Globally, the appetite for higher education is great, but what do students and societies gain? Quality in Undergraduate Education foregrounds the importance of knowledge acquisition at university. Many argue that university education is no longer a public good due to the costs incurred by students who are then motivated by the promise of lucrative employment rather than by studying a discipline for its own sake. McLean, Abbas and Ashwin, however, reveal a more complex picture and offer a way of thinking about good quality university education for all. Drawing on a study which focused on four sociology-related social science UK university departments of different reputation, the book shows that students value sociological knowledge because it gives them a framework to think about and act on understanding how individuals and society interact. Further, the authors discuss how what was learned from the study about how policy, curriculum and pedagogy might preserve and strengthen the personal and social gains of social science undergraduate education.

Part I: Introduction1. University Education, Inequality and Knowledge 2. Introducing the Four Universities and Departments Part II: Setting the Scene3. The Patterning of Inequality in Higher Education 4. The Construction of High- Quality University Education 5. The Power of Sociology- Related Knowledge Part III: Exploring Educational Quality6. Comparing Sociology- Related Curricula: Th e Pedagogic Device 7. Pedagogy for Powerful Knowledge and UnderstandingPart IV: The Powerful Equalizing Effects of Knowledge8. Disciplinary Identity and Pedagogic Rights 9. Undergraduate Education and Future Lives Part V: Conclusion10. Socially Just University Curriculum and Pedagogy Appendix 1: Research Methodology Appendix 2: Curricula: Compulsions and Choices References Index