Confronting the black, Asian, minority ethnic nursing degree attainment gap

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (18) ◽  
pp. 1074-1075 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beverley Brathwaite
Keyword(s):  
Degree Attainment ◽  
Attainment Gap ◽  
Minority Ethnic

scholarly journals The experience of BME commuting students

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Virginia Smith
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Capital ◽  
Academic Engagement ◽  
Degree Attainment ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Social And Cultural Capital ◽  
Extra Curricular Activities ◽  
Attainment Gap ◽  
Family Home ◽  
Infrastructural Support ◽  
Minority Ethnic

The reasons for the black and minority ethnic (BME) student degree attainment gap are complex and multifactorial. However, it appears that increasing numbers of all students are commuting to campus from the parental and family home, something now disproportionately exemplified by BME students at Leeds Beckett University.This paper outlines findings from a small, qualitative project focusing on commuting BME undergraduates and explores how their issues and needs have been addressed through a range of cultural, infrastructural and curricular interventions.The main issue of concern which supports the recent report (Thomas and Jones, 2017) is that many commuting BME students will prioritise academic engagement but are unaware of the wider social and cultural capital that can be gained from participating in extra-curricular activities. It is clear that some difficulties faced by BME commuting students are identical to those faced by all commuting students: stress, impractical timetabling and assessment deadlines, ‘invisibility’. BME students (commuting and non-commuting) are already often disadvantaged by a poorer learning experience than that of their peers and consequently by lower degree attainment (Richardson, 2008a & b, Newbold et al., 2011) and reduced employability (Allen, 2016), an inequality that may be compounded in the case of those disproportionately high numbers of BME students who also commute. University action must be situated within a broader framework of inclusive academic practice, drawing on a “holistic engagement vision” (Pickford, 2016, p. 31) of infrastructural support and partnership working between students and staff.

scholarly journals Exploring the Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Student Attainment Gap: What Did It Tell Us? Actions to Address Home BME Undergraduate Students’ Degree Attainment

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Smith
Keyword(s):  
Focus Groups ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
White Students ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Degree Attainment ◽  
Student Experience ◽  
Student Population ◽  
Documentary Analysis ◽  
Attainment Gap ◽  
Minority Ethnic

This paper explores work in progress on six key actions derived from a project exploring Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) student degree attainment at Leeds Beckett University (LBU). In 2014–15, in common with the wider national picture in higher education, at LBU there was a significant disparity between the percentage achievement of good degrees (Firsts and 2:1 classification) between the white students (64%, who comprise 84% of the total institutional student population) and the BME students (49%, who comprise 16% of the total institutional student population). This attainment gap existed across all the degree programmes after controlling for UCAS tariff points on entry. Indeed, it has been indicated in the literature that the degree attainment gap is strongly related to the experience of teaching and learning at a university (Stephenson, 2012; Office for Fair Access [OFFA], 2015). This context provided the opportunity to examine the particular nature of the BME student experience with a view to using this information to develop local University strategy and actions in relation to identified priority areas. This research used a mixed methods approach of i) documentary analysis of course documentation wording to explore the visibility of inclusive curricular issues and ii) focus groups and interviews to explore staff and student views on BME student experience and achievement. This paper presents findings from student and staff focus groups and documentary evidence from course documents of the five courses in our University which had the highest numbers of enrolled BME students. The findings focused on the BME students’ low confidence, their classroom and placement experience, curricular content, reading lists and delivery. Discussion of these findings by staff and students generated six priorities for short term action. Progress on these actions and proposed future developments are outlined.

scholarly journals What moderates the attainment gap? The effects of social identity incompatibility and practical incompatibility on the performance of students who are or are not Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 171-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Frings ◽  
Ilka H. Gleibs ◽  
Anne M. Ridley
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
Social Identity ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
First Year ◽  
Registry System ◽  
Attainment Gap ◽  
Academic Year ◽  
Minority Ethnic

Abstract A successful journey through higher education is, for many, a once in a lifetime opportunity for social mobility. Unfortunately, one notable feature of higher education systems is that students from some backgrounds do not achieve the same academic attainments as do others. The current study tests the role of one particular set of processes: social identity (in)compatibility on academic performance. Participants were recruited at two time points from a pool of first year undergraduates at a modern London University (N = 215) of which 40.1% were classed as Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME), 57.1% as non-BAME and 2.8% did not provide this information. A prospective design was employed: Alongside demographic data, measures at the start of the academic year consisted of measures of student and ethnic identity, and both practical and identity incompatibility. At the end of the academic year, average marks achieved were gained for each student from the university’s registry system. Results indicate that BAME students had equal levels of student identity to non-BAME students, but higher levels of ethnic identity. They also typically experienced higher levels of both practical and identity incompatibility. Finally, BAME students had lower attainment than did non-BAME students. Both practical and identity incompatibility appeared to moderate this effect. However, contrary to predictions, it was only under conditions of low and medium levels of incompatibility that BAME students attained lower marks than their non-BAME peers. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

scholarly journals Freedom to Achieve: addressing the attainment gap through student and staff co-creation

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucy Jane Charlotte Ansley ◽  
Richard Hall
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Inclusive Curriculum ◽  
Curriculum Framework ◽  
Attainment Gap ◽  
Minority Ethnic ◽  
Attainment Gaps

Understanding and enhancing the experience of individuals and communities who have experienced marginalising structures and cultures have become an important area of research across higher education. This work forms an attempt to address injustice through a critical focus on inclusion and ideas of diversity. However, it also enables a reappraisal of ideas of student-staff partnership and co-creation, and student-as-producer. Building upon Kingston University’s value-added metric and Inclusive Curriculum Framework, De Montfort University has developed its own approach to engaging with differential attainment gaps, in part by embedding co-creation at the heart of its ‘Freedom to Achieve’ project. Co-creation enhances the University’s understanding of the experiences of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) students and supports all students to become agents for change. Between January and April 2018, as a pilot for later project-wide implementation, the Freedom to Achieve team facilitated a series of co-creation events at both institution and programme level. This paper presents an evaluation of the co-creation approach alongside initial findings from the events and explains how these will inform the continuing development of the Freedom the Achieve project.

scholarly journals Does group assessment impact BME attainment?

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natasha Hill ◽  
James Denholm Price ◽  
Nigel Atkins ◽  
Luis Tojal Dourado ◽  
Owuraku Nimoh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Group Work ◽  
Consistent Difference ◽  
Group Assessment ◽  
League Tables ◽  
Attainment Gap ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Assessment Of Student Learning ◽  
Mixed Groups ◽  
Minority Ethnic

Assessment of student learning is fundamental in Higher Education (HE) reflecting academic standards and impacting on student satisfaction, position in league tables and graduate employment.  Nonetheless, there is a BME (Black and Minority Ethnic) attainment gap, the difference in the proportion of BME and White students who attain a first class or 2.1 honours degree (even when controlled for prior attainment and entry profile), which is persistent across the HE sector. As assessment strategies play an essential role in determining degree attainment, we have reviewed the role of group assessment and whether this form of assessment specifically impacts on the BME attainment gap. Overall, this study provided evidence that assessed group work does not adversely impact BME students. In addition, the performance in BME/non-BME/mixed groups did not suggest any consistent difference, suggesting that the demographic composition of groups does not affect BME performance. Therefore, group work would appear to be an inclusive form of assessment that does not appear to lead or contribute to exacerbating the BME attainment gap.Keywords: Group assessment; attainment; Black and Minority Ethnic

scholarly journals Why is the BME attainment gap such a wicked problem?

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 147
Author(s):  
Liz Austen ◽  
Caroline Heaton ◽  
Stella Jones-Devitt ◽  
Nathaniel Pickering
Keyword(s):  
Student Engagement ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Research Team ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Wicked Problem ◽  
Case Study Approach ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Attainment Gap ◽  
Minority Ethnic

This paper outlines a research process which followed a case study approach (Yin, 2009) to explore the Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) student attainment gap, and responses to it, at Sheffield Hallam University. A mixed methodology was envisaged, which would triangulate institutional data, measures of student engagement, focus groups and researcher reflections to construct an analysis of interventions aimed at enhancing confidence and belonging for BME students.  This discussion focuses on the challenges experienced by the research team and uses the notion of a 'wicked problem' to help understand the limitations faced.  'Wicked problems' (Rittel, 1972; see Conklin, 2005) are entrenched in social complexity, which increases in line with the diversity of the associated stakeholders. These problems have the ability to divide opinion, provide limited solutions and lay blame for lack of results. This research examining the BME attainment gap can be critiqued using this notion of a 'wicked problem', noting that, without recognition, this issue has the potential to become ubiquitous and almost unsolvable.

scholarly journals The early impact of initiatives to close attainment gaps at UCL

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosalind Mary Duhs ◽  
Julie Evans ◽  
Paulette Williams ◽  
Parama Chaudhury
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Student Success ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Research Evidence ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Inclusive Curriculum ◽  
Attainment Gap ◽  
University College London ◽  
Minority Ethnic

  This article provides an overview of core aspects of efforts to close the black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) attainment gap across University College London (UCL). Although the main ‘Catalyst Student Success’ project focuses on home undergraduate students, at UCL we are also using similar approaches to enhance inclusivity in postgraduate courses. The focus in this paper is nevertheless on undergraduates. The detailed use of student attainment data by the UCL Centre for Teaching and Learning Economics is outlined and discussed to underpin the introduction of the use of UCL’s ‘Inclusive Curriculum Health Check’ (ICHC) – UCL BAME Attainment Project 2018 – as a framework for the initiatives taken by departments. A table with the initial responses from the departments in one faculty is presented and selected points are discussed. The value and potential of the initiatives recommended through the ICHC are explored in a table which links systematic review evidence (Schneider and Preckel, 2017) to the ICHC. Staff actions in partnership with students are designed primarily to have a positive impact on the experience and outcomes of BAME students, but the research evidence suggests that favourable effects will accrue for all students.  

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