Is Higher Education Fair? Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Society for Research into Higher Education (17th, Guildford, Surrey, England, December 1981).

Various forms of bias in the British higher education system are examined in ten papers presented at a conference on "Biases in Higher Education." After an introduction by David Warren Piper, Tyrrell Burgess links the Popperian paradigm of scientfic method to the practical possibility of a nonexclusive education system. In "Bias Is of the Essence," he examines the theory of knowledge and learning that would eliminate the systematic biases of the system. Bill Williamson in "Class Bias" compares the class structure of the British system with that of other European countries, and claims that higher education, and the universities in particular, play a decisive role in structuring demand for places. John Richardson, writing on "Geographical Bias," draws on work from counties where geographical distances are so great that the effect on people's chances of becoming students in more obvious than on a small island. He suggests that the principal determinant of geographical inequalities in the provision of higher education is the economic resources of different communities, regions, or countries. Alan Little and Diana Robbins in "Race Bias" describe the working of discrimination laws in the United States. Alan Woodley cites evidence in "Age Bias" indicating that opportunities for adults in higher education have been increasing over the last decade. However, there is some evidence that many more adults are prevented from entering higher education and that those who so overcome the barriers to entry do not represent a cross-section of the adult population. Additional papers include "Sex Bias," by Dale Spender; "Religious Bias," by John Gay; "Disability" by Ronald Sturt; and "Language Bias," by Gordon Brotherston. A bibliography is appended. (SW)