Introduction

Abstract

AbstractThis book presents an overview of policies and practices aimed at promoting equity in access to higher education. Despite an initial idea that massification of higher education would have, at least, attenuated differences in the access of higher education related to the social background of students and their families, it has been observed that equity has not been achieved. Chapter 2 presents a theoretical background of the problem based on the positional character of higher education. Chapters 3 to 9 present several national cases, including the U.S., Brazil and a number of European countries. All these chapters present a critical analysis of access policies and of why they have failed to promote equity in the sense of fairness, meaning ensuring the elimination of obstacles to achieving educational potential resulting from personal and social factors. Chapter 10 presents the conclusions of the book.