Editorial: Far away from the ivory tower

This special issue shares findings from research supported by a historical educational research to explore the impact of higher education (HE) on first-in-family students, some of whom self-identified as ‘disadvantaged’. Brian Simon was an English historian, a leading postwar educationalist and a former BERA president (McCulloch et al., 2023). The key objectives of the Far away from the ivory tower research project addressed the equity for educational opportunity that Brian Simon advocated. First, by exploring the story of university education for ‘the poor’ and ‘disadvantaged’ within Plymouth Marjon University’s archives. Subsequently, we invited staff, students and alumni to participate in discussion groups to interrogate history, comparing contemporary educational practice with historical practices, highlighting links between social justice and practices in access to, and participation in, HE, all refracted through the lens of their own experience