Gutman, Leslie Morrison;
Younas, Fatima;
(2024)
Understanding the awarding gap through the lived experiences of minority ethnic students: An intersectional approach.
British Educational Research Journal
10.1002/berj.4108.
(In press).
Preview |
PDF
British Educational Res J - 2024 - Gutman - Understanding the awarding gap through the lived experiences of minority ethnic.pdf - Published Version Download (327kB) | Preview |
Abstract
In UK universities, there is a long‐standing gap in degree award outcomes for undergraduate students with white British students more likely to graduate with a ‘good degree’ (first or upper second class) than British students from minority ethnic backgrounds. Given its complex, systemic nature, researchers have highlighted the importance of adopting holistic, intersectional and exploratory approaches that are solution‐focused. However, few qualitative studies provide a voice to minoritised students with regards to describing their individual experiences and their own suggestions for change. Through interviews and an advisory group session, this qualitative study explores the lived experiences of 14 minority ethnic undergraduate female students attending a large, public research university in the UK. The findings generated key themes with intersectional dimensions including gender, nationality, immigrant status, socioeconomic status and educational background including biased attitudes and stereotypes, feelings of being underestimated and needing to work harder, the need for greater diversity, and feelings of disconnection and lack of integration with other minority ethnic students. Participants also shared their perceptions of the awarding gap and proposed strategies for addressing the gap, including raising awareness, increasing diversity among teaching staff, enhancing academic resources and fostering connection among peers. By capturing the racialised narratives of students, this research sheds light on the pervasive biases, stereotypes and systemic issues that contribute to the gap. Through these efforts, the study aims to foster a more inclusive and equitable educational environment, ultimately contributing to the elimination of the degree awarding gap at universities.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Understanding the awarding gap through the lived experiences of minority ethnic students: An intersectional approach |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1002/berj.4108 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.4108 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2024 The Author(s). British Educational Research Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Educational Research Association. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Keywords: | attainment, ethnicity, higher education, intersectional, race |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Clinical, Edu and Hlth Psychology |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10202799 |
Archive Staff Only
 |
View Item |
