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Just imaginary: delimiting social inclusion in higher education

Version 2 2024-06-13, 08:54
Version 1 2015-10-05, 14:40
journal contribution
posted on 2014-01-01, 00:00 authored by Trevor Gale, S Hodge
This paper explores the notion of a 'just imaginary' for social inclusion in higher education. It responds to the current strategy of OECD nations to expand higher education and increase graduate numbers, as a way of securing a competitive advantage in the global knowledge economy. The Australian higher education system provides the case for analysis. Three dilemmas for social inclusion policy in this context are identified: questions of sustainability, aspiration and opportunity. The paper argues that while social inclusion policy has 'first-order' effects in higher education, a just imaginary is required for more inclusive 'second-order' effects to be realized. It concludes that transformation of the current imaginary will require a more robust theorization of relations between social inclusion and higher education, to give new and unifying meaning to existing practices and to generate new ones. Short of this, social inclusion may be little more than just imaginary.

History

Journal

British journal of sociology of education

Volume

35

Issue

5

Pagination

688 - 709

Publisher

Routledge

Location

Abingdon, Eng.

ISSN

0142-5692

eISSN

1465-3346

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2014, Taylor & Francis