'Bettering yourself'? Discourses of risk, cost and benefit in ethnically diverse, young working-class non-participants' constructions of higher education

'Widening participation' and increasing student diversity are currently key concerns across the higher education sector, and particular attention has been drawn to the persistent under-representation of working-class students within British universities. It is thought that widening participation in higher education (HE) can result in a number of social and economic benefit s, at a national level, for under-represented social groups and for individ ual participants Less is known about the viewpoints and understandings of w orking-class non-participants, such as whether 'official' perceptions regar ding the value of HE are shared or contested. Focus group discussions were conducted with 109 non-participant Londoners, aged between 16 and 30 years, from a range of working-class backgrounds. Findings focus upon non-partici pants' constructions of risks, costs and benefits during application, parti cipation and graduation. These perceptions of 'value' are discussed with re lation to widening participation strategies amongst ethnically diverse 'wor king class' groups.