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All Outputs (40)

Exploring ethnic differences in the post-university destinations of Russell Group graduates (2018)
Journal Article
Lessard-Phillips, L., Boliver, V., Pampaka, M., & Swain, D. (2018). Exploring ethnic differences in the post-university destinations of Russell Group graduates. Ethnicities, 18(4), 496-517. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468796818777543

The high aspirations of British ethnic minorities are evident in their high rates of participation in higher education. However, some ethnic minority groups remain strikingly under-represented in the most selective universities, and recent studies ha... Read More about Exploring ethnic differences in the post-university destinations of Russell Group graduates.

Which are the most suitable contextual indicators for use in widening participation to HE? (2017)
Journal Article
Gorard, S., Boliver, V., Siddiqui, N., & Banerjee, P. (2019). Which are the most suitable contextual indicators for use in widening participation to HE?. Research Papers in Education, 34(1), 99-129. https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2017.1402083

Universities are increasingly making decisions about undergraduate admissions with reference to contextual indicators to identify whether an applicant comes from a disadvantaged family, neighbourhood or school environment. However, the indicators use... Read More about Which are the most suitable contextual indicators for use in widening participation to HE?.

An Analysis of School-Based Contextual Indicators for Possible Use in Widening Participation (2017)
Journal Article
Gorard, S., Siddiqui, N., & Boliver, V. (2017). An Analysis of School-Based Contextual Indicators for Possible Use in Widening Participation. Higher Education Studies, 7(2), Article 79. https://doi.org/10.5539/hes.v7n2p79

This paper looks at the National Pupil Database for England in terms of variables that could be used by universities to help them assess undergraduate applications. Where a young person is obviously disadvantaged, this can be taken into account in co... Read More about An Analysis of School-Based Contextual Indicators for Possible Use in Widening Participation.

Critically evaluating the Effectively Maintained Inequality hypothesis (2016)
Journal Article
Boliver, V. (2016). Critically evaluating the Effectively Maintained Inequality hypothesis. British journal of education, society & behavioural science, 15(2), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.9734/bjesbs/2016/24563

This paper uses data for England to test the effectively maintained inequality (EMI) hypothesis that individuals from ‘high’ and ‘low’ socioeconomic backgrounds have qualitatively different modal educational destinations at a given educational level.... Read More about Critically evaluating the Effectively Maintained Inequality hypothesis.

Will the Use of Contextual Indicators Make UK Higher Education Admissions Fairer? (2015)
Journal Article
Boliver, V., Gorard, S., & Siddiqui, N. (2015). Will the Use of Contextual Indicators Make UK Higher Education Admissions Fairer?. Education Sciences, 5(4), 306-322. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci5040306

In the UK, as elsewhere, the use of ‘contextual’ data has been strongly advocated in order to inform undergraduate admissions decision-making. More than a third of UK universities currently take the socioeconomic or other background context of underg... Read More about Will the Use of Contextual Indicators Make UK Higher Education Admissions Fairer?.

Are there distinctive clusters of higher and lower status universities in the UK? (2015)
Journal Article
Boliver, V. (2015). Are there distinctive clusters of higher and lower status universities in the UK?. Oxford Review of Education, 41(5), 608-627. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2015.1082905

In 1992 the binary divide between universities and polytechnics was dismantled to create a nominally unitary system of higher education for the UK. Just a year later, the first UK university league table was published, and the year after that saw the... Read More about Are there distinctive clusters of higher and lower status universities in the UK?.

Exploring ethnic inequalities in admission to Russell Group universities (2015)
Journal Article
Boliver, V. (2016). Exploring ethnic inequalities in admission to Russell Group universities. Sociology, 50(2), 247-266. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038515575859

This article analyses national university applications and admissions data to explore why ethnic minority applicants to Russell Group universities are less likely to receive offers of admission than comparably qualified white applicants. Contrary to... Read More about Exploring ethnic inequalities in admission to Russell Group universities.

Lies, damned lies, and statistics on widening access to Russell Group universities (2015)
Journal Article
Boliver, V. (2015). Lies, damned lies, and statistics on widening access to Russell Group universities. Radical statistics, 113, 29-38

This article reports on a forensic examination of the statistical evidence presented in a recent Russell Group report entitled Opening Doors which claims that “real progress has been made over the last few years” in relation to widening access at Rus... Read More about Lies, damned lies, and statistics on widening access to Russell Group universities.

Social Mobility Over Three Generations in Finland: A Critique (2014)
Journal Article
Chan, T., & Boliver, V. (2014). Social Mobility Over Three Generations in Finland: A Critique. European Sociological Review, 30(1), 13-17. https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jct012

Erola and Moisio (2007) argue that in Finland the class positions of grandparents and grandchildren are almost independent of each other, once parents’ social class has been taken into account. We show that this conclusion of ‘almost conditional inde... Read More about Social Mobility Over Three Generations in Finland: A Critique.

The grandparents effect in social mobility: evidence from British birth cohort studies (2013)
Journal Article
Chan, T. W., & Boliver, V. (2013). The grandparents effect in social mobility: evidence from British birth cohort studies. American Sociological Review, 78(4), 662-678. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122413489130

Using data from three British birth cohort studies, we examine patterns of social mobility over three generations of family members. For both men and women, absolute mobility rates (i.e., total, upward, downward, and outflow mobility rates) in the pa... Read More about The grandparents effect in social mobility: evidence from British birth cohort studies.

How fair is access to more prestigious UK Universities? (2013)
Journal Article
Boliver, V. (2013). How fair is access to more prestigious UK Universities?. British Journal of Sociology, 64(2), 344-364. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-4446.12021

Now that most UK universities have increased their tuition fees to £9,000 a year and are implementing new Access Agreements as required by the Office for Fair Access, it has never been more important to examine the extent of fair access to UK higher... Read More about How fair is access to more prestigious UK Universities?.

Education Under New Labour, 1997-2010 (2013)
Journal Article
Heath, A., Sullivan, A., Boliver, V., & Zimdars, A. (2013). Education Under New Labour, 1997-2010. Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 29(1), 227-247. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxrep/grt003

This article reviews the evidence on New Labour’s educational achievements. It focuses on those aspects of policy that Labour itself highlighted in its manifestos, such as the raising of educational standards. A major issue, particularly on the issue... Read More about Education Under New Labour, 1997-2010.

Social mobility: the politics, the reality, the alternative (2013)
Journal Article
Boliver, V., & Byrne, D. (2013). Social mobility: the politics, the reality, the alternative. Soundings, Winter 2013(55),

Social mobility – something we all think is wonderful, or do we? Certainly all the UK’s major political parties appear to be all for it, expressing concern about clear evidence that mobility between social classes in Britain has levelled off, and mor... Read More about Social mobility: the politics, the reality, the alternative.

Schools and social mobility (2012)
Journal Article
Boliver, V., & Swift, A. (2012). Schools and social mobility. Sociological Review, 22(2),