Dr Jacqueline Stevenson MoRKSS presentation 17 Oct 2013 on British Minority Ethnic Attainment in Higher Education. This was at Hallam Union, Sheffield, England. Sheffield Hallam University.
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Dr Jacqueline Stevenson MoRKSS presentation 17 Oct 2013
1. Enhancing the degree attainment of Black
and Minority Ethnic students in higher
education
Dr Jacqueline Stevenson
Head of the Centre for Social and Educational Research
Leeds Metropolitan University
j.stevenson@leedsmet.ac.uk
2. Overview of the session
The
National picture
◦ Data and possible causes/explanations
The
Possible Selves construct
The three research projects
1.Imagining a future
2.The HEA research
3.Research in two Russell group universities
Implications
for your own practice
3. Background and context
There
is a significant gap in degree attainment
between BME and white students as measured by
% awarded a 1st or 2:1
66.5% of White students studying first degrees
received a 1st or 2:1 hons; 49.2% of BME students;
38.1% of Black students (ECU, 2011)
DfES (2007)controlled for the majority of
contributory factors; Being from a minority ethnic
group still found to have a statistically significant
and negative effect on degree attainment
3
4. The Attainment Gap
Although
attainment is improving across all groups,
the gap has not narrowed significantly over recent
years
For UK-domicile qualifiers, the difference between
white students who obtained a 1st or 2:1 honours
and BME students (the attainment gap) increased
from 17.2% in 2003/04 to a peak of 18.8% in
2005/06 and is now at 18.6% in 2009/10 (ECU,
2011)
4
10. Why does it matter?
Black graduates, are x3 more likely to be
unemployed within six months of
graduation than White.
• 80%+ applications for very graduate job;
3/4 of large graduate employers now
demand applicants have a minimum of a
2:1.
•
11. Causes? (Singh, 2011)
Externally:
◦ significance of gender, disability, social deprivation,
previous family educational experiences of HE, type of
institution; home or campus-based
Internally:
◦ racism; time in paid employment; problems of segregation;
low teacher expectations; lack of role models; staff
expectations/prejudiced attitudes associated with linguistic
competence; students’ expectations; discriminatory
practices - TLA and student support; undervaluing/underchallenging BME students
Contribution of the curriculum and forms of pedagogy
But - being from a minority ethnic community is still
statistically significant in explaining final attainment.
11
13. The Possible Selves construct
Cognitively-based, future-oriented aspect of one‘s self-concept, ‘what they
might become, what they would like to become, and what they are afraid of
becoming’ (Markus & Nurius, 1986, p. 954).
Generalized states and/or specific roles
Highly developed or undeveloped; some aspects may also have more
salience than another.
Dependent on social, cultural, economic and historical backgrounds
Informed by gender, class and race.
Contingent on whether they are validated/affirmed, or threatened/ignored
The more elaborated the future self, more likely to engender action but
requires focused direction of adopted strategies
Actual or ‘true’ possible selves may contradict other important social
identities (Osyerman et al, 2006) e.g. ‘fitting in’. The ‘hoped for’ future
may not therefore be the ‘true’ self.
Desire to achieve a particular ‘academic’ possible self alone = insufficient
unless linked with plausible strategies, and, in particular, made to feel like a
‘true’ self (Oyserman et al. 2006)
14. Institutional promises
Students uninterested in institutional mission or internal values
Highly influenced by the promises implicit in the way the university
represents itself including:
◦ the proportion of the institution's students that (appear to) come from
‘non-traditional’ backgrounds
◦ the ways in which academic success and post-graduate opportunities
are represented
Bennett and Ali-Choudhury (2009)
15. Focus on one HEI
•
•
•
Website: 224 images: Faculty front pages ;
faculty pages relating to Summer Graduation
2009 (images of students in graduation gowns
only)
Leaflets, prospectuses and information guides:
388 images
Did not include……
21. Considerations
Race/ethnicity
BME
students not a homogenous group
Contested understandings within institutions of
what constitutes a ‘BME student’
BME students also contest definitions
Intersectionality
◦ Gender
◦ Religion
◦ Familial responsibilities
21
22. Contribution of the ‘curriculum’
EGDA
Project (2008) + HEA ‘What works?’ engagement in the academic sphere vital to high
levels of student retention/success
The EGDA final report recommended further
research:
◦How students experience marking practices,
assessment, feedback; student-lecturer and peer
interactions; specific support schemes
◦How departmental and subject differences might
affect attainment variation
◦An exploration into course designs and pedagogic
activities that could maximise student attainment
22
23. Methodology
11
HEIs purposefully selected
Initial contact with V-Cs; suggestions for
interviews
Staff
◦36 staff and 7 SU representatives
◦Demographics; awareness; explanations;
responsibilities; TLA strategies
Students
◦22 interviews (14 individual; 8 in small groups); 14
‘home’ BME students
◦Demographics; past, present, future; explanations
23
24. Key findings: staff
Strong
commitment to diversity at all levels, including
strategic and operational; proliferation of special
interest groups designed to implement issues around
diversity
Patchy staff awareness of BME numbers, attainment,
staff
Issues ‘discussed’ but many staff not specifically involved
Senior managers, in general, aware of the issues and
(some) plans were in place to address
Lecturers, in general, didn’t believe senior managers
were aware of the issues; not aware of any institutional
strategies
Not all felt BMEs should be singled out (unlike other
groups e.g. international, disabled, mature learners)
24
25. Teaching, learning & assessment
Lack
of knowledge of TLA strategies that had affected
change
Some staff believed such activity was taking place
(though were unable to provide specific information)
Tensions in some of the Russell Group institutions
Issues around who teaches first years
Recognition of need for diverse forms of assessment;
blind marking received mixed comments
Belonging and ‘fitting in’ frequently raised
Staff training seen as critical; PGCHE courses
addressing issues of diversity in the curriculum
25
26. Location of ‘the problem’ - staff
Student
based
◦ Academic background
◦ English language deficits
◦ Mode of Access
Societal/institutional/staff
◦
◦
◦
◦
based
Socioeconomic barriers
Systemic racism
Rhetoric and political correctness
Devaluation of teaching and learning
26
27. Location of ‘the problem’ - students
Academic
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
Preparedness for learning
‘Appropriate’ academic behaviours
Student Support
Inter-ethnic relationships/Integration
Role models
Self-image/Possible futures
Non-academic
◦ Intersectionality
◦ Families/cultural differences
27
28. I don’t know, I would say that we don’t get the same
grades as white students. I’ve never seen our (sic)
students get 2:1s we are... I don’t know why but maybe
just my work is but I’m always on the 67 to 68
borderline. I’m not saying that they say because our
names are different I wouldn’t say that. Maybe we’re
just not clever enough, maybe their work is a better
standard than us…Maybe the feedback they get, stuff like
that. They go see the tutors a lot more than we do,
they e-mail the tutors a lot more than we do so on our
hand as well we should be a bit more…proactive
Student 5 (male, 21, Asian Pakistani, 1st generation, HR)
29. Like everyone else went into labs and they looked at all
this equipment and they all knew what they were doing
and fiddling around with stuff and I just thought ‘I’ve
never seen this before’…. and it’s probably because
everyone else was from a quite well funded, you know,
private school background…and you feel a bit
embarrassed to put your hand up and say ‘I don’t know
what the hell this is’ and you just try to pick up as much
as you can but, yeah, it is one of the things I found quite
difficult
Student 11 (female, Asian Pakistani, 22,1st generation,
Physics)
30. There isn’t a culture of relationship building here…like
me, as an example, it should be on my records to say
that I was homeless, had no family whatsoever, that
should be something that is clear. I should therefore be
someone that’s highlighted and looked after in my time
here. My lecturers should be calling me in all the time to
make sure that I’m alright. I have no support systems at
all, like for me my only support systems are my friends, I
have no family, no nothing. That doesn’t exist at this uni
and the fact that no-one called me into a meeting in my
first week here to say ‘hey, I hope you’re well’.
Student 14 (male, Black African, 23, 2nd generation,
History)
31. If you go on the website of the university there’s a
photo at the beginning of like a black guy, with a white
girl, and a Chinese guy and you think ‘wow’ but when
you get here [the others are all laughing] ...there is
some people who kind of mix like that. But if you see a
lecture theatre sometimes in tutorials you see the
African students sitting together…it [images] shows that
everyone kind of chills with each other when they don’t.
People get on perhaps but they don’t socialise that
much, I don’t think.
Student 10 (male, Black Other, 28, 2nd generation,
Chemical Engineering)
32. The moment you racially profile in such a way that you
say ‘there are not enough role models’ people feel that
there should be more role models and the moment that
they feel there aren’t enough role models for them to
look up to they then don’t look up to anyone and
therefore actually that leads to a failure in their own
perceptions and about why black people aren’t doing
well enough, ‘oh, I don’t have anyone to look up to,
what should I do?’ which isn’t necessarily the case... I
think the argument for role models is very annoying
because no-one ever talks about white role models
Student 14 (male, 23, Black African, 2nd generation,
History)
33. Overall findings
Areas
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
of similarity
Variable awareness of attainment gap/equality
Intersectionality
Student support and preparedness
Modes of assessment
Inter-ethnic integration
Areas
of difference
◦ Location and/or cause of ‘the problem’ and
responsibilities
33
35. The research
Research
questions
◦ How, if at all, do students’ views of their academic and career possible
selves differ by ethnic group, and how ‘true’ are these selves?
◦ What differences are there, if at all, in terms of how students
conceptualise the possibilities and threats to achieving their hoped for
possible selves?
◦ What academic help-seeking strategies are students undertaking to
enable them to attain their hoped for, or avoid their feared, possible
selves, and do these vary by ethnic group?
◦ Is there a relationship between students’ imagined academic possible
selves into the future and their goal focused action in the present?
Method
◦ Eight group discussions (70 ‘home/EU’, full-time, undergraduate
students from diverse BME and white backgrounds, studying at two
Russell group HEIs).
◦ Asked to describe the level of degree they were aiming for, immediate
post-graduate plans, academic and other strategies they were putting in
place to achieve their desired outcomes, as well the barriers which
might prevent them from attaining their desired possible selves.
36. Hoped for, feared, ‘true’ possible
selves
All
aiming for 1st or a 2:i
Gaining a ‘poor’ degree = feared possible self
Black students
◦ Doubted they could achieve so highly
◦ Black male students: internalised negative stereotypes of failure,
underperformance, ‘bad’ behaviour ; ‘performing race’ (Willie, 2003);
described selves as ‘lazy’, ‘un-academic’, ‘poor attitudes’
◦ ‘Hoped for’ selves (to achieve high academic results) were competing
with their ‘ought to’ selves (to not over-perform and to not stand out
academically).
‘I can get a first class, but I just, I can't, I can't manage my time to get a first class. I'm, I'm
lazy in that way, yeah. I mean, I can get a 2:1 though, it's just all the time-management’
(Mohammed, Black, Male, 21-23, 1st generation, 3rd year).
‘Like I've already said I'm not really that academic ... rather go out and see the world or
something ... It's funny that you can be doing like chemical engineering and not be academic
but it's just the way it goes’ (Marcus, Black, Male, 18-20, 2nd generation, 1st year).
37. Asian and Chinese students
Blamed themselves: disconnect between their hoped for future
selves (to be high achievers), their ‘true’ selves (as lacking knowhow, or being neglected, and therefore likely to under-perform)
and their ‘ought to’ selves (to be seen by others as being high
achievers)
But also blamed lecturers - poor academic practices, and ‘lack of
care’ threatened achievement of their hoped for possible selves.
‘I’ve got like an incredibly short attention span…I end up losing my temper with it a bit and
thinking like ‘oh, I’ll do better on the next one then, and I’ll do better on the next one’ and
then by your last one you’ve done **** anyway…I find that I do so much research on
something and I don’t know how to explain it really cos I look stupid’ (Layla, Asian, Female,
18-20, 2nd generation, 3rd year).
‘As a final resort ask the lecturer…It’s not because they’re not friendly, a lot of them are
and they’re quite approachable, some of them, I don’t know, it’s just a bit awkward and
sometimes like if you don’t know it and they’ve already covered it in a lecture then you
know that’s your fault’ (Sapna, Asian, Female, 21-23, 2nd generation, 3rd year).
‘I get the feeling like some of the lecturers just don't care, d'you know what I mean,
especially like the PhD ones just have to do, have to do a module or whatever, but the ones
who do care are like really helpful and, erm, they don't just like read the lecture notes out,
but they try to teach you so, erm, yeah, if they could care a little more that would be
helpful’ (Jiao, Chinese, Female, 21-23, 2nd generation, 2nd year).
38. White students
•
Much greater congruence between their hoped for, true and
‘ought to’ selves;
• Possessed a strong belief in own academic abilities; rarely
considered that they might be ‘lacking’
• Had internalised notions of their entitlement to be in HE: so more
willing to express their dissatisfaction and demand redress.
‘It’s very generic. It’s vague, it’s not constructive and the marking criteria I mean for
example I put some very good ideas in my essay and they just didn’t take them into
account’ (Deborah, White, Female, 21-23, 2nd generation, 1st year).
‘I’ve got a personal tutor and the one I’ve got now which I really don’t like the one I’ve got
now but it’s too late to change so I had an issue with him like the other week and I emailed
him to tell him that I didn’t like the way that he’d handled something and then I saw him
yesterday and he apologised ‘cos he realised what he’d done was wrong’ (Lauren, White,
Female, 18-20, 1st generation, 1st year).
‘I’ve been trying to contact a lecturer this week, I sent him one email last Wednesday and
got no reply, sent him a slightly ruder one on Monday and he replied to me Monday night
saying ‘I can see you tomorrow morning’’ (Simon, White, Male, 18-20, 2nd generation, 2nd
year).
39. Possible selves and goal focused actions in the
present
Need for a ‘road map’ connecting present to future (Oyserman et
al., 2004).
Some similarities across ethnic groups (independent reading, peer
group study/consultations, use of online communities)
But also differences between ‘road maps’.
◦ White students: most strategic, purposeful; drawing on all forms of support,
including from their lecturers; did not see any power asymmetries between
selves and lecturers, or feel likely to face any hostility if challenging lecturing
practices; connects to feelings of entitlement
◦ BME students: reluctance to consult lecturers: acquired habit (possibly begun in
school) of being self-reliant, consulting only with those ‘the same as them’,
avoiding being seen as ‘academic’ and/or previous experiences of being rebuffed;
had devised specific coping strategies to ensure that meeting with their lecturers
was unnecessary.
◦ However, the White students were drawing on these multiple strategies AND
spending significant time talking to lecturers. Consequently appeared to be
placing selves in a more advantageous academic position than BME students.
40. Differences in action
‘If
you speak to the lecturers, then like, when they see you, like, in
lectures, they try and ask you questions, I don't really like, wanna
be like pushed out into the crowd, I just wanna blend in. I'd rather
they just did it and no one know. Go and do my business, and
then leave after… I just don't use lecturers’ (Lennie, Black, Male,
21-23, 1st generation, 2nd year).
‘I would just walk into their office to see them because they’re all
in the same building and you can just get their office number and
I’d quite happily drop by if I needed any help… They seem
grateful though when you go to them and they say ‘where do you
think you’ve got this equation from?’ because it means that
they’ve not explained it to the class well enough’ (Emily, White,
Female, 21-23, 1st generation, 3rd year).
41. Implications
Findings
small scale and tentative but appear to be
differences by ethnic group in terms of:
◦ how true the students’ possible selves are
◦ how they conceptualise the possibilities and threats to achieving
their hoped for possible selves
◦ the academic help-seeking strategies they are undertaking to
attain their hoped for possible selves
◦ the possible link between students’ imagined academic possible
selves, their goal focused actions in the present and their
subsequent degree attainment.
Apparent
lack of congruence between hoped for and
true selves may be informing, and limiting, academic
help-seeking strategies; suggests there may be link with
degree attainment.
42. So what does all of this mean
for your own institutional
practice?
Where do we go from here?
