Working-class Scottish students have probably benefited from expanded entry to higher education at the same rate as their middle-class peers but “the relative disadvantage” has not changed, Lindsay Paterson of Edinburgh University, points out in his latest book on Scottish education in the 20th century.
However, Professor Paterson’s view is based on more dated evidence and FE colleges are now home to one in three students pursuing higher education courses.
Professor Paterson accepts that the older universities have seen falls in the proportion of working-class students as colleges and the newer universities such as Paisley and Abertay increased their numbers.
