Equitable Access to Higher Education in Chile: Analysis of Special-Access Students' Identity Enactment Through Discourse

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 32
  In Roundtable Session: Narrowing the Attainment Gap

Abstract

Using surveys and semi-structured interviews, this mixed-methods study explored the experiences of 54 special-access students attending one public university in Chile. Considering that it is in language where individuals construct their sense of self (Weedon, 1997), the main objective of this study was to capture special-access students’ narratives that reported their experiences at university and identify students’ most relevant concerns. Furthermore, a discourse micro analysis (Ghio & Fernández, 2008; Martin & White, 2005) was carried out to analyze how participants represented themselves and others in narrations, opening a window to their realities. This paper reports the findings on the first stage of analysis and highlights pressing issues that help inform special-access programs and promote changes to better serve these students.

Author

• Erika Abarca Millán, University of Chile