Higher Education and Social Inequality

Higher Education and Social Inequality (HESI) researchers at Durham have made leading contributions to the study of the relationship between institutions, policies and practices in higher education and social stratification, including the reproduction of social inequalities. This includes work that:

• contests the vertical differentiation of UK universities
• challenges inequalities of access to 'elite' universities rooted in socioeconomic background, school type, geography and ethnic origin
• explores the impact of class, race and gender bias on higher experiences and outcomes including the impact of racism on the mental health and progression within the university of BME students and staff
• critically analyses the role of universities as sites of knowledge production, their relationship to socio-political change, and their role in the production and reproduction of 'elites'.

Education and Social Inequality postcard