The endurance of academic capital in higher education: how cultural and institutional - PowerPoint Presentation

The endurance of academic capital in higher education: how cultural and institutional factors maintain the white-BME attainment gap Dr. Alexander Hensby & Dr. Lavinia Mitton

Introduction Growing commitment to WP programmes and extending access for students with protected characteristics, but there remains a persistent attainment gap between white and Black & Minority Ethnic (BME) students at UK universities.Recent context: £9k fees and OFFA agreement, maximising value from university degrees, TEF.Widening access not enough: ‘dominant culture’ of established traditions and practices in HE. Students expected to accrue academic capital to perform effectively in HE environment (Watson, 2013; Read et al, 2003). BME students’ expectations and resources to succeed in HE: degree choices ( Bagguley and Hussain, 2007); family pressure and emotional support (Bhopal, 2011; Goodwin and Cramer, 2000); preparedness for university life (Singh, 2012). Student Success (EDI) Project

The study University of Kent has commissioned research project as part of its OFFA agreement to understand factors that may produce and sustain the attainment gap, as well as inform intervention strategies. Quantitative results are taken from an incentivised survey of home undergraduates at University of Kent in autumn 2014 (N=4504). Survey measured student expectations, study patterns and social life, attitudes and concerns with their university performance, and their experience of EDI issues. Demographic and performance data from the university’s student records has also been added to the dataset. Survey respondents were invited to participate in follow-up interviews – 62 interviews were conducted with white and BME undergraduates between March and June 2015.Positionality: presented as university-commissioned research project: ‘official’ survey and interviews by Kent academic staff. Student Success (EDI) Project

Student expectations and attainment   Aiming for a 1 st class degree Confident they will achieve it % of ethnic group is aiming for a 1 st and confident of achieving it % confident of achieving a 1 st is currently achieving a 2:1 or aboveWhite (N=2836)51.9%70.6%36.5%74.5%BME (N=932)58.3%74.5%43.4%60.9%Black students (N=424)60.4%76.9%46.9%46.7%Asian students (N=295)58.2%75.2%43.1%73.9% Student Success (EDI) Project

Student expectations: ‘2:1 or bust’ ‘Realistically I’m aiming for a First, I’m not going to lie. It would be great to get a First, but nothing lower than a 2:1. I don’t know what I would do if I get a 2:2 – I will cry’. (Remi) ‘I think with a lot of Black people they just feel like, what’s a Third going to do, or what’s a 2:2 going to do?’ (Gina) ‘Everyone’s like, oh, if you don’t get a 2:1 then there’s no point having a degree’. (Nina) Student Success (EDI) Project

Students’ worries and concerns when starting university   % White students agree % BME students agree I had concerns about not being prepared enough academically for the start of my degree programme 69.1% 71.0% I had concerns about getting myself organised enough to attend all the relevant events, lectures and induction programmes 51.0% 61.9% I had concerns about coming to a new city that I didn't know very well43.2%53.9%I had concerns about feeling different to the other students53.4%54.8%I had concerns about my academic achievement not meeting my family's expectations45.2%58.3%Student Success (EDI) Project

Family expectations: pride and pressure ‘My dad sat me down and was like, “Even if you fail at this degree, I know you’ve gotten further than I’ve ever gotten, and I’m so proud of you for that. But that doesn’t mean you can fail this degree ”’. [laughs] (Frances) ‘A lot of Nigerian or African-based families, there’s a lot of pressure. It’s academically driven – literally everything is academics . Academics is key, I guess, to getting out of poverty and making a living’. (Ava) ‘Before GCSE I really liked art, I was really into art. But with Africans, [and] our parents having this influence on what we do, my dad was like, ‘you wouldn’t really get a good job out of art’. They see being a doctor, being a lawyer, you know, high positions’. (Rebecca ) Student Success (EDI) Project

Intersections between race and class   Concerned about not meeting family expectations HHI below £25k Went to independent or selective school All students White 43.0% 27.3% 23.9% BME56.2%40.2%14.0%Student Success (EDI) Project

White and BME students’ study and social life   White BME Student has joined societies 58.1 % 52.8 % Student is an active member of at least one student society they belong to (involved in decision-making, or attend regularly) 61.2%52.2%Student has voted in student union elections29.5%21.0%Student has had a part-time job31.1%27.5%Student has taken up an internship/voluntary work19.1%16.5%Students studies in the library ‘regularly’ or ‘fairly often’49.6%57.4%Student Success (EDI) Project

Learning to ‘be’ a student: academic capital ‘I’m wondering in terms of ethnic minority groups that they’ve lost that structure they were imposed [at home] . They get to university where it’s a lot more free, [and] there’s a lot more room to do whatever you want to do. And without that rigorous academic structure enforced by parents… that translates into how they work, because you’re leaving an environment you’ve known and going into a completely different one’. (Eric ) Student Success (EDI) Project

Being a student: independence or self-reliance? I haven’t asked but I don’t feel like there’s that thing where people need extra help. I think the only extra help you can get is in seminars and that is just not really help, it’s just extra stuff. I need extra help too, I actually need a tutor but I can’t really afford that right now. And so maybe it’s just independent learning, it’s a difficult thing to grasp in itself… Maybe just the spoon feeding too much at school is kind of just backfired when you get to uni. (Gina ) ‘My seminar leader, he'd take you through the essay personally to give you things to work on. Every time I had one of those sessions I did better in the next essay. He offers it with everyone, hardly anyone takes it , which is a bit stupid. You've got to take these sorts of opportunities. […] You could chat to him like you could chat to any bloke in the pub’. (Frankie) Student Success (EDI) Project

Conclusion BME students have noticeably high expectations of academic success – higher, in fact, than white students. These expectations strongly correlate with their concerns over the expectations of their family.For many BME students, their class background reflects and reinforces these expectations. With students often referencing the need to achieve a ‘good’ degree to maximise employability, the combination of all these factors arguably places a great deal of pressure on BME students to convert their academic potential into a 2:1 grade or above.We are concerned how the university can better support its BME students, particularly through personal tuition. Students’ background, resources, and expectations require clearer articulation and management throughout their time at university. Student Success (EDI) Project