Class, Race, Disability and Mental Health in Higher Education: Questioning the Access, Success and Progression of Disadvantaged Students

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All universities have to produce plans to eliminate the gaps in access, success and participation of disadvantaged student in higher education, setting targets with regards to Global Majority, working class, disabled and student with mental health conditions. In this book, Mike Seal examines the terminology, theoretical debates and positions, identifies the causes of gaps, and evaluates proposed initiatives. He argues that there is an unexamined assumption that higher education is a good thing materially and intellectually, which demonises those for whom this is questionable. The book also highlights the continuing structural and individual discrimination in terms of class, race and disability and a denial of the extent to which higher education is a cause of mental health issues and negative well-being. It uncovers unexamined assimilation models in higher education that expects these students to abandon their culture and communities, despite students wanting to give back to these communities being a major extrinsic motivation, and to embrace a culture that will not embrace them. The book starts from the perspective that contemporary international higher education reproduces existing privileges, and the book goes on to argue that widening participation agendas should recognise the changing nature of academic life through a more inclusive, holistic approach. Seal argues that it is essential to include an informed understanding of how students position themselves in academia and how their identity and academic status is enabled and developed with the support of the university. In order to do this universities need to redefine their purpose and the nature of their relationships with the communities they purport to serve.

Reviews

Mike is an educator who wants us to understand and confront the issues which increase inequality for many students. This book helped me think more deeply about class, race and mental health which disadvantage many students. The accessible style and language made it a pleasure to read. Readers also have the added bonus of being able to apply some good practical solutions to their own academic practice. * Susan Smith, Professor and Associate Director, Centre for Learning and Teaching, Leeds Beckett University, UK *
This is an important book by Mike Seal as it both challenges accepted orthodoxies about access and equity in universities and provides practical ways to address the issues raised. Mike writes from lived experience and brings a wealth of knowledge as a pedagogical expert committed to participation and social change. His Freirean perspectives on teaching and learning come at a critical time for universities under threat from neoliberalism. He exhorts the reader to critically examine the motivations and policy drivers that sit behind the universities claims of social mobility outcomes for disadvantaged students, suggesting that higher education can be both a progressive and a regressive force for social justice. * Tim Corney PhD, Associate Professor, College of Education, Victoria University, Australia *
A must read book by Mike Seal for all interested in examining HE access in its widest context. Seal challenges the reader to consider uncomfortable reasons for lack of significant systemic change and offers new analysis for meaningful action. This work provides innovative insights concerning the navigation of disadvantaged students. Essential reading! * Stella Jones-Devitt, Professor of Critical Pedagogy, Staffordshire University, UK *

Author Bio

Mike Seal is the National Officer of the Professional Association of Lecturers in Youth and Community Work, a Visiting Professor at Newman University Birmingham, UK, and Leeds Beckett University, UK, and a freelance educational consultant.