In recent decades the higher education sector has moved toward a “joint venture” approach to bridging the incongruity experienced by low-SES students and those from non-traditional pathways.This acknowledges that while students may need to adapt to the new requirements of the university environment, there is also much that universities can do to be more inclusive of such students.
Some of the issues faced by these students can be understood through disparities in social capital (social status and networks) and cultural capital (the student’s familiarity with the dominant cultural codes and practices at university). Core to addressing this incongruity is recognising the unique discourse, or language, used at Australian universities, and the unspoken assumptions and expectations that students often face. This can then allow us to appreciate the diverse pathways, experiences, and discourses of students from different socio-cultural and socio-economic situations, and more clearly articulate the expectations and required knowledge of university study.
Improving access, retention, performance, and outcomes for students from low-SES backgrounds is a major focus of the government’s recent equity-focused higher education initiatives. The 2008 Review of Australian Higher Education (the Bradley report) noted significant gaps in accessing higher education between high-SES and low-SES individuals and recommended targets for dramatically increasing low-SES representation at Australian universities by 2020 (Bradley, Noonan, Nugent & Scales, 2008). In response, the federal government’s Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program (HEPPP), operating since 2012, has sought to fund programs and initiatives for domestic low-SES students to improve access and retention and help universities meet these targets.
Low-SES cohorts often overlap with other underrepresented groups, including first-in-family, mature-age, and part-time students, and the guidelines and resources in this toolkit take a broad and inclusive approach which can benefit these cohorts.