The need for a robust evidence base able to demonstrate the impact of widening participation activity across the student lifecycle has been emphasised in recent guidance to the higher education sector. However, with competing demands on their time this is likely to represent a challenge for practitioners. Yet, there is wide recognition of the need…

Policy sociologists typically research at large scale. This paper presents an example of a policy analysis which illuminates how policy is embedded in single incidents, lives and places. The case in point concerns the policy fetish for "closing the gap and raising the bar". This rhetoric is taken to mean improving the learning of all…

A study followed up 27 disadvantaged adult students (13 by interviews and student and tutor questionnaires, 12 by tutor questionnaires, and 2 by student and tutor questionnaires) who were identified as "ready to move on" from their adult basic education (ABE) program at Hackney Adult Education Institute and Hackney Reading Centre…