Access4All: Policies and Practices of Social Development in Higher Education

• Published in: Strategies for Facilitating Inclusive Campuses in Higher Education Vol. 17; pp. 55 - 69
• Main Authors: Rodríguez-Gómez, David, Gairín, Joaquín, Dovigo, Fabio, Clements, Kati, Jerónimo, Miguel, Lucas, Lisa, Marin, Elena, Mehtälä, Saana, Pinheiro, Fernanda Paula, Timmis, Sue, Stîngu, Mihaela
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: United Kingdom Emerald Publishing Limited 25-07-2019
• Subjects: Education; Inter/multicultural Education; Multicultural Education/Social Justice; innovation; good practices; inclusion; Higher education; strategic planning
• ISBN: 9781787560659; 1787560651
• ISSN: 2055-3641
• DOI: 10.1108/S2055-364120190000017005

Abstract
Higher education (HE) systems in Europe have been identified as an essential element for promoting economic competitiveness since the Bologna Declaration in 1999. The aim of the Bologna Process was to expand access to educational opportunities, fostering participation in post-compulsory education by creating the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). Inequalities in training because of geographic, ethnic or social origin, and inequalities in job opportunities, salaries, and incomes are critical dimensions of social development in HE. The development of policies, including those concerning education, that extend access to opportunities is essential to prevent such exclusion becoming permanent. The Access4All project aims to promote the educational and social inclusion of underrepresented groups as well as of non-traditional learners.
In this chapter, the project’s main results are reviewed, with: (1) a brief overview of inclusion policies and practices in European HE; (2) an operational definition of “good practice” and criteria for selecting examples of good practice for inclusion in HE; (3) a self-assessment tool enabling the characterization of institutional capacity for innovation and of inclusion policies and practices; and (4) a model for promoting strategic planning, focusing on inclusion in HE.