The attainment of ethnic minority students in UK higher education

Abstract

Recent studies have suggested that academic attainment by ethnic minority graduates at UK institutions of higher education is lower than that by White graduates. This was confirmed using a database of all UK-domiciled graduates from UK higher education institutions in 2004-05. The trend was greater in older students than in younger students, in women than in men, in part-time students than in full-time students, and in some subjects and at some institutions than others. It was only partly explained by variations in the students' qualifications on entry into higher education. The available evidence suggests that these quantitative variations in academic attainment are not reflected in concomitant qualitative variations in the experience of higher education among students from different ethnic groups. It is premature to consider widening participation in terms of access to higher education until this is matched by parity in terms of educational outcomes.

MRCGP CSA: are the examiners biased, favouring their own by sex, ethnicity, and degree source?

“…A 2008 review 18 by Richardson for the Higher Education Quality Assurance Agency concluded, as regards sex, that 'since 1990 women have been much more likely to obtain good degrees than men' and as regards ethnicity that 'white students are both more likely to obtain good degrees and more likely to obtain first-class honours than are students from other ethnic groups'. This concurs with Woolf et al's review and metaanalysis findings from medicine.…”

When Failing doesn’t Matter: A Narrative Inquiry into the Social Work Practice Learning Experiences of Black African Students in England

“…The length of time taken by all stakeholders to resolve both cases impacts on completion and graduation timescales for students. In addition to this, final degree classifications are likely to be impacted by repeat placements and all this ultimately will have repercussions on employment and employability, another area of growing disadvantage for graduates from BME backgrounds (Richardson 2008). The emotional impact of these practice learning experiences on participants requires further detailed analysis; however, for participants in this study, the extent of emotional impact was apparent through their feelings of hopelessness and helplessness, resulting in Ramatu and Shola becoming tearful during interviews.…”

Managing diversity: academic’s perspective on culture and teaching

“…This can be a difficult process, with many academic tutors lacking the cultural competence to understand ethnically diverse students' beliefs, cultures and practices (Tomalin 2007). Academic tutors lacking these crucial skills contribute to the disadvantage that many ethnically diverse students face as they enter UKHE (Richardson 2008). …”

“…The research of Turner (2006) and Durden, Dooley, and Truscott (2014) suggests that many academics fail to fully adjust their teaching practices to support and engage students whose background and previous learning experiences may differ from the UKHE norm. This is not an isolated problem concerning only a few universities, but a sector-wide phenomenon with some prominent researchers (Modood 2006;Richardson 2008) arguing that this is an issue which predominately disadvantages ethnically diverse students, impacting on integration (Syed, Azmitia, and Cooper 2011), achievement KEYWORDS cultural diversity; culturally responsive teaching; equity pedagogy; managing diversity; Moocs; ePdP (Richardson 2008) and cultural adjustment (Oberg 2006). Hence, this paper sympathises with the views expressed in the literature that proposes that current educational approaches and strategies place the ethnic minority student at a disadvantage, creating unequal learning experiences and unfair teaching practices (Ngambi 2008;Richardson 2008).…”