Search

This article examines the policy framework and national structures that have shaped the development of higher education in Scotland's Colleges. It is suggested that these have helped create a higher education tradition that is in significant ways different from that which exists in the further education sector in England. The emphasis on collaboration in Scottish policy is also noted, but it is suggested that there has only been limited and patchy progress towards achieving some key policy objectives, and the impact of more recent initiatives remains to be seen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Widening access to higher education (HE) has been an important policy objective in Scotland over the last twenty years. While there is evidence that high levels of participation have been achieved, and some evidence of reduction in inequalities in participation rates among young people entering higher education, there is also evidence of persisting inequalities, and of patterns of differentiation and stratification. As a result there is evidence that, with the development of mass higher education in Scotland, a stratified system of higher education has emerged. Furthermore there is evidence that these patterns of stratification are being maintained over time, despite the policies which are designed to widen access. This paper will review the evidence regarding the nature and extent of these patterns of stratification, and briefly consider the policies which are designed to tackle this issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]