Do Widening Participation Interventions Change University Attitudes in UK School Children? A Systematic Review of the Efficacy of UK Programmes, and Quality of Evaluation Evidence.

University participation gaps between free school meals (FSM) and non-FSM students have remained largely stable in the UK since 2006. The efficacy of UK widening participation (WP) interventions in changing attitudes towards university and increasing participation of disadvantaged students is uncertain. Some approaches have shown to be effective in other countries e.g. the US, but the educational experience of pupils and markers of disadvantage may be different to the UK. Previous reviews have indicated poor-quality evidence and a lack of peer reviewed experimental evaluation in a UK context. The range and quality of evidence using a non-experimental or qualitative approach is unclear. Understanding how effective WP interventions are in changing attitudes and behaviours towards university in the UK is an important part of addressing the participation gap. This study used a systematic review approach to examine the evidence base of peer-reviewed evaluations of UK WP programmes for school children aged 16 and under in the last 20 years. Inclusion criteria encompassed a range of quantitative and qualitative study designs to gain a picture of the efficacy of interventions and the type and quality of the evaluation evidence. Findings indicated that controlled experimental evaluation of UK interventions remains very limited. Evaluations were largely mixed methods. Quality of evidence was judged moderate overall due to multiple issues with bias and lack of clarity in methods. Approaches that appeared to offer the most potential were those that helped students to develop new skills with tangible outcomes, and exposure to role models.