Open University Widening Participation Conference 2018

Is widening participation to higher education enough?

26th and 27th April 2018

The Hilton Hotel, Kents Hill Park, Milton Keynes

This is the fifth biennial widening participation (WP) conference hosted by the Open University. It comes at a time of considerable growth in readership of the University’s Journal Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning and when the institution’s links with policy and sector advisors (ie. the Office for Fair Access (OFFA) and Universities UK (UUK) are stronger than ever. The conference is renowned for its friendly mix of researchers and practitioners who come together to share ideas and expand their networks.

Conference themes

  1. Digital inclusion
  2. Progression - the social mobility conundrum and access to postgraduate studies
  3. Skills gaps
  4. Widening participation through informal learning and the recognition of prior learning
  5. Ethical dilemmas of targeting widening participation students – policy and practice

Call for Submissions

Deadline for submissions Friday 1st December 2017

Introduction

Widening participation(WP) to higher education (HE) has been a priority for UK and international governments for over 20 years. It is evident that across different national and international boundaries WP initiatives have been successful in their aim to increase the number of students from non-traditional backgrounds entering HE. However, is widening participation to HE enough, given the continuing barriers that students from WP backgrounds face in comparison to their peers? Many issues remain stubbornly entrenched, not only in engaging with HE, but in succeeding and progressing to employment or further studies. We invite papers to be submitted under the five broad themes below.

Theme 1: Digital inclusion

We welcome papers exploring the increasing use of technology and social media in learning design. We encourage papers focussing upon the following five issues:

  • Accessible and inclusive online learning;
  • Technology-enhanced learning projects that focus on including underserved populations;
  • Digital divides and digital literacies;
  • Application of analytics to identify challenges and gaps in widening participation;
  • Online learning communities and peer support mechanisms.

Theme 2: Progression - the social mobility conundrum and access to postgraduate studies

We invite papers exploring issues of progression in terms of ‘Employability: the social mobility conundrum and widening access and success topostgraduate education’. Papers that address issues of progression beyond undergraduate programmes particularly given the continuing divergence in outcomes for students from different demographic backgrounds will be welcomed. Potential questions to be answered include:

  • Is there a limit to what WP can do?;
  • Should policy makers and HE providers be more open in how they communicate;achievable outcomes to current and future students?;
  • What does the WP achievement gap tell us?;
  • Can universities address geographical immobility to deliver social mobility?;
  • Does access to PG opportunity represent the WP glass ceiling?

Theme 3: Skills gaps

Theme 3 addresses WP initiatives that seek to meet skills gaps relating to:

  • Students with low previous entry qualifications;
  • The extent to which the ‘problem’ of English as a second or additional language is critical to widening participation;
  • How subject-specific and academic language may create barriers to success for WP students;
  • What might Widening Participation 2.0 might look like?

Theme 4: Widening participation through informal learning and the recognition of prior learning

Theme 4 focuses attention on informal approaches to learning and how they can help to widen participation to HE. Papers that cover the following are welcomed:

  • Challenges in capturing learning through these methods;
  • Evaluating the impact of informal learning approaches;
  • Challenges faced by HE providers in the recognition of prior learning (RPL);
  • RPL good practice.

Theme 5: Ethical dilemmas of targeting widening participation students – policy and practice

Theme 5 takes a more strategic approach drawing on policy at a national as well as local level. We invites papers on the following topics:

  • Are broad generic labels such as ‘disabled students’ meaningful/helpful?;
  • National policy approaches to widening participation – successes and challenges;
  • The social and cultural considerations of targeting BME students;
  • Is ‘inclusive learning design’ antithetical to targeting specific groups of students?

Submissions

Submissions for the conference can be accepted in the following forms:

  • Academic
  • Innovative practice
  • Posters to be displayedat the pre-dinner reception

Submissions of papers and posters can be made by email.

Academic papers

We are encouraging papers based on academic research on any of the themes listed above. An abstract of a maximum 150 words should be submitted with each full paper of a maximum 1000 words (excluding references). Presentation time for academic papers will be 20 minutes plus 10n minutes for questions. Papers should give a clear account of the work to be presented and:

  • Provide background information and/or indicate the context of the study and how it relates to previous research and literature in the field.
  • Explain the theoretical approach or methodology adopted in the research
  • Describe the results (whether preliminary or final) and any other findings or conceptual arguments
  • Explore the implications of the study (e.g. for theory, practice and further research)
  • Provide references throughout

Text included in the abstract and full paper should not include any information which identifies the author(s) of the submission or their affiliated organisations. Papers will be reviewed in line with our peer review process (see below).

Innovative practice papers

Innovative practice papers should include an abstract of a maximum 150 wordsa full paper of a maximum 1000 words (excluding references). Presentation time for innovative practice papers will be 15 minutes plus 10 minutes for questions. Papers should give a clear account of the work to be presented and:

  • Provide background information including the institutional context of the study and/or existing research and literature;
  • Describe the results (whether preliminary or final) and any other findings or arguments of relevance;
  • Explore the practical implications of the study for your own area of work, yours and other institutions;
  • Provide references throughout;

Text included in the abstract and full paper should not include any information which identifies the author(s) of the submission or their affiliated organisations. Papers will be reviewed in line with our peer review process (see below). Authors of innovative practice papers will also be required to submit a poster for inclusion in the poster session (see below).

Institution Showcase Posters

Submissions for posters can be made by completing the poster submissionformwhich can be found on the conference web page and should include a short description (maximum 150 words) of the intended content. Posters should focus on one or two innovative practice pieces or research projects which have had the greatest impact in your institution. Further details of the formatting requirements of posters will be emailed upon acceptance.

Information on Peer Review Process

The University has appointed a conference steering group, with overall responsibility for overseeing and coordinating conference proceedings, including the peer review process.

Selection of papers and posters will be by blind review (author and reviewer anonymity). Any references to specific Higher Education Institutions should be removed where possible. Two reviews will be sought for each submission. Reviewers will be asked to score against the following criteria:

  • Whether the abstract and overview paper is a good fit to the conference themes.
  • To what extent the abstract represents new thinking.
  • How widely the abstract would appeal to delegates.

Notification of the outcome of the review process should be expected by the end of January 2018.

All authors of accepted papers will be invited to submit a fully developed paper for consideration in the Journal for Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning.

Data Protection Statement

Any comments provided by the reviewer will be treated in confidence and disclosed anonymously only to the author for purposes of feedback. The Open University will only use review comments for the purposes of the selection of papers and posters for inclusion in the Widening Participation Conference 2018.

Contact

For all enquiries and questions regarding submissions, please contact us by email.