global
Scholars and stakeholders representing higher education and universities from around the world have launched the first global network aimed at addressing inequalities of access and performance in higher education.
The World Access to Higher Education Network (WAHEN) is comprised of members from universities, foundations, and NGOs, as well as policymakers, working together to address deep inequalities in global higher education.
The launch and accompanying conference, held at Oxford’s Ruskin College to coincide with Human Rights Day, saw participants from all over the world join in-person and online to encourage countries to continue their commitment to diversity and creating diversity. We asked him how he is dealing with these challenges. The strengthening of inclusive student bodies in higher education, including the rise of populism, threatens to undermine existing strategies to improve access and equity.
A new vision for global HE
WAHEN’s vision is for everyone to benefit from participation in higher education, regardless of their background.
Professor Graham Atherton, Director of the National Educational Opportunities Network (NEON), which convenes WAHEN, said: “The launch of WAHEN is a call to action for everyone who believes in the transformative power of education. It should be universal, not specific.
“Through global cooperation, we can remove the barriers that perpetuate inequality and build a future where higher education is not the privilege of a few but a pathway to opportunity for all.”
Network activities include:
• Capacity Building: Promote equity in higher education through shared practice, professionalization, and strengthening of learning, teaching, access, student success and completion, and pre-secondary support.
• Collaboration: Enabling and leading new partnerships between organizations and collaborating globally to achieve common goals for equity in higher education.
• Convening: Bringing people together across countries and sectors to influence change in equity in higher education.
• Advocacy: Advocate and work with policymakers and governments around the world to advance equity in higher education.
• Critical Thinking: Developing and disseminating knowledge of ‘what works’ to inform effective equity practices around the world.
Mr Atherton told attendees at the launch of WAHEN that the organization aims to bring higher education institutions together to not only tackle both individual and national barriers to access and quality, but also to address “non-negotiable issues”. He said it will also provide space to address larger global challenges.
These include race, gender, sexual orientation, poverty and disadvantage, and the student’s personal circumstances.
“There are many networks within and outside of higher education that are making valuable contributions. But where we can, we want to challenge, disrupt and look at things from a different perspective,” he said. said.
One of the ways they did this was by adapting to changing ways of communicating with young people to provide help and support and respond to the challenges they faced.
“Those of you who have teenagers are aware of the problem because they stare at me with fanatic eyes for hours on end, staring blankly at their phones on platforms I don’t understand and don’t know yet. “Sho,” he said.
“The challenge for us is that students communicate in different ways, and we need to form networks that allow us to engage with them.”
The threat of populism
Fabrizio Mejia, acting vice chancellor for equity and inclusion at the Center for Educational Equity and Excellence at the University of California, Berkeley, is concerned about the threat of populism in the United States, especially at universities that are taking aggressive strategies to broaden participation. talked about. and addressing inequalities among first-generation students, ex-prisoners, and youth in care.
He said WAHEN members would not only help universities tackle political threats, but also “continuously innovate the way we do things.”
“Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is under attack, and Berkeley, as a flagship university in the UC system, is under particular scrutiny,” Mejia said, referring to the bill.
“We built programs and resources, learned how to fundraise and work with foundations to build an ecosystem and support our students, all of which is now under attack.
“Do you mean back up?” No, we will continue to move forward based on what we are doing. This is not the time to be scared, hide, or change. When the time comes, we will deal with that battle, but we will not pre-emptively follow. That’s what I tell administrators and leaders.
“We are now at a time when this network is more important than ever, and we want to make sure we learn from our colleagues and our history.”
Understand the student experience
The presentation also featured Mo Malere, student development advisor at the Saville Foundation, who spoke about her work in South Africa supporting students dealing with relationship issues, family pressures and the transition from education to the workplace. Marele has been working on research to understand the concept of students’ cultural capital and what this means in practice.
“Often we expect students to integrate into the culture of the university or institution, but this results in one-way communication and students are not active participants in their own learning,” she says. says.
Sonal Singh, Vice Chair of EPHEA (Equity Practitioners in Higher Education Australasia), described the work of equity practitioners at 39 universities across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific region. The inclusion and social justice agenda has been met and universities held accountable.
“We are finding that policies developed, while well-intentioned, often fail to translate into practice on the ground, which is why equity is not just a theoretical promise but a lived reality. We have equity experts coming in to make sure that’s the case.”
“In Australia, there is a lot of talk about international student caps and how international students are driving the housing crisis, even though they make up 0.4% of the rental market.
“Next year is an election year, but international students have been used as a political football by both parties and have dominated part of the conversation, which has slowed us a little as a country in making solid progress on our implementation plans.”
Meanwhile, William Moses, managing director of education at the Kresge Foundation, told participants that countries around the world share similar challenges of equality gaps.
“People around the world are denied education on the basis of gender, race, class, religion, caste, sexuality and many other reasons,” he said.
“If these countries, or any country, want to prosper in the 21st century, they need to not only open their doors to universities, but also ensure that students earn degrees when they walk out of those gates. of people are leaving their homes with debt.”
world class supporters
The WAHEN website will be a repository of good practice, case studies, research evidence, and equity policies from participating universities and organizations.
WAHEN is led by the boards of some of the world’s leading organizations, including the World Bank, the UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education Latin America and the Caribbean (UNESCO IESALC), the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF), the Magna Charta Observatory, and the Minister of Southeast Asia. Masu. Regional Center for Higher Education Development (SEAMEO RIHED), Institute for Educational Development, National Educational Opportunity Network (NEON), Equitable Australasian Higher Education Practitioners (EPHEA), Lumina Foundation, Saville Foundation, Kresge Foundation, University of California, Berkeley; University of Oxford, University of West London, Free State Central University of Technology.
