Black British Students in Higher Education
SY3042 Research Project Report
Black British Students in Higher Education
Contents
Chapter 1 - Introduction
Chapter 2 – Literature Review
Chapter 3 – Methodology
Bibliography
Chapter 1
How do black British students from London subjectively experience their racial identity when they go to university outside of London? What is the impact of the racial perception of a university when they make choices about which universities to go to and how do they manage their identity once there?
Debates on race and education have highlighted the ways that black British students are excluded from higher education. There is still a lack of ethnic minorities in top universities, despite widening participation schemes and black and ethnic minority students predominately go to new universities which have high representation of black and ethnic minority students.
Looking at ethnic minorities in higher education is important because of the huge disparities between the different minorities entering in the university system, particularly black British students of Caribbean decent. There are many studies on racism in schools and evidence of it still shaping the experience of black and ethnic minority students. Achievement in the education system is differentiated by race and ethnicity and most ethnic minorities compare differently to white British students and it is important to see if these differences continue at a higher level. While Chinese students outperform all racial groups, black British students fare poorly in the education system. The level of black British born students applying and being accepted to university is also an important area to look at, especially as ‘this is a time where in the UK and globally, there is concern about “widening participation” and breaking down the exclusivity of university education (McDonough & Fann, 2007)’. There is also concern with retention and progress
Black British Students in Higher Education
Contents
Chapter 1 - Introduction
Chapter 2 – Literature Review
Chapter 3 – Methodology
Bibliography
Chapter 1
How do black British students from London subjectively experience their racial identity when they go to university outside of London? What is the impact of the racial perception of a university when they make choices about which universities to go to and how do they manage their identity once there?
Debates on race and education have highlighted the ways that black British students are excluded from higher education. There is still a lack of ethnic minorities in top universities, despite widening participation schemes and black and ethnic minority students predominately go to new universities which have high representation of black and ethnic minority students.
Looking at ethnic minorities in higher education is important because of the huge disparities between the different minorities entering in the university system, particularly black British students of Caribbean decent. There are many studies on racism in schools and evidence of it still shaping the experience of black and ethnic minority students. Achievement in the education system is differentiated by race and ethnicity and most ethnic minorities compare differently to white British students and it is important to see if these differences continue at a higher level. While Chinese students outperform all racial groups, black British students fare poorly in the education system. The level of black British born students applying and being accepted to university is also an important area to look at, especially as ‘this is a time where in the UK and globally, there is concern about “widening participation” and breaking down the exclusivity of university education (McDonough & Fann, 2007)’. There is also concern with retention and progress
Bibliography: Alexander, C. (2004) ‘Writing race: ethnography and the imagination of the Asian gang’ in Bulmer, M. and Solomos, J. (eds.) Researching Race and Racism, London: Routledge pp.134-150 Archer, L., Hollingworth, S Beardsworth, A. and Keil, T. (1992) Sociology on the Menu: An Invitation to the Study of Food and Society, London: Routledge Bryman, A Curtis, P. (2008) ‘Education: Black Caribbean children held back by institutional racism in schools, says study’, Guardian, September http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/sep/05/raceineducation.raceinschools, accessed on 27/11/2012 Milburn, A Puwar, N. (2004) Space Invaders: Race, Gender and Bodies Out of Place, Oxford: Berg Reay, D., Davies, J., David, M Reay, D., Crozier, G. & Clayton, J. (2010): ‘“Fitting in” or “standing out”: working‐class students in UK higher education’, British Educational Research Journal, 36 (1), pp Sellgren, K. (2010) ‘Rise in ethnic minority students at UK universities’, BBC News, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8493894.stm accessed on 30/11/2012 Shiner, M Stacey, M. (2004) Methods of Social Research, Oxford: Pergamon Press Vasagar, J