Premium
A Comparison of Part‐time Higher Education Provision and Participation Rates in the UK: Implications for the Development of Provision in Northern Ireland
Author(s) -
Pyper Ian F.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
higher education quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.976
H-Index - 42
eISSN - 1468-2273
pISSN - 0951-5224
DOI - 10.1111/1468-2273.00105
Subject(s) - northern ireland , higher education , political science , northern italy , economic growth , demographic economics , sociology , economics , ethnology , law , european union , economic policy
Most studies of higher education participation rates have been primarily concerned with the numbers of full‐time students most of whom have progressed into higher education soon after leaving secondary school or full‐time further education. This paper seeks to compare part‐time provision and participation levels in Northern Ireland with that in other parts of the UK. The pattern which emerges is that part‐time participation rates in Northern Ireland do not appear markedly different to those in other parts of the UK. However there are distinctive features in the pattern of provision. Compared with Scotland, a much higher proportion of part‐time HE in Northern Ireland takes place within the universities. It is argued that these differences should be considered when examining options for tackling the under‐supply of HE places in Northern Ireland which are identified in the Northern Ireland Appendix to the Dearing Report.