Professor Vikki Boliver's Outputs (75)

Students’ Perceptions of Racial Diversity and Inclusion in UK Universities (2025)
Journal Article
Jones, C., & Boliver, V. (2025). Students’ Perceptions of Racial Diversity and Inclusion in UK Universities. Social Sciences, 14(2), Article 84. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci14020084

Building on previous studies of racial inequality in higher education, this paper reports the findings of an online survey (N = 407) exploring the extent to which UK university students recognised the existence of racism in wider society and perceive... Read More about Students’ Perceptions of Racial Diversity and Inclusion in UK Universities.

Access to Higher Education (2024)
Book Chapter
Siddiqui, N., & Boliver, V. (2025). Access to Higher Education. In N. Siddiqui, & V. Boliver (Eds.), Researching Social Inequalities in Higher Education. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003452430-15

The book chapters delve into the sociology of higher education, shedding light on international challenges and barriers to higher education access. ­Despite the substantial growth in the higher education sector, access opportunities remain limited, a... Read More about Access to Higher Education.

Issues of Access, Diversity, and Inclusion In Contemporary Higher Education (2024)
Book Chapter
Siddiqui, N., & Boliver, V. (in press). Issues of Access, Diversity, and Inclusion In Contemporary Higher Education. In N. Siddiqui, & V. Boliver (Eds.), Researching Social Inequalities in Higher Education. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003452430

This book was originally conceived through conversations between academic researchers from across the career span who come together regularly to share knowledge, ideas, and research in progress as members of the Higher Education and Social Inequality... Read More about Issues of Access, Diversity, and Inclusion In Contemporary Higher Education.

Does grammar school attendance increase the likelihood of attending a prestigious UK university? (2023)
Journal Article
Capsada‐Munsech, Q., & Boliver, V. (2024). Does grammar school attendance increase the likelihood of attending a prestigious UK university?. British Educational Research Journal, 50(1), 348-366. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3929

In 2018 the UK government launched a £50 million scheme to fund the expansion of existing grammar schools provided that they increase efforts to attract more pupils from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. This initiative assumed that gramma... Read More about Does grammar school attendance increase the likelihood of attending a prestigious UK university?.

The private higher education provider landscape in the UK (2023)
Journal Article
Hunt, S. A., & Boliver, V. (2023). The private higher education provider landscape in the UK. Studies in Higher Education, 48(9), 1346-1360. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2023.2199317

The private higher education (HE) sector in the UK is subject to little oversight or regulation. Consequently, it remains a largely unknown quantity. Yet, the UK government is keen to foster the growth of private providers as a means of stimulating c... Read More about The private higher education provider landscape in the UK.

Educational tracking and social inequalities in long-term labor market outcomes: Six countries in comparison (2023)
Journal Article
Schindler, S., Bar-Haim, E., Barone, C., Fels Birkelund, J., Boliver, V., Capsada-Munsech, Q., Erola, J., Facchini, M., Feniger, Y., Heiskala, L., Herbaut, E., Ichou, M., Karlson, K. B., Kleinert, C., Reimer, D., Traini, C., Triventi, M., & Vallet, L.-A. (2024). Educational tracking and social inequalities in long-term labor market outcomes: Six countries in comparison. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 65(1), https://doi.org/10.1177/00207152231151390

In this country-comparative study, we ask to what extent differentiation in secondary education accounts for the association between social origins and social destinations in adult age. We go beyond the widely applied formal definitions of educationa... Read More about Educational tracking and social inequalities in long-term labor market outcomes: Six countries in comparison.

Rethinking merit? The development of more progressive approaches to university admissions in England (2023)
Journal Article
Boliver, V., & Powell, M. (2023). Rethinking merit? The development of more progressive approaches to university admissions in England. Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning, 24(3), 33-55. https://doi.org/10.5456/wpll.24.3.33

This paper explores how highly selective universities in England have responded to the Office for Students' call to make faster progress on widening access by 'rethinking how merit is judged in admissions' (OfS 2019: 8). Our analysis of the Access an... Read More about Rethinking merit? The development of more progressive approaches to university admissions in England.

Researching Social Inequalities in Higher Education: Access, Diversity and Inclusion (2023)
Book
Boliver, V., & Siddiqui, N. (Eds.). (in press). Researching Social Inequalities in Higher Education: Access, Diversity and Inclusion. Taylor and Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003452430

Drawing from original research and recent developments in theory, Researching Social Inequalities in Higher Education brings together insights from multiple national contexts and phases to consider a diverse range of equity issues in higher education... Read More about Researching Social Inequalities in Higher Education: Access, Diversity and Inclusion.

Evaluation of Supported Progression (SP) schemes offered by Durham University (2023)
Preprint / Working Paper
Siddiqui, N., Gorard, S., & Boliver, V. Evaluation of Supported Progression (SP) schemes offered by Durham University

Durham University’s Supported Progression (SP) programme aims to help increase the socioeconomic diversity of Durham’s undergraduate population. SP is a combination of interventions for widening access initiatives providing young people from disadvan... Read More about Evaluation of Supported Progression (SP) schemes offered by Durham University.

Competing conceptions of fair admission and their implications for supporting students to fulfil their potential at university (2022)
Journal Article
Boliver, V., & Powell, M. (2023). Competing conceptions of fair admission and their implications for supporting students to fulfil their potential at university. Perspectives: Policy and Practice in Higher Education, 27(1), 8-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603108.2022.2063429

This paper explores how fairness was conceptualised by those responsible for admission to highly selective undergraduate courses at 17 universities in England. Fairness was conceptualised principally with reference to the traditional meritocratic equ... Read More about Competing conceptions of fair admission and their implications for supporting students to fulfil their potential at university.

Who counts as socioeconomically disadvantaged for the purposes of widening access to higher education? (2022)
Journal Article
Boliver, V., Gorard, S., & Siddiqui, N. (2022). Who counts as socioeconomically disadvantaged for the purposes of widening access to higher education?. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 43(3), 349-374. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2021.2017852

This paper evaluates a range of measures commonly used to target and measure the success of efforts to widen access to higher education. We demonstrate empirically that the area-level widening access metrics advocated by England’s Office for Students... Read More about Who counts as socioeconomically disadvantaged for the purposes of widening access to higher education?.

What do we know about Black and minority ethnic (BME) participation in UK higher education (2021)
Journal Article
Arday, J., Branchu, C., & Boliver, V. (2022). What do we know about Black and minority ethnic (BME) participation in UK higher education. Social Policy and Society, 21(1), 12-25. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1474746421000579

Here, we offer a synthesis of recent evidence and new developments in relation to three broad aspects of Black and minority ethnic (BAME) students’ participation in UK higher education (HE). First, we examine recent trends in ethnic group differences... Read More about What do we know about Black and minority ethnic (BME) participation in UK higher education.

Reconceptualising fair access to highly academically selective universities, Higher Education (2021)
Journal Article
Boliver, V., Banerjee, P., Gorard, S., & Powell, M. (2022). Reconceptualising fair access to highly academically selective universities, Higher Education. Higher Education, 84(1), 85-100. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-021-00755-y

The higher education regulators for England have set challenging new widening access targets requiring universities to rethink “ how merit is judged in admissions” (OfS 2018: 8). Universities are being encouraged to move away from the traditional mer... Read More about Reconceptualising fair access to highly academically selective universities, Higher Education.

Does ability grouping affect UK primary school pupils’ enjoyment of Maths and English? (2021)
Journal Article
Boliver, V., & Capsada-Munsech, Q. (2021). Does ability grouping affect UK primary school pupils’ enjoyment of Maths and English?. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 76, Article 100629. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2021.100629

Advocates of grouping pupils by measured ability for instructional purposes claim that ability-homogeneous classrooms increase the attainment of high-ability pupils without detriment to the attainment of pupils judged to be of lower ability. Opponent... Read More about Does ability grouping affect UK primary school pupils’ enjoyment of Maths and English?.

Experiences of first-generation scholars at a highly selective UK university (2021)
Journal Article
Hindle, C., McEwan, C., Boliver, V., Maclarnon, A., Simpson, B., & Brown, H. (2021). Experiences of first-generation scholars at a highly selective UK university. Learning and Teaching, 14(2), 1-31. https://doi.org/10.3167/latiss.2021.140202

Targets set by the UK Office for Students require highly academically selective UK universities to enrol a greater percentage of students identified as least likely to participate in higher education. Such students are typically at a disadvantage in... Read More about Experiences of first-generation scholars at a highly selective UK university.

Lives on track? Long-term earnings returns to selective school placement in England and Denmark (2021)
Journal Article
Birkelund, J., Capsada-Munsech, Q., Boliver, V., & Karlson, K. (2021). Lives on track? Long-term earnings returns to selective school placement in England and Denmark. British Journal of Sociology, 72(3), 672-692. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-4446.12856

We explore the influence of between-school ability placement at lower secondary education on earnings across the life course in England and Denmark. We go beyond the mid-career snapshot provided by previous studies by exploiting the availability of f... Read More about Lives on track? Long-term earnings returns to selective school placement in England and Denmark.

The early labour-market returns to upper secondary qualifications track in England (2021)
Journal Article
Capsada-Munsech, Q., & Boliver, V. (2021). The early labour-market returns to upper secondary qualifications track in England. Longitudinal and Life Course Studies, 12(3), 299–322. https://doi.org/10.1332/175795921x16119468619598

We explore the early labour-market returns to following the academic track (such as A levels) rather than the vocational track (for example, NVQs) in upper secondary education in England. England is an interesting country case because students are ‘f... Read More about The early labour-market returns to upper secondary qualifications track in England.

Private providers and market exit in UK higher education (2020)
Journal Article
Hunt, S. A., & Boliver, V. (2021). Private providers and market exit in UK higher education. Higher Education, 81, 385-401. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-020-00546-x

The sudden closure of higher education providers is virtually unknown among publicly funded higher education institutions in the UK, but “market exit” is commonplace among private higher education providers. The UK government is actively championing... Read More about Private providers and market exit in UK higher education.

The use of evidence from research on contextualised admissions to widen access to Scottish universities (2020)
Book Chapter
Boliver, V., & Gorard, S. (2020). The use of evidence from research on contextualised admissions to widen access to Scottish universities. In S. Gorard (Ed.), Getting evidence into education : evaluating the routes to policy and practice (166-177). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429290343-12

This chapter looks at our role in providing evidence on the practicalities and implications of using contextualised admissions to universities, primarily in Scotland. The use of contexualised admissions has become a national policy for all universiti... Read More about The use of evidence from research on contextualised admissions to widen access to Scottish universities.

The use of access thresholds to widen participation at Scottish universities (2020)
Journal Article
Boliver, V., Gorard, S., Powell, M., & Moreira, T. (2020). The use of access thresholds to widen participation at Scottish universities. Scottish Affairs, 29(1), 82-97. https://doi.org/10.3366/scot.2020.0307

The Scottish Government has set ambitious targets for widening access to full-time undergraduate degree programmes. Meeting these targets will be a real challenge, not least because young people from socioeconomically disadvantaged contexts continue... Read More about The use of access thresholds to widen participation at Scottish universities.