Academia can be strange and complex, there are traditions and strange activities that can contribute to students not feeling welcome. In order for structures to change, they need to be made visible and there needs to be active work. So the question is: how do we get more people to apply for higher education and why is it important?
Last week, the University Chancellor's Office (UKÄ) and the Include network invited to a workshop and start-up on the occasion of the second thematic evaluation which evaluates the work of higher education institutions with broadened recruitment. In this text I will go through what the investigation is about, what recruitment looks like at higher education institutions today, what is being done for broadened recruitment and what SFS thinks about the issue. Please also read my previous Blog Post about education for all.
What is happening on the issue right now?
For a long time, the social bias in recruitment to higher education has followed the same pattern: it is more common for students whose parents have an academic education to apply for higher education. The question then becomes whether the higher education institutions are doing the right thing, and if so, why are there no changes in the work of the higher education institutions to broaden their recruitment and attract more people, especially those who did not grow up in a home with academics? Part of this is about more individuals making their choices early; already in preschool it is explained what opportunities you as an individual have. There are many paths in life and the choices should not have to be made then, but we should all have real opportunities to see ourselves as prospective students.
In 2001, it was written into the Higher Education Act that universities and colleges should actively promote and broaden recruitment to higher education in their operations. During the years 2019 to 2022, UKÄ, on behalf of the government, will evaluate how universities and colleges work with broadened recruitment. It is a clear signal from politics when the evaluations are announced. The former concerned sustainability in education and what both have in common is that they are in the political interest.
UKÄ's evaluations
Thematic evaluations are part of the national system for quality assurance and the method is adapted to the current theme to be evaluated. The purpose of thematic evaluations is both to contribute knowledge and to be useful for the higher education institutions' own development work. SFS appoints two representatives to these evaluations who represent the perspectives of students and doctoral students and in addition to being part of the assessment group, SFS also acts as a reference group that is involved in the run-up when the framework and focus of the assignment are set.
What SFS has highlighted is that data is important. The patterns and structures that are visible need to be substantiated in order to achieve real change. In the evaluation that is now taking place, the majority of report These are a good basis for seeking answers to trends and information, but above all, SFS welcomes examples of initiatives that have yielded results.
So what does it actually look like?
The proportion who begin higher education increases with the educational level of their parents. In the cohort born in 1992, 22 percent of those with parents without a high school diploma had begun higher education studies by the age of 25. For those with parents with a doctoral degree, the proportion was 85 percent.
It is possible to see several different patterns and structures that illustrate who seeks certain educations and how this relates to background, origin, gender, study habits at home, etc. I will describe some of the patterns that have been identified here.
Medical and architectural students often have highly educated parents
In the 2017/18 academic year, the highest proportion of highly educated parents was in the medical and architectural education programmes, 67 and 66 percent respectively. This was among first-time students in the larger programmes leading to a professional degree. The proportion of students with highly educated parents varies between different higher education programmes, but it is notable that only one in three who study to become a doctor or architect does not have highly educated parents. Both programmes are classified as prestigious and require both high performance during their studies and, above all, in admission. The UKÄ report partly explains the result by the fact that high grades and a desire to achieve well in the education system are linked to highly educated parents. The report indicates the idea that there is a desire to perform better than one's parents and that with lower education among the parents, ambition is also lower.
Studying abroad more common if parents are highly educated
The proportion of people studying abroad increases with the level of education of their parents. Studying abroad can be unfamiliar and difficult to understand, and when the parents themselves have studied at a university, it is more likely that knowledge about exchange studies will make it easier to take the step and go on an exchange. The universities are making major information efforts and have returning students at high school exhibitions/as student ambassadors who answer questions about both studies and student life.
Among 25-year-olds in 2017 with parents with a postgraduate degree, 25 percent had studied abroad with Swedish student funding. For 25-year-olds with parents who had completed at least three years of post-secondary education, the proportion who had studied abroad was 16 percent, while it was only 3 percent among those with low-educated parents. The question is important because it shows who acquires intercultural competences through study abroad or exchange programs. These are experiences that are rewarded both in working life and in academic careers.
Research studies most common if parents are research-educated
At the workshop that UKÄ and Include conducted, it struck me that the aspect of broadened recruitment is also skewed within academia. Studying a three-year program and obtaining a bachelor's degree is fairly common compared to continuing with a master's degree and continuing on to doctoral studies. Yet the same pattern is seen in the social skewed recruitment to doctoral studies as to undergraduate and advanced studies. The proportion of those who begin doctoral studies increases with the educational level of their parents. In the 1987 cohort, only 0,1 percent of those with parents without an upper secondary education had begun doctoral studies by the age of 30. The corresponding proportion was 6,2 percent among those with parents with doctoral degrees.
Is biased recruitment to universities a problem?
Higher education should be accessible to everyone regardless of one's own or one's parents' background. We could also see it as exclusionary structures creating an unequal environment that only some have access to. This type of unequal structures in state-funded activities should be strategically opposed from a political perspective.
For the individual, there are advantages to higher education, and this applies regardless of one's background. It is unfair that one's background affects the likelihood of further study to such an extent. Studies should enrich both you as an individual and society at large. The gain that is made refers to the knowledge that you as a student acquire and assimilate. In addition, there is data that shows that a higher education increases the likelihood of secure employment, good health, high wages and a career in professional life. Now I am not claiming that an education is everything, but it is a very good foundation for a good life and of course, as a representative of students and doctoral students, I know from my own experiences how wonderful it can be and I want everyone to have the opportunity to imagine that.
It is also an important issue for society at large. The biased recruitment leads to people who are well suited for higher studies not studying. This in turn contributes to limitations in their jobs, possibly because they had performed very well both in their studies and in professional life. It becomes a question of utilizing the potential knowledge, skills and eventually experience.
If Sweden wants to achieve our goals with, for example, Agenda 2030, we must raise the level of knowledge further by enabling more people to get an education and by promoting structures that strengthen a more meritocratic, democratic society. At a time when certain industries are clamoring for more graduates, there is a risk that we will not only fail to fill society's shortages, but also that many capable young people will unnecessarily not have the opportunity for further studies and the benefits that this can bring.
SFS requests
SFS wants those who go on exchange studies or study abroad, those who are accepted or recruited to university, and those who then go on to postgraduate studies to reflect Swedish society in all its diversity.
What SFS has so far been heard in UKÄ's review is the various reports that have been produced and the ongoing evaluation that is taking place. More of us have requested these. Now that we are finally getting to read them in their entirety, I wish we could also take advantage of good examples. Is it really the case that what has been done has not yielded more dividends? We (in the student movement, society, business and politics) agree on the benefits and the common drive, but it still feels like we fail time and time again. So a change must happen – the only question is what – what do you think?