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Higher Education Institutions in England are an integral part of the government's social mobility strategy. Contextualisation of undergraduate admissions decisions has emerged as a key tool towards progressing social mobility objectives. The present paper builds on our previous 2013 research by describing findings from 15 qualitative interviews with stakeholders in contextualised admissions. Stakeholders were drawn from government, non-governmental and third sector bodies including those representing the voice of schools and young people. We find that data challenges continue to be a main barrier to the application of contextual admissions. Respondents thought that more consistency and transparency between universities would be helpful to assist applicants and those who support them to better understand contextual data use in undergraduate admissions. Views are divided about whether differential admissions offers represent the most important application of contextual data. Respondents saw potential for using contextual data beyond admissions for supporting students at university and into further study or employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the value of explaining contextual admissions policy directives through the conceptual lenses of meritocracy and social reproduction. It is suggested that examining these concepts can assist in highlighting some of the ideological and practical complexities associated with contextual admissions whilst providing opportunities to engage with wider debates concerning affirmative action in higher education policy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

One of the central goals of the Canadian Century Research Infrastructure (CCRI) is to construct a series of contextual databases related to the making and taking of the Canadian decennial censuses during the first half of the twentieth century. These "data on the data" will provide researchers with the evidence necessary to undertake informed and critical analysis of the making, taking, and reception of the census within its historical context. The authors focus on the contextual databases that outline conceptual and practical considerations involved in the collection and construction of two contextual data sources: newspapers and political debates. Drawing on two sets of examples related to the political stakes of the 1911 census, they illustrate more concretely how these "data on the data" can be used. Whereas the microdata derived from census manuscripts will enable research into the hidden history of the individual lives of Canadians, the contextual data will make possible inquiries about the making and interpreting of that data and the challenges of the great enumerations of contemporary history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Canadian Century Research Infrastructure (CCRI) is a research project in the social sciences and humanities in Canada that involves seven universities and partnerships with several public- and private-sector institutions. The goal of the project is to create a research infrastructure centered oil microdata from the 1911-1951 decennial Canadian censuses, accompanied by metadata and extensive contextual data. The result will provide a new foundation for the study of change in Canada in the first half of the 20th century. This paper will describe the research infrastructure that is being created, and explain how the CCRI defines metadata and contextual data, and why it is of interest to social science researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]