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HARRISON, Neil and MCCAIG, Colin (2017). Examining the epistemology of impact and success of educational interventions using a reflective case study of university bursaries. British Educational Research Journal, 43 (2), 290-309.
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McCaig Examining the epistemology of impact and success of educational interventions.pdf - Accepted Version All rights reserved. Download (424kB) | Preview |
Abstract
This paper engages with the continuing emphasis given to evidence-based policy and ‘what works’ approaches in educational research, highlighting some of the continuing epistemological challenges from a post-positivist perspective. To illustrate these, it uses the case of bursaries awarded by universities to improve outcomes for students from disadvantaged backgrounds as an example of an education intervention designed to address structural inequality. The paper then discusses critical reflections arising from a project commissioned by the Office for Fair Access in England, which aimed to enable universities to evaluate the impact of the bursaries that they award. These reflections provide a lens to explore the limitations of experimental and quasi-experimental designs in complex social fields. The paper concludes that we lack a strong understanding of the relationship between financial and educational disadvantage prior to and during higher education, and this undermines efforts to ‘prove’ that certain interventions will ‘level the playing field’.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Departments - Does NOT include content added after October 2018: | Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities > Department of Education, Childhood and Inclusion |
| Identification Number: | https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3263 |
| Page Range: | 290-309 |
| Depositing User: | Colin Mccaig |
| Date Deposited: | 06 Feb 2017 11:18 |
| Last Modified: | 18 Mar 2021 00:55 |
| URI: | https://shura.shu.ac.uk/id/eprint/15151 |
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