The Dimensions Through Time of the Framework of Widening Participation

Abstract

The use of an analogy in the form of the analytical metaphor of ‘multiverse’ (Chown, 2007) provides a way of showing how the differentiated discourse of widening participation in higher education creates complex and contradictory views that exist simultaneously. The resistance to accepting an alternative view is so strong that conflict often has to arise before any change or progress can be made. The examples offered provide aerial views of the different dimensions of viewpoints that then create challenges for all those involved in higher education.