This paper challenges the notion that quantitative data -- as a numeric truth -- exist independent of a nation's political and racial landscape. Utilising large-scale national attainment data, the analysis challenges the belief that 'White working class' children in England, especially boys, are 'the new oppressed' -- as a former equality adviser…

Drawing on my own experience as a working-class academic, as well of that of working-class students in the present, I discuss how the experience for working-class students in elite universities still includes many aspects of classism, even when those students can, and do, do very well indeed and even when policies are apparently in place to…

While access to higher education (HE) has substantially increased over the past number of years, the evidence suggests that social inequalities continue to be reproduced in terms of course level, field of study and institutional status. This paper examines, through the lens of Social Reproduction Theory, the socio-economic background and HE access…

Women from working class and some ethnic minority backgrounds continue to be underrepresented in science, particularly in areas such as physical sciences and engineering. Many find it difficult to see science as something that is "for them", which then has implications for their learning and participation in science. In this paper, I…

In 2008, Denise Bradley and colleagues published their "Review of Australian Higher Education." A key point of the Bradley Review was to highlight the long-standing under-representation of working-class people at Australia's universities. Working-class people represent 25% of Australia's general population; however, they represent only…

There is widespread international concern about post-16 participation rates in science, with women's under-representation constituting a particular issue. This paper contributes to these debates through a novel, critical examination of the role of masculinity within boys' negotiations of science aspirations. Drawing on a UK longitudinal study of…

One of the outcomes of the "Bradley Report" (Bradley et al. 2008) is that Australian universities have a new incentive to enrol students from low socio-economic status. Consequently, a flurry of interest is growing around knowledge concerning the targeting, recruitment and retention of low socio-economic status (SES) students. Working…

Economic inequality is high and rising in a number of developed countries, including in the United Kingdom and the United States. There are growing concerns that this may have negative implications for equality of opportunity, and the extent to which social disadvantage is transmitted across generations. It is widely believed that providing…

This paper reports on original research where the primary objective was to critically explore the learning experiences of older (50+ years) working class adults in the context of a new university. Semi-structured interviews with 10 older learners engaged in a range of study in a new university in the west of Scotland were utilised. This…