T·L·R·P E-g-R'C Research Papers in Education ECONOMIC Vol. 23, No.2, June 2008, 167-177 &: S.oCIAt RESEARCH COUNCIL Different strokes for different folks: diverse students in diverse institutions - experiences of higher education Gill Crozief1*, Diane Reayb, John Clayton a , Lori Colliander b and Jan Grinstead C aUniversity of Sunderland, UK; bUniversity of Cam bridge, UK; cEast Durham and Houghall Community College, UK In the context of widening participation policies, polarisation of types of university recruitment o and a seemingly related high drop-out rate amongst first generation, working class students, rl o we focus on the provision offered by the universities to their students. We discuss how middle N " class and working class student experiences compare across four different types of higher '" education institution (HEI). Exploring differences between the middle class and working class '" u 0. students locates widening participation discourse within a discussion of classed privilege. We Cf) '" conclude that, whilst there is a polarisation of recruitment between types of universities, there o ..., exists a spectrum of interrelated and differentiated experiences across and within the HEIs . rl M These are structured by the differential wealth of the universities, their structure and rl organisation; their ensuing expectations of the students, the subject sub-cultures, and the rl w students' own socio-culturallocations; namely class, gender, age and ethnicity. '" 7i Keywords: widening participation; social class; Bourdieu; higher education o 'M >J H ;:; til w Introduction >J There has been concern about 'widening participation' and breaking down the exclusivity of " w OJ university education, including retaining students and ensuring progress, in the UK and globally. o " U til In UK universities with the most success at widening participation they also have the highest w drop-out rates (National Audit Office 2007). Whilst universities are reporting success in widen- ::.>. ing participation, there exists an apparent polarisation of types of university attracting working >. class and minority ethnic students (Power et al. 2003; Sutton Trust 2000). It isin the context of <Il OJ '!j fairly high drop-out amongst these groups of students, that we discuss what the different institu- '!j '" i o tions offer their students and how the students' university experiences compare. We conclude o that in terms of the students' experiences, an interrelated spectrum of differentiated experiences o exists across and within the institutions rather than simply a stark polarisation. This is structured by the differential wealth and organisation of the universities, and their expectations of students, the subject sub-cultures, and students' own socio-cultural locations, namely class, gender, age and ethnicity. Our focus here is on a cross-class section of students in four different types of higher education institution (HEI). The socio-cultural and learning experiences of this 'diverse' group comprising middle class and working class students, female and male, mature and younger and a range of ethnicities, in Years I and 2, are compared and contrasted to demonstrate the lived experiences of widening participation for those who are amongst the first generation in their family to attend university. The four different types of HEI, located in three geographical areas, are a post-1992 'modern' university (Northern University), a college offurther education (Eastern College), where *Corresponding author. Email: gill.crozier@sunderland.ac.uk ISSN 0267·1522 printffSSN 1470·1146 online © 2008 Taylor & Francis 001: 10.1080/02671520802048703 hltp:llwww.infonnaworld.com