Practical Wisdom and Democratic Education: Phronesis, Art and Non-traditional Students by S.Broadhead and M. Gregson

The term 'non-traditional student' is not a straightforward or easily defined descriptor. As the book points out, the term includes 'non-standard, secondchance, first in the family, delayed traditional, single parents, late starters, careerists [and] wage-slave-escapees.' (p.5) Broadhead and Gregson argue that the term 'disguises the class based selection in HE' (p.1) and that now is an appropriate time to be returning to Bernstein's writing on what constitutes a democratic education. For Bernstein a democratic education is one that provides all students with equal access to 'enhancement, inclusion and participation' (p.27) and which offers all students an opportunity to be politically active in relation to their educational experiences. Broadhead and Gregson use Bernstein's model, in relation to Art and Design HE learning, but a return to what can be seen to be the fundamentals of inclusion issues is of relevance to a wider HE readership.

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