Access4All: Policies and Practices of Social Development in Higher Education

Abstract

Higher education (HE) systems in Europe have been identified as an essential element for promoting economic competitiveness since the Bologna Declaration in 1999. The aim of the Bologna Process was to expand access to educational opportunities, fostering participation in post-compulsory education by creating the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). Inequalities in training because of geographic, ethnic or social origin, and inequalities in job opportunities, salaries, and incomes are critical dimensions of social development in HE. The development of policies, including those concerning education, that extend access to opportunities is essential to prevent such exclusion becoming permanent. The Access4All project aims to promote the educational and social inclusion of underrepresented groups as well as of non-traditional learners.

In this chapter, the project’s main results are reviewed, with: (1) a brief overview of inclusion policies and practices in European HE; (2) an operational definition of “good practice” and criteria for selecting examples of good practice for inclusion in HE; (3) a self-assessment tool enabling the characterization of institutional capacity for innovation and of inclusion policies and practices; and (4) a model for promoting strategic planning, focusing on inclusion in HE.

Citation

Rodríguez-Gómez, D., Gairín, J., Dovigo, F., Clements, K., Jerónimo, M., Lucas, L., Marin, E., Mehtälä, S., Pinheiro, F.P., Timmis, S. and Stîngu, M. (2019), "Access4All: Policies and Practices of Social Development in Higher Education", Hoffman, J., Blessinger, P. and Makhanya, M. (Ed.) Strategies for Facilitating Inclusive Campuses in Higher Education: International Perspectives on Equity and Inclusion (Innovations in Higher Education Teaching and Learning, Vol. 17), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 55-69. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2055-364120190000017005