10th Biennial ACSPRI Social Science Methodology Conference in conjunction with the Australian Social Network Analysis Conference (ASNAC)

A persistent methodological limitation in equity research is its reliance on outcome-based indicators such as enrolment, retention, completion, and graduate employment to define and evaluate “success.” While these measures are valuable for policy monitoring, they provide limited insight into students’ agency, lived experience, and the substantive opportunities available to them within higher education. As a result, equity research has tended to privilege what can be easily quantified, often at the expense of understanding how students themselves define and experience meaningful participation and achievement. The Capability Approach offers an alternative methodological lens by conceptualising success in terms of the substantive freedoms and opportunities individuals have to pursue lives they have reason to value. However, a key methodological challenge within Capability Approach research is the absence of an agreed capability list and limited guidance on how context-specific capabilities can be systematically derived.

This paper presents a systematic five-step methodology for developing a capability framework for low-SES student success in Australian higher education. The approach integrates conceptual analysis, synthesis of Capability Approach and equity literature, translation of empirical barriers into capability requirements, and validation through the lived experiences of low-SES students. By demonstrating a transparent and replicable process for operationalising the Capability Approach, the paper contributes a methodological template for equity research that can be adapted across diverse social policy and higher education contexts. The resulting framework offers both a richer account of student success and a robust methodological approach for studying equity beyond outcome-based metrics.