opening page ornament

Welcome to the Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success

The Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success acknowledges Indigenous peoples across Australia as the Traditional Owners of the lands on which the nation’s campuses are situated. With a history spanning more than 60,000 years as the original educators, Indigenous peoples hold a unique place in our nation. We recognise the importance of their knowledge and culture, and reflect the principles of participation, equity, and cultural respect in our work. We pay our respects to Elders past, present, and future, and consider it an honour to learn from our Indigenous colleagues, partners, and friends.

Enter website
Back to Publications
You are reading: Rethinking ‘widening participation’ in higher education

Sarah O’Shea, NCSEHE

Originally published in An invitation to reconceptualise Widening Participation through praxis, Centre of Excellence for Equity in Higher Education
July 2020

The term ‘widening participation’ has gained currency across the higher education (HE) environment and is generally used unproblematically in both policy and institutional discourse. A Google search of this term returned nearly 20 million hits with a multitude of ‘widening participation’ units, departments and programs across HE providers both within Australia and beyond. However, the unproblematic use of this term is questionable as it is neither politically neutral nor unambiguous in intent. This brief ‘think piece’ will critically consider the concept of ‘widening participation’ by situating it politically, socially and also, in relation to dominant knowledge constructions. The aim of this piece is to foreground some of the more contentious and ambiguous nuances of this term in order to better consider equity in, through and beyond HE.

Continue reading the full article

Download the full report:
ACSES Quote icon
RWP-04-Sarah-OShea.pdf
120 KB
Disability First in Family General Indigenous International Low SES Regional, rural and remote Women in Non-Traditional areas Journal articles
Download the full report
Rethinking ‘widening participation’ in higher education
S O’Shea, 2020
Featured publications
Time for a rethink: Assessment policy to enable equity
J Dargusch, L Harris, J Willis, M Kettle, J Arnold, N Rogers, J Gallagher, and D N Chi​ , 2026
A Small Grants Research Program final report. The study examined how assessment policies and practices around time are creating barriers for students from equity groups including First Nations people, migrants and refugees, people with disabilities, and those from low socio-economic backgrounds and regional and remote areas.
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
Disability
Evidence-based pedagogies to support online engagement of low SES, and regional, rural, and remote students
F Fan, D Hicks, and S Fischer​ , 2026
A Small Grants Research Program final report. The study sought to explore how to support engagement for online students, thereby addressing issues of disengagement and attrition.
Low SES
Low socioeconomic status
Is the problem us? Helping part-time students succeed in a full-time world
Kelly Linden​ , 2026
An ACSES Equity Fellowship final report. The project looks at the increasingly complex challenges facing part-time university students and what interventions are needed to help them succeed.
Part-time students
Research Reports
Investigating the relationships between First-in-Family status, equity groups, and university access
T Zając, G Stahl, W Tomaszewski, and N Xiang ​ , 2025
A Small Grants Research Program final report. The study compared the university enrolment patterns of First-in-Family (FiF) students, defined as students without university-educated parents, with that of non-FiF students.
First in Family
Research Reports
More publications
Time for a rethink: Assessment policy to enable equity
J Dargusch, L Harris, J Willis, M Kettle, J Arnold, N Rogers, J Gallagher, and D N Chi​ , 2026
A Small Grants Research Program final report. The study examined how assessment policies and practices around time are creating barriers for students from equity groups including First Nations people, migrants and refugees, people with disabilities, and those from low socio-economic backgrounds and regional and remote areas.
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
Disability
First in Family
Indigenous
Low SES
Low socioeconomic status
Migrants / refugees
Regional and remote
Research Reports
Evidence-based pedagogies to support online engagement of low SES, and regional, rural, and remote students
F Fan, D Hicks, and S Fischer​ , 2026
A Small Grants Research Program final report. The study sought to explore how to support engagement for online students, thereby addressing issues of disengagement and attrition.
Low SES
Low socioeconomic status
Online students
Regional, rural and remote
Regional and remote
Research Reports
Is the problem us? Helping part-time students succeed in a full-time world
Kelly Linden​ , 2026
An ACSES Equity Fellowship final report. The project looks at the increasingly complex challenges facing part-time university students and what interventions are needed to help them succeed.
Part-time students
Research Reports
Investigating the relationships between First-in-Family status, equity groups, and university access
T Zając, G Stahl, W Tomaszewski, and N Xiang ​ , 2025
A Small Grants Research Program final report. The study compared the university enrolment patterns of First-in-Family (FiF) students, defined as students without university-educated parents, with that of non-FiF students.
First in Family
Research Reports