragmat i c , t o ach ieve an ins igh t tha t may be use fu l fo r o the r

3

pro fess iona ls engaged in w iden ing par t i c ipa t ion to re f lec t on

when cons ider ing the i r own ta rge t ing in i t i a t i ves . The ta rge t ing

p rocess and app l i ca t ion has been p icked up by h igher

educa t ion ins t i tu t i on w iden ing par t i c ipa t ion teams, and

cont inues to be a focus o f the i r work , fo l l ow ing the demise o f

the A imhigher in i t i a t i ve .

The research meets these p ragmat ic a ims to some ex tent ,

conc lud ing w i th recommendat ions fo r f u tu re prac t ice . I t does

not , no r was i t i n tended to , p rov ide def in i t i ve s ta tements e i ther

p romot ing o r d ismiss ing ta rge t ing , bu t he lps to ga in a be t te r

unders tand ing , f rom a prac t i t ioner ’ s pe rspec t ive , o f t he i ssues

and resu l t i ng impac t o f those issues . The l i te ra tu re rev iew i s

as impor tan t to the research as the research f i nd ings

themselves , d raw ing heav i l y on soc io log ica l pe rspec t i ves

p rov id ing an ins igh t f o r fu tu re inves t iga t ion in to the impac t o f

ta rget ing .

4

1 . In t roduct ion

Unt i l Ju ly 2011 , A imh igher , as a nat iona l in i t i a t i ve , had been

jo in t l y funded by the H igher Educa t ion Fund ing Counc i l f o r

Eng land (HEFCE) and the Depar tment fo r Bus iness , Innova t ion

and Sk i l l s (B IS) , opera t ing ac ross 42 a rea par tne rsh ips

th roughout Eng land, the par tne rsh ips inc lud ing h igher

educa t ion ins t i tu t i ons . Th is i n i t ia t i ve was p receded by

A imh igher Exce l lence Cha l lenge , es tab l ished by the

Depar tment fo r Educa t ion and Sk i l l s (DfES) in 2001 , w i th the

a im o f i nc reas ing the number o f young peop le f rom

d isadvan taged backgrounds who had the qua l i f i ca t ions

necessary to en te r h igher educat ion . A imh igher Par tne rsh ips

fo r P rogress ion , f unded or ig ina l l y by the HEFCE and the

Learn ing and Sk i l l s Counc i l (LSC) , came in to be ing on 1

September 2003 . The January 2003 Wh i te Paper , The Fu tu re o f

H igher Educa t ion , ra i sed the in ten t ion o f b r ing ing the two

in i t i a t i ves together (DFES 2003 . p .68) under the name o f

A imh igher , loca l l y A imh igher No t t i nghamsh i re . The two

p rogrammes, A imh igher Par tnersh ips fo r P rogress ion and

Exce l lence Cha l lenge , became in tegra ted in Augus t 2006 . Th is

h is to ry o f fe rs a perspec t ive aga ins t wh ich the ta rge t ing agenda

was deve loped over a per iod o f t ime . I s ta r ted work w i th

A imh igher on 1 s t Sep tember 2003 and worked th rough many

opera t iona l changes un t i l the fund ing fo r A imh igher ceased a t

the end o f Ju ly 2011 .

A head l ine in t roduc t ion to the purpose o f A imh igher cou ld be

found in the p rac t i t i oner sec t ion o f t he A imh igher webs i te :

5

Aimhigher is a national programme which aims to widen participation in higher education (HE) by raising HE awareness, aspirations and attainment among young people from under-represented groups.(Aimhigher, Online, accessed 5 February 2011)

One o f t he mos t impor tan t opera t iona l changes came in the

fo rm o f ta rge t ing ind iv idua l lea rners w i th in secondary

educa t ion in years 9 , 10 , and 11 (13 to 16 year o ld ) . Ind iv idua l

lea rners were ta rge ted to rece ive suppor t f rom A imh igher

No t t i nghamshi re , hopefu l l y to bene f i t f rom ac t iv i t i es and

exper iences in tended to fu l f i l t he above a ims . A imhigher

No t t i nghamshi re had prev ious ly on ly ta rgeted a t i ns t i t u t ion

leve l , schoo ls ac ross No t t i ngham and Not t i nghamsh i re had

been des igna ted A imh igher schoo ls , to rece ive fund ing and

suppor t f rom A imhigher s ta f f . The A imh igher Exce l lence

Cha l lenge in i t i a t i ve had p rev ious ly on ly focussed on

No t t i ngham c i ty schoo ls as an Exce l lence Cha l lenge Area

(A imh igher Prac t i t ioner . On l ine . Accessed 5 Ju ly 2011) .

Ind iv idua l l earner ta rge t ing gradua l l y ga ined inc reas ing

p rominence fo l l ow ing i t s l aunch by B i l l Rammel l , then Min is te r

o f S ta te fo r L i fe long Learn ing , Fur the r and H igher Educa t ion ,

in 2007 . Express ing concerns over the e f fec t i veness o f

w iden ing par t i c ipa t ion ac t i v i t i es p rev ious ly de l i ve red by

A imh igher pa r tne rsh ips he sugges ted :

I asked Aimhigher partnerships to prioritise those from lower socio-economic groups in all of their activities, including their work with gifted and talented pupils. In parallel, I asked HEFCE to establish a task group to develop a set of practical recommendations on how better to target outreach activities (HEFCE, 2007, p.3).

6

The repor t cont inues to ident i f y p rev ious Government

inves tment i n w iden ing par t i c ipa t ion wh i l s t ques t ion ing the

va lue fo r money o f p rev ious opera t iona l p rac t ice :

Such a position is not sustainable. Resources are limited and we must focus our investment where it can achieve the greatest good (ibid).

Th is research a ims to exp lore the impac t on w iden ing

par t i c ipa t ion to h igher educa t ion o f tha t t a rge t ing . The purpose

o f t h i s research s tems f rom concern as a p rac t i t ioner who

be l ieves in the equa l i t y o f oppor tun i t y regard ing access to

educa t ion and educa t ion p rogress ion , i n te rms o f bo th persona l

sa t i s fac t ion and the economic and soc ia l bene f i t s o f an

educa ted popu la t ion . The deve lopment o f the ta rget ing agenda

ra ised concerns amongs t teachers and managers in educa t ion

regard ing the e f fec t o f the agenda upon the deve lop ing work o f

A imh igher , and the fa i rness o f oppor tun i ty fo r l earners w i th in

ind iv idua l ins t i tu t i ons . I had concerns , no t w i th the p r inc ip le o f

ta rget ing , bu t w i th the prac t i ce , d id i t suppor t the ach ievement

o f i t s a ims? Was the prac t i ce o f ident i f y ing learners f rom

soc io -economica l l y under - rep resen ted g roups in h igher

educa t ion , and focuss ing w iden ing par t i c ipa t ion work on those

ind iv idua ls , good fo r the p rac t ice o f w iden ing par t i c ipa t ion and

the equa l i t y o f oppor tun i ty to access the potent ia l pe rsona l and

ca reer advantages o f h igher educa t ion?

The l i t e ra tu re rev iew hopefu l l y f u l f i l s , i n pa r t , the

recommendat ions o f fe red by Pr ing (2004) , d i scuss ing the need

to ph i losoph ica l l y examine the research ques t ions and the

re la ted enqu i r ies by mak ing c lea r the na tu re o f wha t i s t o be

researched, wha t makes i t s tand out as an educa t iona l p rac t i ce

7

(P r ing , 2004) . The l i te ra tu re rev iew inc ludes researched

op in ions to he lp unders tand the impor tance o f t he te rmino logy

tha t i s used th roughout the p ro fess iona l p rac t ice engaged w i th

w iden ing par t i c ipa t ion , together w i th a b r ie f l ook a t the recent

h is to ry o f the po l i t i ca l d r ive to engage d isadvan taged lea rners

f rom poore r soc io -economic backgrounds w i th in h igher

educa t ion . Cr i t i ca l theory and soc ia l cap i ta l theory a re used to

he lp unders tand the ph i losophy beh ind w iden ing par t i c ipa t ion

and cohor t t a rge t ing , po in t ing towards an unders tand ing o f

‘ f a i rness ’ w i th in access to educa t ion oppor tun i t ies .

An ep is temo log ica l l y p ragmat i c methodo logy used a

ques t ionna i re approach de l ive red to 20 po ten t ia l responden ts

(Append ix 1) . The ques t ionna i re was dev ised to o f fe r

quan t i ta t i ve data fo r ana lys i s as we l l as more qua l i ta t i ve da ta

fo r i n te rpre ta t ion p rov ided by open ques t ions . Four

responden ts were a lso in te rv iewed us ing semi -s t ruc tu red

in terv iews , the s t ruc ture be ing p rov ided by the ques t ionna i re .

The responden ts were chosen on the bas is o f my work ing

h is to ry w i th them and the i r exper ience and accumula ted

knowledge o f t he top ic as an a rea o f i n te res t f o r them. Dur ing

the course o f my work as the ‘H igher Educa t ion Champion fo r

No t t i ngham Nor th ’ , I had been par t o f many conversa t ions ,

meet ings , phone ca l l s , regard ing the p ros and cons o f

A imh igher cohor t t a rge t ing w i th a l l o f t he responden ts . Wi th

each in te rac t ion came an inc reas ing pro fess iona l des i re to

unders tand the imp l i ca t ions o f the A imh igher cohor t t a rge t ing

upon the p rac t i ce and in ten t ion o f w iden ing par t i c ipa t ion . The

research o f fe rs an oppor tun i ty to p rogress f rom ‘sound ing ’

conversa t ions , to a s t ruc tu red academic ana ly t i ca l approach

8

tha t i nc ludes the v iews o f de l i ve ry s ta f f and bu i lds upon

p rev ious exper ience .

The 19 par t i c ipan ts tak ing par t re turned a ques t ionna i re tha t

asked the i r quan t i t a t i ve op in ions regard ing the ident i f i ca t ion o f

the ta rge t g roup ; the accuracy o f the ta rge t g roup

iden t i f i ca t ion ; and the awareness o f those inc luded , t hose no t

inc luded , and o ther s ta f f w i th in the ins t i tu t i on , o f the A imh igher

g roup . Three fu r ther ques t ions sough t a more qua l i ta t i ve

response by ask ing fo r op in ions w i thou t quan t i ta t i ve

gu ide l ines . Responden ts were ab le to pu t i n the i r own words

wha t they though t pos i t i ve abou t A imh igher cohor t ta rge t ing ,

wha t they though t nega t i ve , and how management o f t he

p rocess may be improved . The deta i l o f t he 9 quan t i ta t i ve and

3 qua l i t a t i ve ques t ions are a t tached as a b lank ques t ionna i re

(Append ix 2) . The research ques t ions were des igned to e l i c i t

responses tha t cou ld resu l t i n recommendat ions fo r p rac t ice

deve lopment .

The research samp le is smal l , I cons idered dep th o f s tudy to

be more impor tan t and revea l ing fo r the top ic than b readth ,

however th i s sma l l samp le revea led a subs tan t ia l amount o f

in fo rmat ion . I purpose ly res t r i c ted the par t i c ipa t ion in the

research to s ta f f work ing to the A imh igher agenda in schoo ls ,

academies , and co l leges tha t I had c lose work ing re la t ionsh ips

w i th . Th is o f fe red an exper ienced perspec t i ve a longs ide the

research f i nd ings tha t comp l imen ts the research w i th in the

l i te ra tu re rev iew.

2 . L i tera ture Rev iew

9

The l i t e ra tu re rev iew i s i n tended as a genu ine suppor t veh ic le

fo r t he research. I t i s i n tended to take the reader on a jou rney

th rough impor tan t te rmino logy to unders tand the background to

w iden ing par t i c ipa t ion , th rough economic and po l i t i ca l i ssues

o f government po l i cy , wh i l s t ques t ion ing purpose, w i th

re fe rence to c r i t i ca l theory and soc ia l cap i ta l theory . I t w i l l

a t tempt to be fac tua l , exp la in ing the gu ide l ines fo r A imh igher

ta rget ing , as imp lemented by A imh igher Not t i nghamshi re ,

wh i l s t p lac ing the de l i ve ry o f t a rge t ing w i th in d iscuss ions o f

management and leadersh ip w i th in schoo ls .

In recogn i t i on tha t some te rmino logy , wh i l s t o f ten p resumed to

have a shared unders tand ing , can upon c loser i nspec t ion be

more con t rovers ia l , i t may he lp to rev iew some o f t he l i te ra tu re

p lac ing the te rm ‘w iden ing par t i c ipa t ion ’ i n to focus . Th is w i l l be

impor tan t f o r unders tand ing the ta rge t ing agenda fo r A imh igher

No t t i nghamshi re , as ta rge t ing takes p lace to suppor t w iden ing

par t i c ipa t ion .

Some con fus ion fo r the te rm ‘w iden ing par t i c ipa t ion ’ a r i ses in

d is t ingu ish ing i t f rom ‘ inc reas ing par t i c ipa t ion ’ .

In con t ras t t o the head l ine in t roduc t ion to the purpose o f

A imh igher re fer red to in the in t roduc t ion , re ferenc ing bo th

te rms:

Aimhigher is a national programme . . . designed to widen and to increase participation in higher education by students from under-represented groups who have the abilities and aspirations to benefit from it.(McCraig and Bowers-Brown, 2007, Online, accessed 2 March 2011)

Widen ing par t i c ipa t ion i s abou t w iden ing the appea l o f h igher

educa t ion to invo lve lea rners f rom under represen ted g roups

10

wi th in the h igher educa t ion exper ience . Th is may a lso be

inc reas ing par t i c ipa t ion , bu t no t a l l inc reased par t i c ipa t ion i s

w iden ing par t i c ipa t ion . Th is i s a bas ic bu t impor tan t p r inc ip le

when cons ider ing the ta rge t ing o f under represen ted g roups .

For pa r t i c ipa t ion to be w idened , resources and ac t iv i t i es need

to be ta rge ted a t t hose under represen ted w i th in the cu r ren t

sys tem. Re fe r r ing to a t ime p r io r to a ta rge ted approach, and

recogn is ing the d i f fe rence be tween ‘w iden ing ’ and ‘ i nc reas ing ’

A l l en makes the a rgument :

This led some to argue that widening participation had been a tool for the ‘massification’ of HE, increasing numbers of students rather than narrowing the gap between rich and poor (Allen, 2010, p.139)

Par t i c ipa t ion in h igher educat ion has s tead i l y i nc reased over

p rev ious decades , bu t no t necessar i l y t o the bene f i t o f

w iden ing par t i c ipa t ion , pa r t i cu la r l y amongs t those

under represen ted by economica l d i sadvan taged . Par t i c ipa t ion

in h igher educa t ion inc reased f rom be low one in f i ve o f t he

e l i g ib le popu la t ion dur ing the 1960s to one in th ree in the

1990s , wh i ls t the numbers f rom poore r backgrounds en ter ing

h igher educa t ion decreased (S tuar t , 2002) . In the lead up to

the ear l y 1960s f i gures were more exc lus ive . Lord Robb ins

1963 repor t , ca l l i ng fo r t he expans ion o f h igher educat ion to

inc lude a l l who had the ab i l i t y and qua l i f i ca t ions to en te r , was

based upon a h igher educa t ion par t i c ipa t ion ra te o f j us t 6%

(Robb ins , 1963) . The po l icy d r ive to inc rease par t i c ipa t ion

cont inued in to the new cen tu ry , w i th the Labour Government i n

2003 se t t ing a ta rge t o f 50% o f the popu la t ion aged be tween

18 and 30 to have exper ience o f h igher educa t ion by 2010

(DFES, 2003) . Tha t ta rge t was no t ach ieved , remain ing a t 45%

(B IS , 2010 , on l ine , accessed 11 March 2011) . No such de f in i te

11

ta rgets were se t fo r w iden ing par t i c ipa t ion . A imh igher was to

cont r ibu te to the inc reased par t i c ipa t ion ta rge t by w iden ing

par t i c ipa t ion :

By 2011, Aimhigher partnerships will be able to demonstrate a distinct contribution to narrowing the social class gap in learner attainment and participation in higher education (HEFCE, 2008, p.7).

I t was o f ten acknowledged tha t an inc reased par t i c ipa t ion

ta rget o f 50% cou ld on ly be ach ieved th rough w iden ing

par t i c ipa t ion . Th is was based on the s imp le mathemat ica l

p r inc ip le :

People from lower socio-economic backgrounds make up around one half of the population of England, but represent just 29 per cent of young, full-time, first-time entrants to higher education (National Audit Office, 2008, p.6)

A imh igher No t t inghamsh i re ’ s work focussed on work ing w i th

young peop le aged 14 to 19 , the ta rget ing agenda on ly

app ly ing to th is ‘ young ’ age g roup . In Eng land young

par t i c ipa t ion in h igher educa t ion had inc reased f rom 30% in

1994 to 36% in 2009 . I n rea l numbers th is represen ts an

es t imated 239 ,000 young peop le en ter ing h igher educa t ion in

2009 , 77 ,000 more than the 162 ,000 ente r ing in 1994 . Dur ing

th i s per iod the overa l l young popu la t ion in Eng land inc reased

by 21% f rom 550 ,000 to 665 ,000 , i nd ica t ing an inc rease o f

43 ,000 young peop le en te r ing h igher educat ion as a resu l t o f

inc reased par t i c ipa t ion ra ther than inc reased demography

(HEFCE 2010) .

The ‘ inc reased par t i c ipa t ion ’ f i gu re masks the la rge d i f f e rences

f rom area to a rea tha t wou ld be impor tan t to the ‘w iden ing

par t i c ipa t ion ’ agenda. I r respec t i ve as to whether

12

‘ d i sadvan taged ne ighbourhoods ’ were iden t i f i ed by lower

h igher educa t ion par t i c ipa t ion ra tes , o r by low income,

occupa t ion and paren ta l educat ion , by 2010 less than one in

f i ve young peop le f rom the mos t d isadvantaged a reas

p rogressed on to h igher educa t ion , wh i ls t more than one in two

f rom the mos t advan taged d id so (HEFCE, 2010) . La te r f i gures

d id con t rad ic t the h i s to r ica l pe rspec t i ve p rov ided above by

S tuar t (2002) , w i th ev idence o f some inc rease in numbers f rom

poore r backgrounds en ter ing h igher educa t ion . A 30% inc rease

f rom 2005 to 2010 , and a 50% inc rease f rom 1995 , o f young

ent ran ts f rom the mos t d isadvan taged backgrounds on to h igher

educa t ion is repor ted by HEFCE (HEFCE, 2010) .

The language o f ‘d i sadvan tage ’ i s an in te res t ing hermeneu t i ca l

concep t t ha t deserves ment ion ing , even w i thou t f u l l

d iscuss ion . Educa t iona l d i sadvan tage can be v iewed as a te rm

necessary to secure fund ing . The ta rget ing o f spec i f i c g roups

o f peop le not pa r t i c ipa t ing in h igher educat ion can be a rgued

to suppor t fund ing to ins t i tu t i ons in an e f fo r t to change the

v iews o f the under represen ted, imp ly ing tha t i nd iv idua ls need

chang ing ra ther than the sys tem (S tuar t , 2002) . Th is v iew is

taken up by A l len (2010) no t ing tha t ac t ion is deemed

necessary to remedy the de f i c i t mode l o f the lea rner ra ther

than focus upon access ib i l i t y o f i ns t i tu t i ons .

Of fe r ing an a l te rna t i ve to lea rner de f i c i t t heor ies , Penny Burke

p rov ides a usefu l f u r ther d i s t i nc t ion o f w iden ing par t i c ipa t ion

tha t t akes the descr ip t i on away f rom number coun t ing towards

the exper ience , th rough a more c r i t i ca l pe rspec t i ve :

13

(Widening education participation) is about developing a sustained critique of current rhetoric, developing a distinctive social theory of knowledge derived from a politically committed analysis and theory of power which leads to a joint pedagogy that is concerned to democratise knowledge making and learning, in ways that redefine the very parameters of what counts as …education. (Burke, 2002, p.1)

Con t inu ing a long a c r i t i ca l , perhaps Marx is t , soc ia l

ep is temo logy , the ques t ion o f pa r t i c ipa t ion in h igher educa t ion

o f under represen ted g roups , par t i cu la r l y t hose exc luded by

economic d isadvan tage , shou ld inc lude an appra isa l o f

par t i c ipa t ion w i th in chang ing economic and po l i t i ca l c l ima tes .

Th is w i l l be impor tan t i n d i scuss ing the purpose o f t a rge t ing

f rom a c r i t i ca l pe rspec t i ve . I t may be use fu l to imag ine a

Hege l ian d ia lec t ic to th i s d i scuss ion , t ha t o f t hes is , an t i thes is ,

and syn thes is .

The case fo r w iden ing par t i c ipa t ion is o f ten made on the bas is

o f i nd iv idua l economic bene f i t s , w i th es t ima tes o f i nc reased

average l i f e ea rn ings , th rough the g radua te p remium or

g radua te d iv idend , o f £100 ,000 when compared aga ins t an 18

year o ld GCE A leve l (o r equ iva len t ) schoo l leaver (HEFCE,

2007 ) . The case in favour o f w iden ing par t i c ipa t ion a l so

inc ludes the argument fo r w ider soc ie ta l advan tages :

Social barriers to educational achievement and HE participation entail a serious loss of talent in a modern economy. Widening participation is therefore vital for economic competitiveness as well as social justice (HEFCE, 2007, p.7)

Mary S tuar t s im i la r l y d i scussed the ind iv idua l bene f i t o f “ the

educa t ion d i v idend ” (S tuar t , 2002 , p .4) wh is t acknowledg ing a

w ider soc io -economic fu l f i lmen t , se t w i th in h i s to r i ca l economic

s t rugg les :

14

The education system was born out of a battle between those who believed in learning equality and those who wanted to create a series of exclusive learning systems designed to provide an appropriate workforce required for nineteenth-century industrialisation. At the heart of the current widening participation agenda is a similar set of battles in a new economic era (Stuart, 2002, p.4)

S tuar t saw one argument fo r w iden ing par t i c ipa t ion as

economic , to deve lop a compet i t i ve work fo rce , the cont r ibu t ion

to soc ia l cohes ion o r an inc lus ive soc ie ty i s seen as “ an

obv ious p recursor to the requ i rements o f the economy” (S tuar t

2002 , p .47) . Burke made fu r the r soc io -economic l i nks , l i nk ing

w iden ing par t i c ipa t ion as a key po l icy cont r ibu t ion to the

modern isa t ion o f t he we l fa re s ta te . Quo t ing S tuar t , Burke

cha l lenges the no t ion o f the d ive rs i t y o f soc ia l j us t i ce , ca l l i ng

fo r c r i t i ca l enqu i ry to g ive a vo ice to those no t engaged in

h igher educa t ion , to he lp to redef ine the educat ion exper ience

fo r t hose p rev ious ly exc luded f rom i t (Burke , 2002) . Th is aga in

o f fe rs the a l te rnat ive v iew to ind iv idua l de f i c i t , l ook ing a t t he

educa t ion exper ience ra ther than p resuming the ind iv idua l i s

lack ing in some way .

The i ssue o f academic ach ievement l i nked to b roader economic

bene f i t i s re in fo rced on an in te rna t iona l l eve l in Be l f i e ld ’ s

Amer ican s tudy . L ink ing educa t iona l a t ta inment to l i fe chances

o f emp loyment , income, hea l th and hous ing , and the pos i t i ve

cos t bene f i t to the economy by tax re tu rn :

A society that provides fairer access to opportunities, is more productive, and has higher employment, better health, less crime, and is a better society in itself. It is simply an added incentive that the attainment of such a society is profoundly good economics (Belfield, 2007, p.16)

15

Be l f ie ld can be in te rp re ted as ind ica t ing an apprec ia t ion o f

ta rget ing resources in te rms o f economic and soc io -economic

re tu rns . An ear l i e r po in t i s made in the same work :

Unlike other attributes, such as family background and personal characteristics, educational attainment can be chosen by the individual and influenced by public policy (ibid, p.1).

The p le thora o f po l i cy de l ive red by the p rev ious Labour

Government , dur ing the p lann ing and de l i very o f A imh igher ,

and la t te r l y t he imp lementa t ion o f A imhigher ta rget ing , ca r r ied

a s t rong message o f lea rn ing fo r t he economic bene f i t o f the

coun t ry and f inanc ia l reward fo r the ind iv idua l . The

Government ’ s 1998 compet i t i veness wh i te paper ‘Bu i ld ing the

Knowledge Dr iven Economy ’ (DTI , 1998) and the Le i tch Rev iew

o f Sk i l l s : ‘P rosper i t y fo r a l l i n the g loba l economy – wor ld c lass

sk i l l s ’ (HM Treasury , 2006) , marked a d i rec t ion fo r fu tu re

po l i cy . The Government wh i te paper ‘New Oppor tun i t ies – fa i r

chances fo r the fu tu re ’ (Cab ine t Of f i ce , 2009) ; The Depar tment

fo r Bus iness , En te rpr i se and Regu la to ry Re fo rm s t ra tegy paper

‘New Indus t ry New Jobs ’ (2009) ; the Con federa t ion o f B r i t i sh

Indus t ry repor t on h igher educa t ion ‘S t ronger toge ther :

Bus iness and un ive rs i t ies in tu rbu len t t imes ’ (CBI , 2009) ; A lan

Mi lbu rn ’s (2009) repor t , ‘Un leash ing Asp i ra t ions : The F ina l

repor t on Fa i r Access to the Pro fess ions ’ ; and the in f l uen t ia l ,

Depar tment fo r Bus iness Innova t ion and Sk i l l s ‘H igher

Amb i t ions The fu ture o f un ive rs i t ies in a know ledge economy ’

(2009) ; no t on ly had a focus on the economic bene f i t s o f

h igher educa t ion , bu t a l so on suppor t ing na t iona l economic

recovery , as the f i nanc ia l recess ion began to th rea ten pub l ic

spend ing . ‘H igher Amb i t i ons ’ (B IS , 2009) a rguab ly con t inued

a long a p rogress ive t rend o f emphas iz ing w iden ing

16

par t i c ipa t ion in neo- l i be ra l u t i l i ta r ian te rms, h igh l igh t ing

p roposa ls w i th a s t rong economic impera t ive . However ,

perhaps the mos t conv inc ing quo te to emphas ise the move

away f rom lea rn ing as persona l fu l f i lmen t to an economic

impor tance can be found in re fe rence to the then educa t ion

secre tary in 2003, Char les C la rke , descr ib ing the pursu i t o f

lea rn ing fo r i t s own sake as “ a b i t dodgy ” (Ba l l and Ex ley 2010 ,

p .153) . How much o f t h is po l i cy deve lopment was a imed a t

chang ing the s ta tus quo o f educa t ion oppor tun i t y , and how

much is ‘po l i t i ca l sp in ’ i s open to deba te wh ich i s no t the remi t

o f t h i s research. However , b r ie f awareness o f t he i ssue he lps

to re focus c r i t i ca l l y , and p lace po l icy in f l uence on w iden ing

par t i c ipa t ion in a c r i t i ca l l i gh t . Po l i t i ca l sp in can be thought o f

as :

The term spin is conventionally used to refer to the process and products of purposively managing information in order to present institutions, individuals, policies, practices and/or ideas in a favourable light and thereby mobilize support for them (Gerwitz, Dickson and Power 2004, p.321).

Per t i nen t t o a c r i t i ca l pe rspec t ive o f the word ing and emphas is

o f t he po l ic ies ment ioned above , Gerwi tz e t a l iden t i f y t he

p re ferences o f ‘ sp in ’ re la ted to Br i t i sh par t y po l i t i cs :

Thus, those on ‘the left’ are encouraged to believe that spin is necessary to render traditional Labour policies underpinned by commitments to redistribution and social justice palatable to ‘middle England’ by dressing them up as being business-friendly. In contrast, the rational for spin constructed to appeal to those on the right is that business-friendly policies need to be cloaked in a language of social justice in order to secure the support of ‘the left’ (Ibid, p.327).

The po l i t i ca l emphas is on educat ion fo r Bourd ieu focuses upon

the po l i t i c ians ’ l ack o f d i rec t ion :

17

Politicians make an issue out of education because they have no project. They think that education is too important to be left to young people. In fact, the young remind us that we don’t know what we want; that we don’t know what we want to make them into (Bourdieu, 2008, p.171).

Re fer r ing to Tor res , Popkewi t z no tes the lack o f ab i l i t y o f

po l i cy to make a l i nk be tween wha t happens in educa t ion and

wha t happens in soc ie ty i n te rms o f the dynamic p rocesses o f

cap i ta l accumula t ion and o f po l i t i ca l l eg i t im iza t ion ( Popkewitz

and Fend ler , 1999) . See ing w ider access to h igher educa t ion

as par t o f a fa i l i ng sys tem, Ca l lewaer t re fers to the fa i l u re o f

the educa t iona l mer i toc ra t ic mode l as a rou te to upward soc ia l

and economic mob i l i t y , a rgu ing tha t wh i l s t an inc lus ive

educa t ion sys tem can g ive the impress ion o f chang ing l i f e -

chances , i t se rves the es tab l i shed sys tem by inc lud ing new

lea rners in a sys tem chang ing around them, to the bene f i t o f

the soc ia l e l i t e . Th is i s succ inc t ly summed up as “ The

newcomers a re esca la t ing s teps on a ladder go ing down ”

(Ca l lewaer t , 1999, p .142) .

Widen ing par t i c ipa t ion ca r r ies no c lear agreement fo r

improv ing the long- te rm oppor tun i t ies o f fe red to those i t t r ies

to ta rge t . Ba l l makes the po in t tha t i nc reas ing educa t ion

oppor tun i t y has a tendency to inc rease inequa l i t y w i th in

soc ie ty on the bas is o f the sk i l l ed approaches and tac t i cs o f

the “midd le-c lass ” , who a re qu ick to se ize on such

oppor tun i t ies (Ba l l , 2006 , p .175) . Tha t op in ion can a lso be

taken as an argument fo r a ta rge ted approach to w iden ing

par t i c ipa t ion , to ensure tha t those fu r the r removed f rom the

oppor tun i t y by d isadvantage may have access by pos i t i ve

d isc r im ina t ion .

18

The theory ( ‘ thes is ’ fo r t he Hege l ian compar i son) o f soc ia l and

economic bar r ie rs to pa r t i c ipa t ion in h igher educa t ion resu l t i ng

in a loss o f ta len t , poore r economic compet i t i veness , and

reduced soc ia l j us t ice (HEFCE, 2007) , f i nds w ide po l icy

suppor t . There is fu r the r suppor t ou ts ide o f t he po l icy f i e ld ,

recogn iz ing the po tent ia l f o r A imh igher as a ‘mechan ism’ fo r

soc ia l j us t ice , ach ievab le by cha l leng ing inequa l i t ies in access

to h igher educa t ion (McCra ig and Bowers -Brown, 2007 , On l ine ,

accessed 2 March 2011) . The ‘an t i thes is ’ o f an a l te rna t i ve

c r i t i ca l t heory , ques t ion ing the s incer i t y o f the bene f i t s and

app l ica t ion o f i nc reased and w iden ing par t i c ipa t ion , i s a

coun te rac t ing fo rce to th i s . The ‘ syn thes is ’ o f t he in te rac t ion

can be a rgued th rough re fe rence to the soc io log ica l wr i t i ngs o f

Bourd ieu . S tuar t (2002) , d iscuss ing inc lus ion in educa t ion and

soc ie ty , re fe rs to :

. . . collectivist theories that influence the dialectical concepts of inclusion/exclusion, in particular the notion of social capital” (Stuart, 2002, P.20).

The not ion o f ‘ soc ia l cap i ta l ’ l i nks to Bourd ieu , o f fe r ing ins igh t

in to ta rge t ing as par t o f a soc ia l sc ience o f educa t ion .

Bourd ieu , i n Po l i t i ca l In te rvent ions , (2008) env isages schoo l to

be a soc ia l l y re in fo rc ing fac tor , ma in ta in ing inequa l i t y o f

genu ine oppor tun i ty by con f i rm ing tha t l ack o f ach ievement i s

down to lack o f an educat iona l g i f t o r t a len t . There i s an

inheren t i rony w i th in th is p ropos i t ion , t ha t the schoo l deva lues

i t s con t r ibu t ion to lea rn ing deve lopment by focuss ing on

a t t r i bu tes ga ined ou ts ide o f schoo l as main de te rminan ts o f

success . I n fa i l i ng to recogn ise the d i f fe rent s ta r t i ng po in ts

19

due to fami ly exper ience o f educat ion , and fo r Bourd ieu

inev i tab ly soc ia l c lass and soc ia l cap i ta l , the schoo l fa i l s to

recogn ise i t s own po ten t ia l as a fo rce fo r change :

In other, words by treating all students, however much they differ, as equal in rights and duties, the education system actually gives its sanction to the initial inequality in relation to culture (Bourdieu, 2008, p.36).

A imh igher ta rge t ing can be argued to o f fe r a methodo logy to

coun te r t h is sanc t ion . By tak ing accoun t o f soc ia l depr iva t ion

as c r i te r ia fo r ta rget ing schoo ls and ind iv idua l lea rners , the

ta rgeted cohor t a re iden t i f ied as hav ing a d i f fe ren t s ta r t ing

po in t i n educa t ion to those w i th more soc ia l advan tage . I ndeed

Bourd ieu ca l l s fo r t he need fo r po l i t i c ians to s top th ink ing in

te rms o f ru les app l ied to everyone and focus upon the

ind iv idua l w i th “ knowledge o f t he genera l l aws o f opera t ion o f

the va r ious wor lds invo lved ” (Bourd ieu , 2008 , p .155) .

The ta rge t ing p rocess fo r A imh igher Not t i nghamsh i re invo lved

th ree layers (HEFCE, 2007) , t he th i rd layer re la t ing to

moni to r ing and rev iew. The f i r s t l aye r , an a rea focus , i den t i f i ed

41 ta rge ted secondary schoo ls ac ross No t t ingham and

No t t i nghamshi re . Th is p rocess invo lved the use o f ava i lab le

da ta f rom the Index o f Mul t i p le Depr iva t ion ( IMD) , the Income

Depr i va t ion A f fec t ing Ch i ld ren Index ( IDACI ) , and Par t i c ipa t ion

o f Loca l A rea (POLAR) da ta . These measures a re used as

p roxy in recogn i t i on tha t i nd iv idua l da ta on s tuden t ’s

c i rcumstances i s no t ava i lab le f rom schoo ls and co l leges

(HEFCE, 2007 ; Har r i son and Ha t t 2010) . A d i f f i cu l t y w i th the

p roxy da ta was tha t o f t he o f ten re fer red to ‘w rong s ide o f the

s t ree t ’ o r ‘ pos t -code lo t te ry ’ i ssue . Th is recogn ises the

20

somet imes a rb i t ra ry l ines iden t i f y ing borders a round a reas o f

depr i va t ion , can l i te ra l l y resu l t i n homes on one s ide o f a

s t ree t i den t i f ied as be ing depr i ved , wh i l s t the oppos i te house

isn ’ t by means o f pos tcode d i f fe rence (B l i charsk i , 2000 ; A l len

2010) . S im i la r l y , POLAR da ta is a rguab ly ine f fec t i ve , unab le to

recogn ise smal l pocke ts o f l ower soc io -economica l ly g rouped

househo lds in o therw ise less -depr i ved a reas (Har r i son and

Har t , 2010) .

IMD, pub l i shed by the Depar tment fo r Commun i t ies and Loca l

Government (2007) , p rov ides a compara t ive score rep resen t ing

the re la t i ve depr i va t ion o f an a rea ac ross a range o f f ac tors

inc lud ing income, emp loyment , educa t ion , c r ime and hea l th .

IDACI p roduces a s im i la r sca le bu t w i th a focus on ind ica to rs

a f fec t ing young peop le (DFE, 2010) . POLAR da ta was

deve loped by the Ana ly t i ca l Serv i ces Group w i th in HEFCE to

show par t i c ipa t ion o f young peop le in h igher educa t ion by loca l

a rea , down to ward leve l (HEFCE POLAR, 2007) . The second

layer o f ta rget ing , t he focus o f t h i s research, the more

“complex and cha l leng ing” (Har ley and Thomas, 2011 , p .2 ) ,

was to iden t i f y ind iv idua ls tha t wou ld fo rm the A imh igher

cohor t w i th in ta rgeted schoo ls . Th is re l ies , in pa r t , upon the

same da ta se ts as used to iden t i f y schoo ls , w i th an add i t i ona l

ind iv idua l ta rge t ing c r i te r ia fo r l ea rners to have a t l eas t 50%

chance o f a t ta in ing a t l eas t 5 GCSEs a t g rade A* to C . Th is

c r i t e r ia , p rov ided by F ischer Fami l y T rus t (FFT) da ta , was a

p rerequ is i te fo r a l l cohor t ta rge t ing , the a im be ing to ensure

those ta rgeted had the po ten t ia l t o p rogress on to h igher

educa t ion . Targe ted s tuden ts shou ld a l so e i ther be in rece ip t

o f f ree schoo l mea ls o r res ide in the 20% most depr ived a rea

nat iona l l y accord ing to IMD 2007 da ta . For s tuden ts no t

meet ing the la t te r two c r i t e r ia , i nc lus ion in the A imh igher

21

cohor t was th rough res id ing in the 40% most depr ived a rea

accord ing to IMD 2007 and res id ing in a low h igher educa t ion

par t i c ipa t ion ra te a rea (POLAR da ta ) . The FFT data is ve ry

c lea r l y descr ibed as an es t ima te , based upon the ach ievements

o f p rev ious , s im i la r , s tudents , d i s tanc ing i t se l f f rom any c la im

as a p red ic t i on (FFT , 2007) . There i s a lso an acknowledgement

tha t t he accuracy o f es t ima tes can va ry and gu idance o f fe red

tha t :

Teachers should never use FFT estimates to lower targets set by school. If they ‘disagree’ with the estimate, and think the pupil can do better, then they should be confident to set a higher target (Fischer Family Trust, 2007, accessed on-line 3 June 2011).

The use o f FFT da ta cou ld be open to c r i t i c i sm. Re fe renc ing

the deve lopmenta l theor ies o f P iage t , Ko lberg and G i l l ian ,

Fend le r ques t ions the assumpt ion o f pa t te rns and s tages o f

educa t iona l g rowth assoc ia ted on ly w i th age . Ref lec t ing

ind iv idua l exper iences aga ins t t he theory o f deve lopmenta l i sm,

Fend le r warns aga ins t eva lua t ing ch i ld ren aga ins t no rms

es tab l i shed by such p r inc ip les (Fend le r , 1999) . Th is re f lec ts

my own exper ienced concern regard ing the ques t ions asked o f

FFT da ta . I f we a re ask ing the da ta to c la r i f y po ten t ia l to

p rogress on to h igher educa t ion by p rov id ing a cu r ren t

snapsho t o f ach ievement , we shou ld be c lea r i n acknowledg ing

tha t we a re on ly w iden ing par t i c ipa t ion fo r en t ry to h igher

educa t ion a t age 18 /19 . The data doesn ’ t accoun t fo r l a te r

g radua l educa t iona l deve lopment tha t cou ld be a resu l t o f ea r ly

educa t ion exper iences in soc ia l l y depr i ved se t t i ngs and

reduced cu l tu ra l cap i ta l . Bourd ieu , d iscuss ing possess ion o f

cu l tu ra l cap i ta l , ques t ions the contex t o f :

22

. . . the efforts produced by the mere existence of an education system offering (very unequally) the possibility of learning by institutionalized stages in accordance with standardized levels and syllabuses (Bourdieu, 1984, p.328).

The re l i ance on FFT data as an ind ica tor o f po tent ia l

ach ievement pays l i t t l e a t ten t ion to the va lue added w i th in

schoo l , and aga in focuses on a def ic i t mode l o f t he s tuden t

ra ther than teach ing and learn ing .

From The Dear ing Repor t (NCIHE, 1977) to cu r ren t day , h igher

educa t ion ins t i tu t i on w iden ing par t i c ipa t ion has focused on

soc io -economic d isadvantage as a bar r ie r to i nc lus ion . For

Dear ing these were def ined be long ing to soc io-economic

g roups 3 to 5 , now de f ined by the Nat iona l S ta t i s t i cs Soc io -

Economic C lass i f i ca t ion (NS-SEC) g roups 4 to 7 (See Append ix

3 ) . There i s some confus ion a round the inc lus ion o f NS-SEC 8

g roup , t hose who a re c lassed as “Long- te rm unemployed /

never worked” , (HEFCE, 2007 , p .14) . H igher educa t ion

ins t i t u t ions record par t i c ipa t ion o f g roups 4 to 7 (Har ley and

Thomas, 2011 ; Thomas and Rawson , 2011) wh i l s t A imh igher

par tne rsh ips are charged w i th focuss ing on NS-SEC groups 4

to 8 as the loca t ion o f the ma jor i t y o f under represen ted

lea rners (HEFCE, 2007) . Thomas and Rawson no te tha t

w iden ing par t i c ipa t ion ta rge t iden t i f i ca t ion va r ies ac ross and

w i th in h igher educa t ion ins t i t u t ions (Thomas and Rawson ,

2011) .

Cr i t i ca l re f l ec t ion on the c lass i f i ca t ion o f soc io-economic

g roups can be found re turn ing to Bourd ieu , ques t ion ing

c lass i f i ca t ion c r i te r ia and the issue o f se l f -pe rcept ion :

“peop le ’s image o f the c lass i f i ca t ion is a func t ion o f the i r

23

pos i t i on w i th in i t ” (Bourd ieu , 1984 , p . 476) . Bourd ieu

repea ted ly argues the po in t tha t success fu l educa t ion

par t i c ipa t ion has a c lose re la t ionsh ip w i th the economic and

cu l tu ra l pos i t ion o f t he fami l y , and tha t those pos i t i ons are

unequa l l y d is t r ibu ted th roughou t soc ie ty :

. . . . their occupation, their income, their social rank – is due to their lack of natural gifts, and in this way contributes to preventing them from discovering that their individual destiny is a particular case of a collective one, as statistics of access to higher education reveal (Bourdieu, 2008, p.38)

A theme Bourd ieu deve lops th roughou t Po l i t i ca l In te rvent ions

(2008) i s tha t o f a l i enat ion f rom cu l tu ra l cap i ta l , and those

a f fec ted no t recogn is ing the i r a l iena t ion . Th is re f lec ts though ts

f rom ear l i e r work in Dis t inc t ion (1984) , where the po in t i s made

o f a “sense o f one ’s p lace ” (Bourd ieu , 1984 , p . 473) l ead ing to

se l f -exc lus ion f rom the ve ry th ings tha t soc ia l pos i t ion

a t tempts to exc lude the ind iv idua l f rom. Th is may be impor tan t

fo r t a rge t ing A imh igher resources . Wou ld those exc luded by

ta rget ing f rom resources and ac t iv i t i es be aware o f the i r

exc lus ion? How in f luent ia l wou ld tha t awareness be , i n the i r

exper ience o f educa t ion? Bourd ieu ca l l s f o r schoo l and

un ive rs i t y s tudents to “ demand the means , a l l t he means , f o r

compet ing on an equa l bas is ” (Bourd ieu , 2008 , p .172) , g iv ing

the examp le a worker ’ s son idea l ly be ing ab le to p rogress on to

s tudy th rough persona l cho ice , be tha t “ ph i losophy , c inema, o r

f i ne ar t s ” ( i b id ) . Th is d i f f e rs f rom the UK po l icy th rus t re fe r red

to above tha t , wh i l s t recogn is ing persona l deve lopment , had a

focus on h igher educa t ion bene f i t i ng the na t iona l economy:

24

This process of knowledge generation and stewardship is a public trust and important in its own right. However it is vital that universities use it to contribute to economic growth (Higher Ambitions, 2009, p.12).

Recen t UK research d is t i ngu ished be tween soc ia l backgrounds

in re la t ion to perce ived persona l benef i t o f h igher s tudy :

Those from higher socio-economic backgrounds were also more likely to identify social and personal development benefits (Institute for Employment Studies, 2009, p.1).

Rev iewing the l i t e ra tu re the re i s a danger o f fa l l i ng in to a

po lemic deba te , under represen ted and over represen ted ;

engaged in h igher educa t ion and no t engaged ; h igher and

lower soc io -economic background and advantage . Recogn is ing

the po in t made by Bourd ieu above regard ing ind iv idua l sense

o f p lace and fa i lu re to pe rce ive a l i ena t ion , f o rming par t o f h i s

concep t o f hab i tus tha t :

. . . encapsulates the way in which a person’s beliefs, ideas and preferences are individually subjective but also influenced by the objective social networks and cultural traditions in which that person lives (Hodkinson 1995, p.6).

I t i s wor th cons ider ing the ind iv idua l ta rget and those do ing

the ta rge t ing . Ker r igan and Church (A imh igher i n the Eas t

M id lands , 2011) no te tha t the lea rners A imh igher shou ld be

t ry ing to ta rge t wou ld o f ten be the ones leas t l i ke l y to

vo lun teer to take par t , s t ress ing the impor tance in the

ta rget ing p rocess o f “p roac t i ve face- to - face con tac t be tween

even t o rgan ize rs and s tudents in schoo l ” ( Ib id , p .15 ) . They

s t ress tha t the in i t i a l ta rget ing p rov ides a s tar t ing po in t , w i th

the schoo ls hav ing the knowledge requ i red to iden t i f y t he mos t

appropr ia te s tuden ts fo r w iden ing par t i c ipa t ion , ensur ing the

in i t i a l ta rge t ing p rocess doesn ’ t exc lude those who mos t

25

bene f i t , o r was te resources on those who wou ld p rogress

w i thou t add i t iona l he lp (A imh igher i n the Eas t M id lands , 2011) .

Th is i s re in fo rced in ‘Good Prac t ice : Gu idance fo r A imh igher

par tne rsh ips and h igher educa t ion p rov ide rs ’ (HEFCE, 2007) w i th

an add i t i ona l cavea t o f the need fo r teachers to unders tand the

c r i t e r ia and the purpose o f bo th ta rge t ing and w iden ing

par t i c ipa t ion . There is op in ion iden t i f y ing a tendency fo r

schoo ls to be unwi l l i ng to ta rge t lea rners f rom lower soc io-

economic g roups (Har ley , 2011) . Th is cou ld be a re f lec t ion o f

the teacher ’ s own exper iences and hab i tus :

Social psychologists have observed that any division of a population into two groups, however arbitrary, induces discriminatory behaviour favourable to members of the agent’s own group and hostile to members of the other group (Bourdieu, 1984, p.481)

The key no t ion o f Bourd ieu ’s ‘ hab i tus ’ faces some c r i t i que in

Benne t t e t a l , re fe renc ing Lah i re to ques t ion Bourd ieu ’s

“un i ta ry na tu re o f hab i tus ” (Benne t t e t a l , 2009 , p .15) ,

favour ing a v iew tha t an ind iv idua l ’ s cu l tu re s t radd les the

f i e lds re fe r red to by Bourd ieu . My own ques t ion wou ld be in

cons ider ing the re levance o f t he F rench po l i t i ca l /educa t iona l

perspec t i ve app l ied to the Eng l i sh educa t iona l f i e ld and a

cu l tu re o f ta rget ing . Benne t t e t a l re fe r to Bourd ieu as reduc ing

“pat te rns o f cu l tu ra l t as te in France to d i f fe rences o f c lass

hab i tus ” ( i b id , p .251) , re f lec t ing tha t such a s ing le theory

wou ld no t app ly to modern Br i ta in . I use Bourd ieu here as a

lens w i th wh ich to v iew the syn thes is o f op in ions , where the

cont inen ta l aspec t may prov ide a d i s to r ted lens , i t s t i l l p roves

usefu l as a focus :

It is logically impossible to understand any reasonably complex situation – including almost any policy process – without some theoretical lens

26

(‘theory’, ‘paradigm’, or ‘conceptual framework’) distinguishing between the set of potentially important variables and causal relationships and those that can be safely ignored (Maddison and Denniss 2009, p90).

Those c lass i fy ing groups in to ta rgets fo r se rv i ce de l i ve ry

shou ld a lso cons ider the po in t made by Adorno , “ Al l re i f i ca t ion

is a fo rget t i ng ” (Fend le r , 1999 , p .169) . I t cou ld be argued tha t

to engage in ta rget ing in the hope o f be t te r p rac t i ce we have to

fo rget , o r i gnore , much tha t cou ld d i s t rac t and con fuse.

The impor tance p laced upon teachers and schoo ls to

par t i c ipa te in the ta rget ing p rocess : ‘ The impor tance o f co -

opera t ion be tween HE prov iders , teachers and o thers canno t

be overes t ima ted ’ (HEFCE, 2007 , p .12) , l eads on to the f ina l

cons idera t ion w i th in the l i te ra ry rev iew, tha t o f t he

management and leadersh ip o f ta rget ing w i th in schoo ls .

Accept ing the range o f a rgument i dent i f y ing d i f fe ren t a t t r ibu tes

o f ‘ l eadersh ip ’ and ‘management ’ , and o ther a rguments not ing

the b lu r r ing o f the concep ts (Bush, 2008 ; Toml inson, 2004 ;

A l l i x and Gronn, 2005) , I l ook towards Fu l lan ’s Complex

Change Lessons (Fu l lan , 1993, pp .21-22 ; Fu l lan , 1999 , p .18) ,

p rov ided in Append ix 4 , to ga in unders tand ing , no t on ly

because o f t he d i rec t l i nk to educa t ion change bu t a l so

because o f t he lean ing towards the mora l pu rpose o f chang ing

d isadvan tage :

At the micro level, moral purpose in education means making a difference in the life-chances of all students – more of a difference for the disadvantaged because they have further to go (Fullan, 1999, p.1).

27

These w i l l be used w i th in the ana lys i s o f the f i nd ings f rom the

research in re la t ion to the leadersh ip and management o f

ta rget ing w i th in schoo ls .

Fo l low ing po in ts ra i sed w i th in the l i te ra tu re rev iew, the

ques t ions posed by the research w i l l seek to he lp unders tand

how aware and invo lved teachers and o ther educa t ion s ta f f

have been w i th in the ta rge t ing p rocess . I t w i l l a l so exp lo re

percep t ion o f the accuracy o f t a rge t ing to inc lude groups w i th in

A imh igher ac t iv i t i es p romot ing w iden ing par t i c ipa t ion .

Re f lec t ing on though ts o f a l i ena t ion f rom cu l tu ra l cap i ta l and

the recogn i t i on o f a l i ena t ion , ques t ions w i l l a l so look a t s ta f f

percep t ions o f awareness o f t hose be long ing to , and exc luded

f rom, the group , a long w i th percep t ions o f i nvo lvement o f o the r

s ta f f i n educa t ion .

28