Research article

Measuring inequalities in higher education: a politics of science

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Abstract

At a time when rankings and the production of data on higher education systems multiply, this article questions the actors' configuration linked to the transformation of statistical indicators into frames used to read the inequalities of access to higher education. Who says what and with what results? Who is responsible for making social facts become things? The comparison and characterisation of the available inequality indicators regarding access to international databases (UNESCO, OECD, EUROSTAT) and national ones (Germany, France, Switzerland and the UK) question the tensions between the various discourses and the indicators produced and interrogate the deep national inscription of these indicators.

Keywords: HIGHER EDUCATION, INEQUALITIES, MEASUREMENT, INTERNATIONAL BODIES, STATISTICS

How to Cite:

Goastellec, G., (2011) “Measuring inequalities in higher education: a politics of science”, London Review of Education 9(1), 71–82. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/14748460.2011.550437