1. Systemic Equity Challenges: An Overview of the Role of Australian Universities in Student Equity and Social Inclusion 2. Taking Stock of 50 Years of Participation in Canadian Higher Education 3. Widening Participation in Aotearoa New Zealand Tertiary Education Since 2000 4. Higher Education in Europe: Widening Participation 5. The Challenge of Widening Participation to Higher Education in Brazil: Injustices, Innovations, and Outcomes 6. Barriers Impeding Access to Higher Education: The Effects of Government Education Policy for Disadvantaged Palestinian Arab and Jewish Citizens 7. Same Sky, Different Horizon: An Analysis of Disadvantaged Groups' Access to Prestigious Universities in Mainland China 8. Access and Equity in Higher Education in Indonesia: A Review from the Periphery 9. Developing Inclusive Learning to Improve the Engagement, Belonging, Retention, and Success of Students from Diverse Groups 10. Widening Participation in Australia: Lessons on Equity, Standards, and Institutional Leadership 11. The Tension between Access and Success: Challenges and Opportunities for Community Colleges in the United States 12. Widening Access Through Higher Education Transformation: A Case Study of University of KwaZulu-Natal 13. The Economic and Social Benefits of Widening Participation: Rhetoric or Reality? 14. University Choosers and Refusers: Social Theory, Ideas of "Choice” and Implications for Widening Participation 15. Global Perspectives on Widening Participation: Approaches and Concepts

Governments have introduced policies to widen the participation of disadvantaged students in higher education. Widening participation policies are also introduced to ensure that higher education contributes to social and economic outcomes. This book includes important insights from 23 leading scholars across 11 countries on a wide range of topics that focus on government policies, institutional structures and the social and economic impacts of widening participation. While widening participation policies and outcomes in developed countries are more widely documented, the policies, achievements, and challenges in other countries such as Brazil, China, Indonesia, South Africa and Palestine are not so widely disseminated. Therefore, the 'untold stories' of policies and outcomes of widening participation are a key part of this book. The chapters are organised according to three overarching themes, which include national and transnational studies of the history of widening participation and current policies; inclusive learning and academic outcomes; and socioeconomic structures, concepts and theories.