Pugsley Lesley - The University Challenge (2004): Higher Education Markets and Social Stratification

The University Challenge

Published in 2004, this book discusses whether the rhetoric of the market in higher education is matched by the realities of choice.

In the first comprehensive study of higher education markets and sixth form choice, Lesley Pugsley argues that the annual burst of media-fuelled panic about university entrance leads to a misinformed rhetoric about the purpose and value of higher education.

This is a benchmark study based on the 1997 cohort of students, who were last to enter higher education under the Robbins 1963 banner of free education. Tracking a group of students throughout their sixth form careers, Pugsley provides a balanced account of the tensions experiences by the students, their parents and their teachers in an increasingly market-orientated higher education society.

This book was originally published as part of the Cardiff Papers in Qualitative Research series edited by Paul Atkinson, Sara Delamont and Amanda Coffey. The series publishes original sociological research that reflects the tradition of qualitative and ethnographic inquiry developed at Cardiff. The series includes monographs reporting on empirical research, edited collections focussing on particular themes, and texts discussing methodological developments and issues.

Higher Education Markets and Social Stratification

Lesley Pugsley

First published in 2004
by Ashgate Publishing Ltd

This edition first published in 2018 by Routledge
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2004 Lesley Pugsley

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

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A Library of Congress record exists under LCCN: 2004010340

ISBN 13: 978-1-138-48146-6 (hbk)

ISBN 13: 978-1-351-06023-3 (ebk)

Higher Education Markets and Social Stratification

LESLEY PUGSLEY
University of Wales College of Medicine, UK

ASHGATE

Lesley Pugsley 2004

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.

Lesley Pugsley has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work.

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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Pugsley, Lesley
The university challenge: higher education markets and
social stratification. - (Cardiff papers in qualitative
research)
1.Education, Higher - Social aspects - Great Britain
2.Higher education and state - Great Britain 3.Education,
Higher - Great Britain 4.Social classes - Great Britain
I.Title
378.4'1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Pugsley, Lesley.
The university challenge: higher education markets and social stratification / by
Lesley Pugsley.
p. cm. -- (Cardiff papers in qualitative research)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7546-3987-8
1. College choice--Social aspects--Wales--Longitudinal studies. 2. Education,
Higher--Social aspects--Wales. 3. Higher education and state--Wales. 4. Social
stratification--Wales. I. Title. II. Series.
LB2350.5.P84 2004
306.43'2--dc22
2004010340

ISBN 0 7546 3987 8

Significant changes have been made in both the structure and funding of higher education in the United Kingdom over the past two decades. Policy reforms have taken place within a quasi market framework, with efficiency, responsiveness and choice acting as the drivers seeking to justify this shift to a consumerist agenda. The expansionist agenda has seen the system shift from one of elite to mass provision, framed within a discourse of access, inclusivity and equity. However patterns of participation are relatively unchanged and working class groups remain under-represented in higher education. So how do young people engage with the highly competitive and differentiated university sector? How do potential students go about choosing a university? What key factors impact on and influence their choices?

This book provides a thought provoking and revealing account of the ways in which choices are made. It considers the complexities of the choice process and the multifaceted way in which choices are shaped, considered and negotiated. It argues that for many potential students choices are constrained by their differential access to information about university, Many young people are unaware of the crucial importance of making the right choice in terms of both the value of higher education and the influence it can have on career pathways and graduate opportunities. Consideration is given to the role of both the school and the family in order to explore the ways in which social class is transmitted and reproduced as it is played out in an engagement with this process. A unique feature of the book is that the findings are drawn from an innovative study of some of the last cohort of students to enter higher education, prior to the introduction of tuition fees. Their voices are heard and their stories told in order to theorize on the significance of social capital in the marketplace. The book argues that the real university challenge is to address the continued dominance of the middle classes access to higher education and the privileges that this confers.

Originally written as a doctoral thesis this study has now emerged as a monograph and I owe a debt of gratitude to a number of people who have either individually or collectively contributed to its completion. Firstly I am grateful to the Economic and Social Research Council for their sponsorship which enabled me to undertake the study. Thanks go to John Fitz for supervising the research with customary rigour and good humour and to Sara Delamont who continues to encourage my efforts, urging me to read widely and think laterally. Stephen Ball, Gareth Rees and Brian Davies offered critical comment on the study and I am grateful for their intellectual rigour and their interest in the work. Thanks also to colleagues at Cardiff University for their friendship and support especially Kate Stewart, Sarah Brown, Patrick White, and Trevor Welland for their collegiality and constructive comments during the fieldwork. Pia Towell has been a lifesaver, her skills and calm efficiency produced the camera-ready copy. I also want to thank Lynne Allery and Janet Macdonald for their encouragement and tolerance during the writing stage and to Roy for everything. My special thanks are reserved for the Class of '97 who allowed me to share their lives and tell the stories of their university challenges and triumphs. Any errors that remain are mine.