The ‘value’ of higher education

This chapter introduces questions concerning the ‘value’ of higher education and discusses whether participation is, as respondents put it, ‘worth it’ for working-class groups. As we have written elsewhere (Archer and Hutchings 2000), the value of participation in HE can be conceptualized in terms of an equation comprising risks, costs and benefits, but it will be argued that risks, costs and benefits of participation are not equal for all social groups. The balance between the potential benefits as weighed against the risks and costs of participation are differently structured across social class (‘race’ and gender), with the result being that working-class students face greater risks of failure and more uncertain rewards.