Widening Participation and the Experiences of Students of African descent studying in Higher Education: A study of Students at a Post-1992 University in England.

Description

Higher education (HE) has the potential to break intergenerational poverty by bringing about social mobility and justice, thereby, transforming the lives of many from a disadvantaged background. In recent years, considerable progress has been made to widen the participation of black students in UK higher education. It has been observed that candidates from black and minority ethnic groups go to university in good numbers, but they don’t achieve as well as their white counterparts. In the past few months alone, the Covid-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement have shone a stark light on the racial inequalities that exist throughout all sections of UK society, including within higher education. Key obstacles remain to build on and sustain the progress that has been made; to ensure the participation and success of deprived groups and to deliver fair access. These groups experience a higher risk of poverty, social exclusion, discrimination and violence than the general population and their constant struggle to secure top positions in the UK economy. In this study, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) has been used to explore the holistic experiences of students of African descent attending a Post-1992 University in England, through the lenses of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Pierre Bourdieu's Theory of Practice. Findings reveal that substantial inequalities persist throughout their student lifecycle exposing systemic discrimination, broader political, cultural and social realities evident on the campus.

Period	2 Sept 2022
Event title	The Non-traditional Research Methods (NTRM) Network
Event type	Seminar
Degree of Recognition	International