Universities as key responders to education inequality

Abstract

This paper explores the responsibility of the university sector to respond to educational inequality and to those with precarious relationships to education. The paper explores how although there are considerable benefits to be attained from higher education and lifelong learning, many people are dislocated from the university sector and feel that the university is not for them. It argues that the university sector must develop a community mission to respond to these issues and explores the approach of the Centre for Adult Continuing Education in University College Cork, Ireland, in developing such a community mission. Through working with communities and supporting inclusive and diverse learning opportunities, the paper argues that universities can contribute to tackling the ongoing persistence of educational inequality.