This seminar at the University of Edinburgh disseminated findings drawn from the EU Sixth Framework Project Lifelong Learning Policy and Practice in Europe (LLL2010), which ran from 2005 - 2011. The project involved 12 European countries and Russia and investigated various aspects of lifelong learning policy and practice, including higher education, adult education and workplace learning. The potential of lifelong learning to promote social inclusion as well as economic growth was a major focus of the study. The research spanned a period of economic and educational expansion across Europe, followed by economic crisis, which continues to threaten the progress made between 1997 and 2007 in widening access to lifelong learning opportunities. This seminar presented findings from the study relating to widening access to higher education across Europe, drawing contrasts between developments in Western and Eastern Europe (Riddell, Weedon and Roosalu). Holford discussed tensions between the social and economic dimensions of European higher education policy. Raffe and Croxford presented early findings from research funded by the Nuffield Foundation on the social profile of students attending different types of universities in different part of the UK. Gray and Gallacher (a Pascal Associate) provided an account of the Scottish Funding Council’s approach to the widening access agenda in the light of ongoing reductions in public funding. Finally, Holmwood described the UK-wide campaign to defend the future of public higher education.

Questions to be addressed -- During the course of the day, the following questions were addressed by speakers and participants:

• How do patterns of participation in higher education vary across Europe, with a particular focus on comparisons between old and new member states?
• What approaches to widening participation have been adopted in different European countries and what lessons can be learnt from various experiences?
• Which groups are defined as under-represented in different countries and of these, which have been encouraged to engage in widening participation initiatives?
• To what extent have widening access policies resulted in the reduction of social inequalities in different countries?
• Which groups have been the major beneficiaries in different countries?
• If higher education is to counter rather than reinforce social inequality, what changes are needed?

Presentations are available here