Re/cognising the discursive fr/Ames of equity and widening participation in higher education

ABSTRACT

Policy and program language in the UK and Australian higher education sectors consistently deploys the term aspiration in ways that adhere to the hegemonic neo-liberal ideal of the entrepreneurial competitor-individual, de-meaning and de-valuing ‘other’ personhoods. University Equity and Widening Participation (EWP) outreach programs that engage with marginalised groups in school and community settings challenge people to perform particular aspirations from what can be a deeply uncertain present. This paper presents a cautionary tale from the Australian Equity and Widening Participation (EWP) context that emerged from a research-informed practice PhD, spanning two methodologically different phases. The paper argues that the discursive framing of certain aspirations as legitimate works in subtle ways to shape the perceptual horizons of EWP practitioners and participants. Specifically, the work takes issue with policy frames that create conditions for misrecognition(s) that are themselves difficult to re/cognise. A metaphorical pedagogical tool is developed using the Ames Room illusion.

KEYWORDS:

• Aspiration
• inequality
• higher education
• praxis
• discursive frame
• Ames room

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Conceived by Adelbert Ames Jr within the study of perception, arguably influenced by Hermann von Helmholtz and his notion of unconscious inference.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Matt Lumb

Matt Lumb is Associate Director of the Centre of Excellence for Equity in Higher Education (CEEHE) at the University of Newcastle in Australia. Matt’s interest in questions relating to equity and education systems developed through experiences as a community development professional working on projects in Australia and in parts of Asia and Africa, and as a classroom teacher in Australian high schools. Since 2011, he has worked at the University of Newcastle and is completing in a PhD with CEEHE, investigating the unintended consequences of outreach connections. He has an interest in the ways sophisticated participatory methodologies can make evaluative research processes more productive, and deliver contextualised understandings of the underlying dynamics that produce program impact.

Penny Jane Burke

Professor Penny Jane Burke is Global Innovation Chair of Equity and Director of the Centre of Excellence for Equity in Higher Education (CEEHE) at the University of Newcastle in Australia. This role involves providing global leadership in the field of equity as well as developing the highest quality research-informed practice locally. In this capacity, Professor Burke has developed a unique praxis-based framework, which is already being modelled by equity centres, scholars and practitioners in Australia, the UK and South Africa. She is a member of the Australian Government’s Equity Research and Innovation Panel.