Unequal access to higher learning

Principal Investigator(s): Dr Carol Brown, Professor Helen Walkington

Project start: September 2023

Project finish: September 2025

About us

Unequal access to higher learning: can the EPQ help with levelling up is a two-year programme of research funded by the Nuffield Foundation. It is being conducted by a multidisciplinary team at Oxford Brookes University led by Dr Carol Brown and Professor Helen Walkington.

This project will investigate access to, and outcomes for, the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ).

The EPQ is an independent project, equivalent to half an A-Level, undertaken by approximately 45,000 sixth form students annually. It was introduced in 2004 with the intention of supporting students to develop skills that would be useful in their future studies, supported by one-to-one teacher mentoring.

The EPQ has become associated with academic success in A-Level and degree outcomes, which is attributed to the development of learner agency, self-awareness, and academic engagement. However, the extent to which the EPQ has affected the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged learners, for example through access to the qualification in different types of schools and colleges, is less clear.

The project will investigate inequalities in access, participation, and outcomes and the “levelling-up” potential of the EPQ.

A mixed group of students are sat at tables studying and learning.

Part of

School of Education, Humanities and Languages

Research impact

The findings will inform policy debates on attainment gaps, widening participation, and equalising opportunities for 16 to 19 year olds. This is particularly important in a post-pandemic climate where educational gaps have widened.
The research will also provide evidence-based recommendations for schools on using the EPQ to support the employability skills and progression of students from different backgrounds.