ABSTRACT
Encounter with contemporaries from different backgrounds, specialisms and values can, according to W. Perry and Roy Heath lead to challenge, self-questioning and informal learning which promotes the moral and intellectual development of students. College peer groups will differ in composition from institution to institution, and even from department to department. Academic selectivity and reputation, the function of the institution and the subjects which may be studied, religious affiliation, size, setting, antiquity and traditions — these and many other factors will be reflected in the ability, sex balance and social class characteristics of the students. Many staff would regard it as desirable to promote student involvement in academic work outside the normal meetings of the class. Institutions of higher education in Britain and the United States differ strikingly in selectivity. N. J. Entwistle et al. found a clear pecking order in terms of school qualifications of students in universities, polytechnics and the almost vanished college of education sector in England.
