<![CDATA[Educational inequality in higher education concerns differences in access, academic experience, persistence, and educational outcomes across social groups. This article develops a conceptual framework connecting public governance, social context, student engagement, and educational inequality. The approach is a conceptual study supported by a narrative review of theoretical works, policy perspectives, and selected empirical research. Sources are organised by their contribution to defining constructs, explaining relationships, and identifying the limits of interpretation. The analysis distinguishes governance at the system and institutional levels from students’ social resources and engagement in learning. It proposes that institutional arrangements and social resources shape opportunities to participate, while engagement provides a possible link between these opportunities and educational outcomes. Five propositions specify relationships among governance, social context, engagement, and inequality. These propositions provide an agenda for empirical assessment rather than estimates of causal effects or statistical mediation. The framework also shows why improvements in average student outcomes cannot alone establish that gaps between social groups have narrowed. Institutional implications include examining barriers to support, adapting academic services to students’ circumstances, and evaluating the distribution of benefits across groups. The article contributes an analytical basis for context-sensitive research and institutional decision-making. Its scope is limited by purposive source selection, the interpretive character of the analysis, and the absence of direct testing of the proposed framework in Indonesian higher education.]]>
