All universities have to produce plans to eliminate the gaps in access, success and participation of disadvantaged student in higher education, setting targets with regards to Global Majority, working class, disabled and student with mental health conditions. In this book, Mike Seal examines the terminology, theoretical debates and positions, identifies the causes of gaps, and evaluates proposed initiatives. He argues that there is an unexamined assumption that higher education is a 'good thing' materially and intellectually, which demonises those for whom this is questionable. The book also highlights the continuing structural and individual discrimination in terms of class, race and disability and a denial of the extent to which higher education is a cause of mental health issues and negative well-being. It uncovers unexamined 'assimilation' models in higher education that expects these students to abandon their culture and communities, despite students wanting to give back to these communities being a major extrinsic motivation, and to embrace a culture that will not embrace them.

The book starts from the perspective that contemporary international higher education reproduces existing privileges, and the book goes on to argue that widening participation agendas should recognise the changing nature of academic life through a more inclusive, holistic approach. Seal argues that it is essential to include an informed understanding of how students position themselves in academia and how their identity and academic status is enabled and developed with the support of the university. In order to do this universities need to redefine their purpose and the nature of their relationships with the communities they purport to serve.

Mike Seal has three part-time roles: Director of the Centre for Research into the Education of Marginalised Children and Young Adults (CREMCYA) and Professor of Youth and Community Education, St Mary's University Twickenham, UK, Professor of Critical Pedagogy at Birmingham City University, UK, and the National Officer of the Professional Association of Lecturers of Youth and Community Work (PALYCW).

Introduction: Questioning the Access, Success and Progression of Disadvantaged Students in Higher Education
Part I: Theories of Social Policy and Key Studies for Widening Participation in Higher Education
1. Theoretical Perspectives on Widening Participation
2. Social and Higher Policy on Widening Participation
3. Access, Success and Participation of Disadvantaged Students
4. Key Studies on Global Majority, Working Class and Disabled Student and Student with Mental Health Conditions
Part II: Terminology, the Issues and Theoretical Perspectives
5. Working Class Students: Social Mobility Denied
6. From BAME Students to Global Majority: Entering the Belly of the Coloniser
7. Students with Mental Health Issues: Higher Education as Enabler of Mental Health
8. Student with Disabilities: Discourses of Marginalisation
Part III: Causes, Interventions and Further Research
9. Working Class Students: Acknowledging the Price of Participation
10. Global Majority Students: Countering the Politics of Denial
11. Students with Mental Health Issues: Countering Narratives of Culpability and Avoidance
12. Student with Disabilities: Countering Ableism in Higher Education
Conclusion: Setting a Realistic Goal for the Access, Success and Progression of Disadvantaged Students in Higher Education in Higher Education