Affirmative actions: policies that promote justice for students of low economic background

Higher education has become central for the economic and social development of countries. As the systems expanded, challenges related to quality and equity emerged. Equity implies that social class, ethnicity, geographical location or other characteristics should not determine students’ access and success. However, the nature of positional good of higher education makes this goal difficult to achieve and even when systems become universal inequalities persist, although they change in character: the issue is no longer quantitative but qualitative, about the hierarchy of institutions and courses. In this context, some governments and universities have implemented policies aimed at the convergence between the percentage of participation of students from disadvantaged backgrounds and the composition of society itself. This chapter presents cases of affirmative action and its results in countries at different levels of development, critically analysing the possibilities of increasing equity in terms of justice in higher education.