The Lived Experience of Black International Students at a Post-1992 University in England: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Academic Resilience

Throughout the past few decades, there has been a rise in the number of black international students accessing predominantly White-dominated institutions in England, but their experiences have consistently been overlooked. There have been increased awareness calls to make structural changes in institutions nationwide. This issue was brought to the fore again with the Black Lives Matter Movement, and the prevalent incident in June 2020, followed by the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities (Sewell report) published in March 2021. Many increasingly question whether colleges and universities have failed in their stated mission of increasing societal equity. This study uses a multi-faceted framework of Critical Race Theory (CRT), Bourdieusian thinking tools and Yosso’s community cultural wealth (CCW) capitals (aspirational, linguistic, social, navigational, familial and resistant). The findings of this research analysis demonstrate the subtle but powerful manner in which racial microaggressions can manifest within the university setting and the strategies of resistance via which these minoritised students subsequently navigate the institution daily. Besides, they reveal that negative stereotyping, low expectations by academics and various forms of discrimination prevails in UK higher education environment. Furthermore, there is strong evidence to suggest that there are insufficient Black role models, the Curriculum in English institutions is Eurocentric, and parental involvement is key, in impacting educational experiences and outcomes. The main contribution of this study is that it considers African and Caribbean students studying at various levels of higher education and adds pertinent information on each aspect of their holistic experiences, such as socio-cultural, learning and language, possessing other forms of capital, as well as financial challenges and coping strategies. The study also confirms the increase in resilience of these students over some time as well as the development of a third culture identity.