TY - JOUR AU - Naranjo-Crespo,M. AU - Belando-Montoro,M.R. AU - Carrasco Temiño,M.A. KW - educational policy KW - inclusion KW - systematic review KW - University T1 - Barriers and facilitators to the inclusion of socially, economically and culturally disadvantaged university students. An international systematic review LA - eng PY - 2025/// T2 - International Journal of Inclusive Education SN - 1464-5173 PB - Routledge AB - Based on the principle of universal access to education, there has been a tendency towards overcrowding in access to university over the last decades. This study identifies the main barriers, facilitators and actions determined in the international literature to the inclusion of socially, economically and culturally disadvantaged students in university from the perspective of access areas, retention, participation and educational achievement. A qualitative systematic review is used as a research method. In total, 80 studies were selected. One of the key findings was that the number of publications varies among continents, with no studies being found in Asia, North Africa and Antarctica. Differences have also been found in protected groups, with many studies addressing the challenge faced by Indigenous and refugee students. It has also been revealed that the specialised literature continues to focus on the dimensions of access and retention of students, compared to those of participation and educational achievement. This study identifies different institutional mechanisms that act as barriers or facilitators for students to develop their educational process in conditions of equity once they have passed the milestone of access to university studies, so its results and conclusions can be relevant for practice and university education policy. DO - 10.1080/13603116.2025.2583225 UR - https://portalcientifico.uah.es/documentos/695949370f46d160047a09f2 DP - Dialnet - Portal de la Investigación ER -