I just had the opportunity of presenting at the inaugural 'World Congress on Access to Post-Secondary Education' in Montreal. It was my first attempt at a synthesis of four projects that the Pearson Think Tank is involved in; on rising tuition fees, school-based careers guidance, university admissions and open education data. In different ways all of these projects explore the 'wicked problem' (complex, evolving and interdependent) of fair access to higher education. The work highlights three of the common barriers that restrict fair access to higher education; 1) Information asymmetry 2) Unequal distribution of resources 3) Variable and sometimes unequal access As well as three potential solutions that have been developed over the course of the projects: 1) Deliver truly personalised information and support 2) Develop sustainable local learning ecosystems 3) Make appropriate use of open data This is an emerging strand of thinking so please do share your feedback.

1. Further disadvantages for
disadvantaged learners in England
9th October 2013
Louis Coiffait @LouisMMCoiffait
Head of Research
The Pearson Think Tank (thepearsonthinktank.com) and
Office of the Chief Education Advisor, Sir Michael Barber

2. Introductions - the Pearson Think Tank
thepearsonthinktank.com
 Independent think tank focused on education access and quality
 Programme of research and commentary, new ideas and evidence
 The Academies Commission (published Jan 2013)
 Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Education (live project)
 Blue Skies, on the future of higher education (live project)
 Working with Sir Michael Barber, more global projects, explore „8 big
unanswered questions in education ‟, including one on access
 Ongoing policy intelligence, analysis and comment e.g. Policy Watch
 Participate in key education debates, provide a platform for ideas
 All of our content and activities are free

3. Introductions – access in England
Some success, but stubborn problems…
 Recent tripling of fees, now up to £9k a year
 32% of poor (Free School Meal) 15 year olds go on to get Level 3
qualifications (e.g. A-levels) compared to 57% who are not
 One in five young people from the most disadvantaged areas enter
higher education, compared to one in two from most advantaged
 71% of state school learners reach university, compared to 87% of
private school learners
 Representation of disadvantaged young people at most selective
universities flat since mid-1990s

4. Drawing on findings from 4 research projects
With a variety of research topics and methods
1) Fair Shares, on rising tuition fees (published May 2013)
Analysis of secondary data
2) Careers 2020, on school careers guidance (published Sep 2013)
Four online surveys and literature review
3) (Un)informed choices, on HE admissions (published Sep 2013)
Qualitative interviews and secondary data analysis
4) OpenEData, on open education data (live project)
White paper and literature review

5. 3 common barriers to fair access
Themes emerging across the 4 projects
1) Information asymmetry
2) Unequal distribution of resources
3) Variable and sometimes unequal access

6. Barrier 1: Information asymmetry
Between different types of potential applicants
 Among 11-15 year olds, compare where those with unemployed
parents get info about future jobs from compared to those with
employed parents:
 celebrities (45% vs 6%)
 online social networks (20% vs 10%)
 People running businesses (0% vs 10%)
 Vital that all learners can access a variety of information sources
 Some learners already get a lot of information, but even they don’t
know what they don’t know
 Information is not enough, we have more info than ever, but
what‟s needed is guidance and support

7. Barrier 2: Unequal distribution of resources
Variable support for applicants and institutions
 School-based careers provision hugely variable, postcode lottery
 State secondary school careers staff far more pessimistic than
private school staff, predict a 25% vs 10% drop in provision this year
 Support also varies throughout school, typically building to a peak
around 16 years (GCSEs) then dropping off. A „balanced profile‟ of
support is needed, as already seems to take place in private schools
 Every university (and sometimes department or even course) uses
different systems and metrics – from how they look at student
characteristics, to how they judge applications

8. Barrier 3: Variable, sometimes unequal access
Particular challenges face some HE applicants
 Growing emphasis on raw exam results (e.g. ABB at A-Level)
 Highly variable (often incoherent) processes in HE admissions
e.g. info on pre-requisite subjects, importance of personal statement
 Those schools and families that ‘know the game’ of grades,
subjects and processes tend to already hold the better cards
 „blame game‟ between schools and universities, growing role of
outreach (14% of £810m by 2016/17), but still tends to be local
and ad-hoc rather than strategic
 “Universities can still do more, the most selective can do much
more”

9. 3 solutions that could help achieve fair access
Proposals emerging from the 4 projects
1) Truly personalised information and support
2) Develop sustainable local learning ecosystems
3) Make appropriate use of open data

10. Solution 1: Personalised information + support
One size fits all approaches inadequate
 Gather and share systematic data on characteristics of
individuals, access, activities and outcomes – rigorous evaluation
 Evidence-based decision making about access
 Identify and target resources at particular groups
 All learners entitled to individual support (face-to-face, online,
phone)
 Pilot, evaluate and scale solutions – be innovative, look at
international case studies
 Life-long engagement; admissions, widening participation,
achievement, alumni – a virtuous circle of access

11. Solution 2: Sustainable learning ecosystems
Bringing local partners and resources together
 Co-ordinate and utilise existing resources more effectively;
parents, employers, governors and others (private schools already
tend to do this)
 Identify and fill gaps in available resources
 Involve all relevant actors: schools, colleges, universities,
local/regional/national government, third parties
 Strong co-ordination role for government here, where are the
most successful examples?

12. Solution 3: Make appropriate use of open data
More data is a good thing, but how is it used?
 Remember, data is ultimately owned by learners and citizens
 Key processes should be more fair, consistent and transparent
 Holistic ‘data’ includes: „contextual data‟ (learner characteristics),
attainment, other outcomes, support, admissions,
 Privacy and data protection technical issues, not excuses
 Yes complex and time-consuming – but if Google can do it… we need
common data languages and individual learner numbers
 Need to improve ‘data’ literacy among learners, parents, educators,
managers and policy-makers

13. Thank you!
@LouisMMCoiffait
thepearsonthinktank.com