Deterred by debt? Young people, schools and the escalating cost of UK higher education

Abstract

Popular commentaries lament that reforms to the financing of Higher Education (HE) in the UK will operate as a significant deterrent to HE participation amongst students from less advantaged backgrounds. This view of debt as a deterrent is powerful and exists not only at a societal level, but also, as we show, is present in schools. Our data reveal, however, that these 'debt commentaries' play out very differently across schools according to the nature of their catchment and the sorts of views staff hold about pupils in relation to their fear of debt. Furthermore, students' views on debt largely contradict these popular 'debt-as-deterrent' narratives and instead are often characterised by acceptance, ambivalence and at times positive orientations towards the prospect of debt. These findings vividly illuminate both the regional and institutional specificity of staff and student decision making in relation to 'debt', hence they have substantial implications for HE funding policy specifically and debates about widening participation in HE more generally, where ensuring greater equity in the scope of choices young people have when it comes to choosing a university is a pressing concern.ARTICLE HISTORY

Determining factors of access and equity in higher education: A systematic review

“…One study in the UK stated the differing ways in which schools (teacher and staff) responded to the issue of debt are essential (Evans and Donnelly, 2018). On the one hand, the discourse of “debt as normative” apparent in one school, and promoted by at least one teacher, could have benefited many young people at this school who were fearful of debt by not amplifying a notion in their minds that debt is a deterrent to university study.…”

“…The majority of students in one study stated that they did not worry about the prospect of debt. It meant that they did not conceive debt as a barrier to entering HE life (Evans and Donnelly, 2018).…”

Evaluating the role of bursaries in widening participation in higher education: a review of the literature and evidence

“…The mechanism by which students' attitudes to debt impact upon decisions around HE has also undergone significant change. Evans and Donnelly's (2018) qualitative examination of how secondary school students interpret the prospect of incurring financial debt as part of their HE participation show that there is a remarkable sense of ambivalence. They conclude that there was little evidence to suggest that working-class students are 'put off' university by the prospect of financial debt even when their school emphasised the spectre of debt in the process of trying to help them anticipate and deal with it (p. 1278).…”

Higher education in the paradigm of speed

“…This is also parallel to the developments in other European countries such as England. In 2012, the under graduate tuition fee cap at English universities was raised from £3,375 to £9,000 per annum with the intention of governing student conduct by placing greater responsibility t on the individual student to consider and determine expectations of debt against the financial benefits of studying (Brooks 2017;Esson and Ertl 2016). The shared political ideas of the student as driven by economic incentives may represent a general shift away from the emphasis on epistemological and existential motives, which were, roughly speaking, the ideal of the socalled welfare state university model (Forrester and Garatt 2016;Wright and Shore 2017).…”