Despite the significant expansion of higher education across various national contexts, sociologists of education have argued that increased access has not necessarily reduced social inequalities or resulted in greater equity. Patterns of segregation by social background persist, and unequal access to institutions of varying prestige remains widely documented. Yet, students do not merely experience inequality; they are also actors within a larger political system that can either perpetuate or challenge inequality in the higher education sector. Higher education institutions play a pivotal role in shaping students’ political identities and capacity for engagement while also serving as arenas for complex disputes over meanings, practices, and policies.
This event invites participants to explore key questions related to these “two sides”. It encourages reflection on, for example, how institutions design and implement widening participation policies, do these policies successfully mitigate social inequality, or do they inadvertently reinforce it? Does higher education today politicise students? How do institutional dynamics shape student politics, and in what ways are these politics expressed and enacted within higher education institutions?
This workshop, designed for PhD students and Early Career Researchers, will engage with these issues through the expertise of Professor Rachel Brooks and Professor Agnès van Zanten. The event will feature keynote lectures by both speakers, small group discussions of participants’ own research projects, and a panel session on the challenges and opportunities of conducting comparative educational research.
The day will conclude with an afternoon open public seminar by Professor Agnès van Zanten.
Registration
The event is free to attend, but registration is required due to limited spaces. Lunch, tea, coffee, and snacks will be provided. Places will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
To book the event, please register with the BSA. Creating a user account does not automatically sign you up for BSA membership, nor will you be asked to pay for it.
Two weeks before the workshop, participants will submit a one to two-page paper describing their research topic and any methodological or conceptual challenges they are facing. These papers will be used as a basis for small group discussions.
Programme:
10:30-11:00am
Coffee and registration
11:00-11:10am
Welcome
11:10am-12:10pm
Prof Rachel Brooks Keynote and Q&A: Mediatisation of student protests against Israeli action in Gaza: a cross-European analysis
12:10-1:10pm
Small group discussions on participant research projects
1:10-2:00pm
Lunch
2:00-3:00pm
Panel: The challenges and opportunities of comparative research in Education
3:00-3:20pm
Coffee break
3:20-4:20pm
Prof Agnès van Zanten Keynote and Q&A:
Take a chance on me! Variations in students’ performance at an oral exam for admission at Sciences Po through a widening participation scheme
4:20-4:30pm
Closing remarks
Public Seminar (Hosted by SKOPE and GCHE centres, Department of Education, University of Oxford)
5:00-6:00pm
Prof Agnès van Zanten Public Seminar and Q&A: Rewarding traditional or new forms of cultural capital? The introduction of holistic admissions at a French elite higher education institution
6:00-6:30pm
Drinks reception
