Higher Education's effects on disadvantaged groups and communities - A Report of an ESRC Network on cross-regional perspectives on the transformative impact of higher education on disadvantaged groups and communities

Locke, William; Brennan, John and Little, Brenda (2006). Higher Education's effects on disadvantaged groups and communities - A Report of an ESRC Network on cross-regional perspectives on the transformative impact of higher education on disadvantaged groups and communities. CHERI, Open University, London.

Abstract

Although much of the drive to extend and widen participation in higher education draws on economic imperatives for both the locality/region and the individuals concerned, the potential contribution to social cohesion, civic engagement and general quality of life is also likely to be considerable. This ESRC network, part of the ESRC initiative on The Impact of Higher Education Institutions on Regional Economies, set out to examine the research evidence relating to the transformative impact of higher education on disadvantaged groups and communities.

Four themes were explored:
• local and regional partnerships to extend participation in higher education to socially disadvantaged groups;
• the 'cultural presence of higher education institutions in disadvantaged communities;
• the civic role of higher education institutions and their constituencies;
• local employment opportunities provided by higher education institutions.

Much of the literature related to the transformative impact of higher education on disadvantaged groups and communities concerned policy initiatives and intentions, mostly at a local level. But rather large gaps in the research literature were found. The report synthesises the issues raised within the four themes, and presents a research agenda through which both policy and theoretical questions can be addressed and located within wider research literatures.

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